|
The Supreme Court is in session, and I keep thinking of Sinéad O’Connor’s plea after tearing up a photo of the pope on Saturday Night Live: “Fight the real enemy!”
The Court is poised to legalize the harassment of trans kids, end asylum for migrants, allow even more dark money to flood our politics, and lift a ban on racist gerrymandering that could net Republicans 19 additional seats in Congress. Yet, for many Democratic campaigns, court reform is not a priority.
The reality is that Trump’s reign of terror would be toothless without the Court’s acquiescence—as will be any Democratic effort to undo it. But leveling the judicial playing field will be impossible without the kind of bold, radical reforms that Democrats have long been allergic to.
There was a brief moment in June 2022 when it seemed this might be changing. Biden took an unusual step, securing Senate confirmation for Ketanji Brown Jackson while retiring Justice Stephen Breyer was still on the Court. This raised an intriguing question: can a president pre-appoint a Supreme Court justice? Democrats controlled the Senate, and Republicans made it clear they would block any future nominee if they regained power. But could a confirmed justice wait in the wings, ready to take the bench if a seat opened?
Doing this would’ve sent a message that Democrats were serious about fighting the Court’s extremism—especially its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Because no vacancy came up, it would’ve essentially added a third (or fourth or fifth) name to the presidential ticket, underscoring the importance of winning back the judiciary.
Sadly, no such effort materialized.
Democrats talk a lot about saving our institutions. But less than a year into Trump’s first term, many of our institutions are f*cked up beyond all recognition. There’s no saving them without bold actions that a conservative court will never allow—and we don’t have 40 years to wait for Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Barrett to retire or die.
Senate Democrats should pledge not to fill any Supreme Court vacancy under Trump. House Democrats should push bills requiring the Court to televise oral arguments and banning justices from cashing in on book deals or accepting gifts from billionaires. These measures won’t pass, but they’ll make clear to voters who the real enemy is.
And when it comes to 2028, we shouldn’t entertain any presidential candidate who isn’t serious about making the Court less supreme. |
