Status of SCOTUS, and where we go now

[Takket]

Putin has now solidly delivered a right wing court that will support his agenda for somewhere around the next 15-20 years.

Current ages, from oldest to youngest:

RBG: 85
Breyer: 80
Thomas: 70
Alito: 68
Sotomayor: 64
Roberts: 63
Kagan: 58
Kavanugh: 53
Gorsuch: 51

There will be no possibility of a liberal court until Thomas or Alito retires. How long that will be, no one knows. I'm guessing 15 years.

First thing is first....... we nee, at a minimum, the House to turn blue in November. Without it the GOP can pass laws, at will, and have SCOTUS uphold any challenge to their Constitutionality. As it is, the next few month are probably going to be UGLY.

Second thing: we need to have the Senate and presidency by 2020 to that Breyer and RBG can retire. Since the GOP has removed any semblance of impartiality or bipartisanship from the process, I see no reason for the left to put anything other than people who will support our agenda under any circumstances. SCOTUS is no more than a mini-congress anymore, with voting taking place along strict party lines. For the sake of the country we need to fight fire with fire.

So, let's talk about what the GOP is probably going to bring to SCOTUS now.....


Gerrymanding (throwing out state laws that eliminate it so they can continue to gerrymander)

Same sex marriage (to be banned with marriages already complete being nullified)

Civil rights/anti hate laws: much like the voting rights act was already gutted, the GOP court will likely do much more to eliminate laws "no longer needed" so further voter suppression and protect racists from prosecution

Corporate "personhood": expect many more court challenges to existing laws the protect consumers and employees. just as citizens united effectively eliminated the voice of the individual from politics, the expansion of "corporate personhood" rights/laws will further enrich billionaires at the cost of our rights, health, and safety.

and of course.... Roe. No explanation needed here. This is the proverbial football that the GOP has wanted to spike in the end zone for decades.

Is there ANY hope of protecting these things from challenges brought before SCOTUS? The only thing I can look at is MAYBE Roberts? Because he shocked the world when he voted to protect the ACA. Might he be, if not in the center, at least not WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY over on the right with the rest of the bozos?

What is done is done.... we need to pick up the pieces and move on to what is next.

[customerserviceguy]

1. A big part of getting the WH back in 2020

is to coalesce on a single candidate, or maybe a pair of them, to go into next year as a front-runner. I have awful visions of seeing the Democratic caucus and primary elections going to Candidate A in Iowa, Candidate B in New Hampshire, Candidate C in South Carolina, and with neither A, B, or C winning more than 30% of the vote in each of those races. You'll still have Candidates D through Z scrapping for support throughout most of the process, hoping to win at a deeply contested convention, on the 75th ballot.

How we come to a consensus, if we ever do, is beyond me at this point.

[Vinca]

2. 9 isn't written in stone. How about we push to make it 11?