Amy Coney Barrett’s Nomination

More than one thing can be true at once.

The Senate has every right to hold hearings, vote, and most probably confirm the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to be on the Supreme Court.

Also true is that the Republican hypocrisy of providing “advice and consent” in this case but not for Merrick Garland, nominated 9 months before the end of Barrack Obama’s term, is an 11 on the scale of 1–10.

And I see where some on the left are coming from when they advocate adding seats to the Supreme Court. A 6–3 conservative vise on the court for years if not decades will undermine all attempts to protect LGTBQ, women, voting rights and many other things.

But while the size of the court is not set in the Constitution, it is critical to take the long view. As Joe Biden said last year, “We add three justices; next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has at all.”

So how should Democrats deal with 1.5 stolen Supreme Court seats? Change laws. As difficult as it is to pass a law, laws are what run this country. Executive orders are a poor man’s version of laws, used because our country has become mired in paralysis. But passing laws codify the policies the Democrats want to make permanent.

How do you do it in today’s world? Well, you do change the game a little. The filibuster is not law, it is a Senate rule. The undemocratic make up of the Senate makes 60 votes very difficult to achieve when 30% of the population control 70% of the Senate. So you can change that.

Our founders made many, many mistakes. Chief among them was putting in the Constitution that blacks counted as 3/5 of a person. But up there as well was creating a capital city with no voting rights for its citizens. The only argument the GOP has against DC statehood is that it would result in 2 liberal senators. That’s not an argument, that’s whining. Bring DC and Puerto Rico to statehood. And if California wants to split in two, that’s okay. We have 2 Dakotas, 2 Carolinas and 2 Virginias. They total 6 senators today, time to catch up.

This country has politically ruined its ability to move forward with the will of the people. It is time to use the rules to bring back the government of the people, by the people and for the people.