THE SUPREMES

 Some of my non US friends are baffled by "hair on fire"furore caused here by the sudden retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

In most countries it is expected that the judiciary will act as a cat's paw of the ruling class.
Nobody knows or cares about the composition of the courts in Putin's Russia, Erdogan's Turkey,Xi's China and on ,and on  etc.

But in the USA there is an endearing myth that there are nine be robed wise [wo]men ,above politics and dedicated to justice.Impartial,benign ,enlightened and fair.There may have been a  period under Earl Warren, 1953-69,when this fantasy could be believed.
Not much the rest of the time .

The supremes even tried to block the New Deal and has a long reactionary history from upholding slavery ,segregated schools,blocking equal rights, civil liberties ,mixed race marriages--don't even think about same sex-- blocking union organising,and on.Only progressive when under intense public or Congressional[Democrats in control] pressure.
The Supreme Court of the USA [like everywhere else] is a Political Institution.

                For those  of you who believes Cyclops harsh I give you

1.   the election of George Bush                   plus
2.   the last three 5 to 4 decisions delivered by the "moderate"  Justice Kennedy prior to retiring.

                                  Anti Union   Anti Muslim  Pro Racial Gerrymandering
        Look it up💣

 For a Yeshiva Bocher[young rabbinical scholar]like Cyclops such reverence for the Judges who must interpret the US holy book ,aka The Constitution, is understandable.

• After all the court was fashioned on the biblical Sanhedran  which had the same function in interpreting god's law from Mt.Sinai.
• No really the ancient Hebrews claimed to believe that stuff.
• Its all discussed somewhere by Madison in the Federalist Papers.

Bur I digress,the point is
                                            The Supreme court is a political institution.🙉
                                            The composition of its membership matters.🙊
 We may not expect it to be as progressive as true justice demands but its members matter.

                     To Wit : Sotomayor,Ginsburg and Kagan--bless you ladies--and Breyer
                                    But Breyer is 80 and Ginsburg 85
                                    Trumfski gets to nominate for another 2 1/2 years.

Kennedy has been flattered by being praised as a  "swing vote" moderate .
He was not.
He just looked like a Hollywood version of a wise ,impartial justice.
Apart from two key social issues -Gay Rights and Roe vs Wade--he was a very reliable conservative.              Wondering how he voted in Bush vs Gore? Give you three guesses.😱                                                 Well that action by Kennedy:

•  Gave us the second worst President in history.
• The Iraq War.
• The financial Crash
• Huge unfunded expenditures
• etc etc

• This retirement has massively increased the power of the worst.
• Kennedy's damage keeps coming.
• His timing is exquisite--like Deli Ali ghosting into the box against Brasil in the World Cup Final.
• Designed to give Trumfski another pick before the mid terms with the prospect of a Democratic Blocking vote in the Senate.
• Leaving the Democrats no real hope of even delaying let alone giving"the people a say".
• Coincidence? Think so?

Ed: All right Cyclops so what is to be done?
Cyclops:  First recognise what the fight is really about from Trumpfski's end.

• Its NOT about Roe vs Wade.
• Most Democrats and progressives believe--and I mean believe--it is.
• Trumpfski is only interested in Roe as fodder to the Evil Evangelicals
• He knows that for smooth passage he needs Senators Collins and Murkowski and has to give them some cover on Roe.
• Similarly a bone cannot hurt for potential  Democrat votes from Manchin, Heitkamp  or Donnelly 
• Each of whom voted for Trumpfski nominee Neil Gorsuch.
• The Right to Lifers can live with a  strategy of limiting access to abortion "by a thousand cuts" at the local level--
• As long as when the changes come to the Supremes they can rely on a Conservative majority.

Trumpfski will consult with Collins and  Murkowski and then nominate a "moderate" conservative.

• The only chance for Schumer to slow things down is to enlist retiring Publican Senators Corker and Flake to block all judicial appointments until the Congress passes a law  removing Trumpfski's power to impose Tariffs.
• There are clear majorities for this but Ryan and McConnel too timid to move on them.
• Need to juxtapose a battle of  objectives--no tariffs or no judges. 
• Would this work --almost certainly not.
• But could create a lot of mischief and get a consolation prize of humiliating Trumpfski on tariffs.  
• These two boys really hate both Trumpfski and Tariffs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The real fight for Trumfski is about the MUELLER investigation.

• The outcome of the probe will arrive sooner or later at The Court.
• He needs his people there to rule a la Bush/Gore
• Want to bet against it?
• He will make any accommodation to ensure Kennedy is replaced with a like minded[obligated]Jurist.
• One who will uphold Presidential supremacy
•  Just as in last weeks ruling on the Muslim ban.

Ed: my goodness this is serious can we stop it?

Cyclops:   Almost certainly not but...

1. In a democracy you can only win a political battle with politics.
2.  That ultimately means elections.
3. No matter what Schumer et al do to hold things up they will certainly lose.
4. Chuck knows that.
5. The Publicans have the votes and no ethics---nothing new here.
6. There have been calls to the barricades--especially by those hoping to run for the Democratic nomination in two years.
7. Fair enough,Cyclops would do the same.
8. At least it will feel as though we are doing SOMETHING.
9. The real fight is not this one.
10. Its the  mid terms and then the next Presidential.
11. Educate,organise ,agitate  now and for the next 2 1/2 years. 

• The only way to stop further conservative control of the court and other institutions is for Democrats to win the House,the Senate AND State Houses
• You know the ones that draw up the electoral boundaries.
• 
  
• Then the Presidency in 2020 and further Congressional gains.
• This November's Senate election if lost by the Democrats may well see another Trumpfski nominee.
• Ginsburg will be 88 by the end of Trumpfski
• That would be  6-3 against progress.  

In November 2020 we must win both houses AND the Presidency if --amongst other things--we are to reform The Court.                                                                                                                              [The census takes place next year which means new boundaries could be drawn by Democratic legislatures 2022 but that leaves another six to  eight years of horror.]

Ed: But by then it could be 6-3 with all but one of the Publicans under 65.It will take decades to change the courts composition.                                                                                                                  

 Cyclops: Worse than that mate .

• If we do not take the senate in November,Clarence Thomas will retire.
• To be replaced by a thirty year old.

Ed: So Cyclops."What is to be Done?"

Cyclops: The only hope is to have control of the House,the Senate and the Presidency at the same time.

Then we nominate the Judges

Ed: Oh sure in 20 years😰

Cyclops:  Just one.We pass a law creating four extra Judges.6-7 !! Make that  six--just in case 6-9😇

Ed: You cannot do that .Its unconstitutional.🙋

Cyclops: No its not--look it up.

                And under McConnell's rules you do not need sixty votes in the Senate.

                Just fifty plus the Vice President.

                No veto from a D president.

 Ed:   Well that's really wicked--in a good way.

          Wait a mo tho can't the Publicans just do the same thing.

Cyclops: Only if they have both houses and the Presidency.

                So not again in my lifetime.

                But just in case we Dems manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in November 

                please do not pass on this strategy to anyone that has not taken a blood oath.

Ed: Well alright then but is there any precedent for this size supreme court?

Cyclops: Well actually the biblical Sanhedran  had a chief justice and seventy one judges.

                Maybe they had similar problems back then 

                The old testament does not say.

                The Chief Justice probably had that edited out.

Ed: I wonder how many were at the trial of Jesus?

Cyclops: No idea, I am a Yeshiva Bocher --do not know much about the New Testament.

               I'll ask a Jesuit friend.

               He knows how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

                                   EDUCATE,ORGANISE,AGITATE,VOTE