Thread by @heffnera

THREAD-ED (1/20)

She’s a Justice for now, but we can impeach Amy Coney Barrett if she tries to stop a fair election—and then add a 10th Justice.

Read @Independent fully: independent.co.uk/voices/amy-con….

If Barrett rules against the rights of voters in these days leading up to or during vote-counting — refusing to recuse herself from decisions that amount to a quid pro quo for Trump’s re-election — Dems need to impeach. (2)

By overruling the PA Supreme Court and interfering in the state’s electoral practices, Barrett’s rank duplicity will be unmistakable — as will the fraud of her purported conviction in federalism and states’ rights. (3)

Democrats need to expose her ethically and legally dubious approach and make the argument they were right about not seating her. Any public support for the nominee-turned-justice will crumble. (4)

While there will not be a 2/3 majority to convict in the Senate, Pelosi and House Democrats can and must swiftly impeach her. (5)

It‘s on this basis that a potential Biden presidency and Dem Senate will have leverage to add a Justice — a tenth Justice — to begin the process of balancing the SC. It will be politically palatable if Barrett’s appointment enabled a plot against the voters. (6)

After a new Justice is swiftly added by a simple majority vote in Congress and sworn in, there can be more comprehensive study, as Biden has promised, of new plans for the Court: term limits, additional appointments, and recusal rules. (7)

But the Democrats need to recover — not in months and years, but immediately — from Barrett’s appointment. And they need to think about why they failed catastrophically to stop it from happening in the first place. (8)

As RBG’s vacancy and the Supreme Court nomination faded into the backdrop of the political campaign rather than magnifying into a salient issue, there was no impassioned argument from the Democratic Party to resonate. (9)

Instead, there was an infamous hug from the Ranking Member. And there was something more alarming. The refusal of the Democrats to fight a political battle — too afraid of muddying the integrity of their election argument — was a stunning abdication of leadership. (10)

During the confirmation hearing, Barrett’s refusal to acknowledge legal precedent made clear that she would revert America to jurisprudence of prior centuries. (11)

Stripping healthcare during the pandemic may be a winning campaign issue for Biden but it did nothing to convince the GOP or public that Barrett should be not seated on the High Court. (12)

There were opportunities they simply ignored out of fear of backlash. For all her purported brilliance, Barrett failed to name one of the five freedoms (protest) enshrined in the First Amendment when asked directly. (13)

They could and should have revived the (Ted) Kennedy-esque argument that was leveled against another extremist nominee Robert Bork. Because Barrett, like Bork, is a judge who will demolish the entirety of the Warren Court’s expansion of civil and voting rights. (14)

Republicans point to the Democrats’ argument against Bork—not his profound disrespect for the rights of Americans—as the unforgivable act that has precipitated their revenge to pack the Court with extremist ideologues who would deny the public rights. (15)

In fact, what is unforgivable is the Democrats’ acquiescence and unwillingness to raise the rhetorical stakes against Barrett. (16)

Even though Judge Barrett is now Justice Barrett, the fight is not over, and Dems have an opportunity to redeem themselves in the days ahead. It starts by being honest about their previous conduct. (17)

Otherwise, expect your citizenship to be denied. On countless questions of constitutionality, life and death, and law and order, the Court’s 6-3 majority will enforce the preferences of an extreme minority. (18)

A tyranny of the minority will fundamentally alter the American Republic, diminish the rights of the majority, and pervert any remaining equal justice under the law. (19)

READ MORE @Independent: independent.co.uk/voices/amy-con… (20)