Maybe a divided Court is exactly what we’ve needed to force them to do their job.
With a slim 5-majority, the Conservatives have been able to run rough-shod over the Constitution for far too long.
Now that they have to compromise to avoid having different rules applicable to different parts of the Nation, we’re already seeing where they’re acting more judiciously.
No. It’s because ASS is dead.
Chief Justice Roberts could fix the problem with an 8 Justice Court by recusing himself from all cases until a ninth Justice is confirmed. That would do 2 things: remove all ties and light a fire under Republican Senators.
Let them have plenty of 4-4 decisions with contradictory effect. Maybe, just maybe that will shame the Party of No into doing something about the empty seat, and maybe it will get Democrats to the voting booth, and maybe it will help convincing the Sandernistas that there is a difference between a Democrat or a Republican in the White House, even if the name of the Democrat is not Sanders.
At any rate, a divided court is still better than a united majority of five Justices including Scalia. Does anyone believe that Scalia would have voted to protect the Voting Rights Act? Or the voting rights of minorities? Nope. Thought so.
That is actually a great idea but unlikely.
I wonder if he has the ability to see the wreckage from their decisions on Citizens united and Shelby County and other cases having to do w/ elections/voting? I wonder if any of them realize (or care) how naive and sheltered they are in their life experiences rather than being “wise” or “supreme”?
I blame Obama! Why won’t he nominate a far right wing judge so we can get this problem fixed!?
I like that idea. It would allow Roberts to play the statesman, which he loves to do. It would be another brownie point for the history books. But let’s not be fooled by his two Obamacare votes; one of which was essential, the other irrelevant (since the second decision came down 6-3). Apart from these two votes - literally, only these two - he has voted with the conservative wing in every single 5-4 decision since he joined the bench in 2005. EVERY single one. Roberts is just as much a partisan hack as Scalia was, minus the big intellectual talk.
No. That would just"prove" that gumerment doesn’t work.
The idea that the court should act in the least disruptive way does not seem like sound legal reasoning to me. Sounds more like an excuse to let bad laws stand.This would be an obvious bias towards states that have already acted to suppress the vote. Roberts must be aware of that.
Truly a dead ASS. I prefer taking Thomas out and shooting him. It will be years before anyone notices that he is gone.
Shouldn’t that name read “dickhead,” instead of of "dickweed?’
It’s not impossible to imagine a US where most people vote. It would just include increasing participation of the citizenry by about 100 million in national elections. What would the people who do not vote or cannot vote today like to see discussed? It could be surprising.
Shouldn’t you take a course in recognizing sarcasm?
I’ve always thought that Election Day should be a national holiday, with all but essential businesses forced to remain closed. Turnout would probably jump substantially.
Working as designed, my friend; this is the true long-term effort of Republican obstructionism, packing the courts with right-wing ideologues and corrupting the political system in this country. For the love of all that’s holy, please stop voting Republican. The party is corrupt from head to toe, and only the voting public can stop their nefarious plans.
It’s better than before because Scalia is dead. The virus is gone, but a crippled court fits the GOP agenda: it wants to destroy government.
Exactly.
So, basically, we’re stuck in a weird moment where, on any issue that would split the Court 4-4, which will almost always mean, “split the court ideologically,” the thirteen Courts of Appeals are the final say within their own Circuits or areas of specialized jurisdiction.
Well, okay, the eleven regional circuits and the D.C. Circuit. The Federal Circuit gets no relief because SCOTUS always rules unanimously to reverse them when they take a patent case.
Oh, and thank god we now know what lying sociopath voter fraud fraudster Hans von Spakovsky thinks about all this. I don’t know if I could have made it through the day for the wondering if not for TPM asking him.
Roberts voted strategically, to control who wrote the opinion (he did) and limit what the folks in Crazytown view as damage.