Filibuster

With one opening on a 4-4 Court and three other justices over the age of 75, the immediate issue of the Scalia replacement may well merge into a more sustained battle based on the idea that the next president will likely shape SCOTUS and constitutional law for decades to come. This basic reality could be obscured by the Kabuki theater we are already experiencing around President Obama’s decision to name a new justice. Don’t get confused by the intra-Republican indecision as to whether its Senate majority will rule out confirmation of an Obama nominee or will go through the motions and then kill the nomination by filibuster or a flat negative vote. However it plays out, Obama will not get a new justice. And so all the noise we will hear for and against Obama’s choice will simply be agitprop aimed at influencing the presidential election and/or preliminary skirmishing for the real battle in 2017.  … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Opening Creates ‘Battle of a Different Order’

"The most urgent task for the progressive movement is to build a deeper relationship with the African-American community and leaders who have been the true agents of social change in American history," California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Sanders campaign co-chair, told CNN. "We need to sit down with people like Jim Clyburn, Karen Bass, Cedric Richmond, Bennie Thompson, Robin Kelley, Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee with humility and respect to understand how we strengthen the bonds between progressives and the black community." … [Read more...] about After Bernie Sanders: Progressives take stock after they fall short again

Telling Sanders supporters they’re needed also reinforces their leverage. It took only a few hours after Sanders’s exit for a collective of eight groups representing young progressives and focusing on issues like climate and gun control to send Biden a stern warning shot. “Messaging around a ‘return to normalcy’ does not and has not earned the support and trust of voters from our generation. For so many young people, going back to the way things were ‘before Trump’ isn’t a motivating enough reason to cast a ballot in November,” they wrote, urging Biden to embrace a wide range of left-wing priorities, like the Green New Deal framework, Medicare for All, eliminating the Senate filibuster, and expanding the Supreme Court. “The organizations below will spend more than $100 million communicating with more than 10 million young members, supporters, and potential voters this election cycle. We are uniquely suited to help mobilize our … [Read more...] about How Biden Is Trying to Win Over Bernie’s Supporters

The balance of the court is especially critical to conservatives stricken by Scalia’s death and fearful that their hopes of a truly and systematically conservative Court are in danger of slipping away. But it’s important to understand the other factor that ratchets up conservative anxiety over Court appointments to a high-pitch chattering whine: a legacy of betrayal by Republican-appointed justices. The best way to illustrate it is this: In 1992, the last time the Court had an opportunity to reverse Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion nationally, all five justices who voted to save Roe (O’Connor, Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, and Blackmun) had been appointed by Republican presidents.  … [Read more...] about The Battle for the Supreme Court Is About to Go Mainstream