Category: Politics

Now that the SCOTUS has not just gone off the rails, but denied there is a railroad track by giving the office of the president carte blanche, I suggest our current President take the following actions, and label them clearly as actions that derive from his “constitutional duties” throughout the process:

1. Appoint three new justices to the Supreme Court from the current shortlist. The more liberal, the better.
2. If Senate votes on them, the Democratic votes are there, and they will be seated. If the Senate doesn’t vote due to the GOP blocking the vote, seat them anyway, declaring the Senate’s advice as per the Constitution was effectively waived. Do not wait more than a month after the initial appointments to do this. August is perfect as they will start hearing cases again then.
3. The three new justices arrive for work. If the current justices allow them to participate, great. If they don’t, declare any blockading justices have abandoned their duties and appoint immediate replacements. See step two for details. In the meantime, the other justices start hearing cases on schedule or they get the same treatment.
4. Employ Capitol police, the FBI, and any other law enforcement agencies as necessary to ensure the Court continues to function.
5. Remind everyone in the press daily that you are only “exercising your constitutional duties” by taking these actions in accordance with the recent SCOTUS ruling. Perhaps give them a lecture in the powers of the executive branch while you’re at it.

This is the mildest reasonable response I can muster.

The checks and balances system only works if there are both checks and balances.

It’s 2024. I am not willing to serve a king, and neither should you.

It took me awhile to find a halfway reasonable take on the debate fallout, but here it is: “The pundit class turned on Biden. Does it matter?” Best quote:

“I was staying up late listening to everybody freak out on the phone calling Joe. And I literally was just shaking my head, going, ‘These people need to get diapers,’” she said.

What’s left of the GOP is awful, but the Democrats could learn a thing from them about loyalty. If they actually want to persuade Biden to step away from the nomination, drop-kicking him in less than a day isn’t the way to demonstrate you have his best interests in mind – or to show you give half a shit about anyone, or the electoral process, for that matter.