{"id":993,"date":"2018-07-03T09:31:12","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T13:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=993"},"modified":"2018-07-03T09:31:12","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T13:31:12","slug":"the-democrats-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2018\/07\/03\/the-democrats-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"The Democrat’s Dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Democrat’s Dilemma<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court is split, four to four.\u00a0 The split is partisan, four Democratic appointees, and four Republican.\u00a0 While in the past, party didn\u2019t seem to matter as much once a Justice receives their lifetime appointment, cases such as Bush v Gore<\/em> and Citizens United<\/em> demonstrate that the party is \u201cstrong\u201d within each justice (thanks Yoda.)<\/p>\n

And the Supreme Court is split four to four along ideology.\u00a0 There are four more liberal Justices, not surprisingly the Democratic appointees.\u00a0 And there are four conservative justices, all carefully groomed from their earliest legal careers by the Federalist Society.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t just Republicans, they found their legal ideology in law school and have carried it forward throughout their careers.<\/p>\n

These justices are different than the \u201cold days\u201d Republicans. Just as the modern Republican party has changed, so has their Court appointees.\u00a0 Republicans like Chief Justice Earl Warren (Eisenhower), Justice John Paul Stevens (Ford) or Justice David Souter (H W Bush) found their more liberal voice on the court.\u00a0 They were the compassionate, business Republicans, who saw individual rights as paramount.<\/p>\n

The Federalist Society justices have embraced a view of the Constitution that places strict guardrails on the Courts.\u00a0 They are akin to the \u201cStrict Interpreters\u201d of early American history; they look to the original language and intent of the authors of the Constitution.\u00a0 The more liberal idea of the Constitution as a \u201cliving document\u201d able to grow and expand with the nation, is anathema to them.\u00a0Their view:\u00a0 it is up to the legislatures and states to grow and expand the Constitution through legislation and the Amendment process.\u00a0 The Courts \u201cmerely\u201d maintains the \u201clanes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This dogma puts the choice of the ninth Justice at a \u201cnational crisis\u201d level.\u00a0 No longer can we expect a new Justice to \u201cfind their view\u201d on the Court; the Federalist Society members have a pre-ordained theology that will control their rulings.\u00a0 The ninth Justice becomes the fifth vote, and the Federalist Society will control our judicial process for the next twenty years.<\/p>\n

For current Republicans (other than the old-school Republicans like John Kasich or Mitt Romney) this judicial appointment is a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape America.\u00a0 The driving forces behind the current conservative party, not just the Trump voters, but the huge dark money interests such as the Koch brothers; are \u201call-in\u201d on this selection.\u00a0 Senator Majority Leader McConnell has no choice but to pull every string and use every piece of leverage he has to get this appointment done, and done before Democrats have the opportunity to change the majority.<\/p>\n

It really is a win-win situation.\u00a0 If the Democrats actually stop a Trump appointee, then Republican voters will be highly motivated to vote in November, and Republicans are likely to maintain power in Congress.\u00a0 If the Democrats try and fail, then the life-dream of a Federalist Society Supreme Court is realized, and that conservative philosophy will be enshrined in decisions and precedent for the next century.\u00a0 Republicans may lose control of the Congress, but for many it will be worth it.<\/p>\n

So what should the Democratic strategy be?<\/p>\n

Minority Leader Schumer has lowered expectations.\u00a0 His deputy, Senator Durbin, has gone so far as to say there is nothing Democrats can do, one vote shy of a majority.\u00a0 They are making a shrewd political calculation. Should Democrats commit to defeating a \u201cFederalist Society\u201d candidate for the Court, they will need every vote in their caucus, plus at least one more.\u00a0 Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski offer the tantalizing pivotal votes to change the majority.<\/p>\n

The problem:\u00a0 even if they can get this done, the short term win on the court may well cost a longer term chance at the Senate majority.\u00a0 Four Democrats running to return to the Senate; McCaskill in Missouri, \u00a0Manchin in West Virigina, Donnelly in Indiana and Heitkamp in North Dakota are in very difficult races in \u201cTrump\u201d states.\u00a0 If they are \u201cwhipped\u201d to vote against a Trump Court appointee, it makes their reelection chances even shakier.<\/p>\n

If, on the other hand, the Democratic leadership \u201cfights the good fight,\u201d but allows those bubble candidates to vote their conscience; then they have a better chance of winning a majority in the Senate.\u00a0 The four would might well return to the Senate, with the Supreme Court change becoming a fiery motivator to drive Democratic voters to the polls.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmore progressive\u201d end of the Democratic party, represented by Senators Booker and Warren, see this nomination as the existential fight for the nation.\u00a0 From the liberal standpoint, they aren\u2019t wrong. It is a true test of ideology:\u00a0if a Democrat doesn\u2019t stand with them on this; then they just aren\u2019t a Democrat.\u00a0The problem with that approach is that if they don\u2019t win, and maybe even if they do, it puts off Democratic ability to actually exercise power until at least the 2020 election.<\/p>\n

The Democrats are not as split in ideology as commentators would suggest.\u00a0 The division is based more in strategy and priority:\u00a0 gain control of the Congress, or stay ideologically pure and risk losing both the fight for the court and the chance for power.\u00a0That is the Democrat\u2019s dilemma.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Democrat’s Dilemma The Supreme Court is split, four to four.\u00a0 The split is partisan, four Democratic appointees, and four Republican.\u00a0 While in the past, party didn\u2019t seem to matter as much once a Justice receives their lifetime appointment, cases such as Bush v Gore and Citizens United demonstrate that the party is \u201cstrong\u201d within … Continue reading “The Democrat’s Dilemma”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Democrat's Dilemma : Our America - 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