Opinion
There’s a reason why Biden Won’t Pack the Supreme Court
Why, is Biden et al resistant to packing the Supreme Court in the face of what appears to be a politically motivated series of decisions?
Democrats are poised to lose the midterms
It’s a historical pattern. Sitting Presidents tend to lose the midterms and weaken their Presidency in the best of times. But we’re not in good economic times are we?
Inflation has spiked in the USA. Supply chain disruptions have severely curtailed essentials like baby food. We’re struggling to provide tampons on store shelves. Gas prices are trending up and up and the Biden Presidency is on it’s political knees.
Facing an angry and divided electorate, politicians have historically done one of two things, they either find ways to placate voters by listening and finding solutions to their woes or, they take you to war. FDR did both in his historic multiple term Presidency. It’s a tried and true formula.
The War in Ukraine gave the US a lifeline. Surely sitting politicians could distract an angry public towards Putin’s war. The images coming out of Ukraine are horrific. Children staggering on shell shocked streets. Mothers lying dead. Millions of refugees fleeing for their lives, as another evil empire rises in the East.
It didn’t work
Americans are more concerned about their ability to put food on their tables. Yes we sympathize with Ukraine, we definitely should help them, given our military might and deep pockets -we can afford to finance a proxy war overseas.
But we’re not willing to starve ourselves in Putin’s war. We all can plainly see inflation has been steadily rising before the war took place. Yes the war has added to the disaster of American economic policy. But it’s our own profligate magicking of money out of thin air that brought us to this inflationary period.
And though Putin exacerbated the pain, he didn’t create it, we did. And because the war in Ukraine couldn’t sufficiently distract from our economic woes, Biden’s Presidency was set to be eviscerated in the midterms.
Then the GOP shot itself in the foot
Though overturning Roe v. Wade has long been a major plank in the conservative platform, the timing of the overturn was bound to create deep hostility.
The GOP has not gathered popular support for years. Their Presidencies are won by the electoral college, not by the consent of we the people. The voting public has rejected Republican policies by overwhelming majorities for years.
The base of the GOP is currently held together by the most deplorable of ideologies -racial superiority (as demonstrated by distinct fascist elements) and a rising tide of Christian fanaticism that is unwilling to let others live without interference.
These elements are bound together by willful ignorance, deeply impaired thinking and cunning if transparent manipulation of ground level electoral politics to secure any levers of power they find, whether it’s a seat at a school board or a badge and a gun in the local sheriff’s office.
This methodology is parlayed right into the highest offices of the land, into Congress and the Presidency. And now, unless we entirely withdraw support for their nightmare refashioning of America into a white ethnostate, all of us who are not privileged enough to represent the ideal conservative demographic will be sidelined.
The Democrats know this
The war in Ukraine has not unified nor distracted the American people enough to prevent the well deserved thrashing Democrats fully expect in November.
Our failing economy, replete with shortages and rumors of a severe incoming recession heralded a Red Wave in the midterms.
But when Roe v. Wade was overturned -this was the final injustice that unified the country against the Republican agenda.
The one two punch of fighting authoritarianism in Ukraine together with persistently messaging Americans to fight it here at home is the reason why Biden won’t fix the Constitutional debacle we’re clearly heading towards.
Politically this unrest and upheaval is good for the Democratic party. This is why no quick action will be taken to stack the Supreme Court, though this is the only palatable way forward.
This is why women will have to continue to die both in Ukraine and in Red states across the US.
This is why Democrats are seizing upon the opportunity to call for donations, and for us to vote. It’s not as if we have any other options. All we can do is vote. And we will. We will fight fascists because they’re fascists. There’s no way around them.
But Biden’s disregard for the feeling of despair and fear that’s flooded the hearts of women and their allies across the US leaves a distinctly bad taste in my mouth.
What Biden can do
It’s not as if the President of the United States cannot deliver hope for our young people.
Blanket pardons are available to the Presidency. Pardon everyone proactively and send a raging middle finger to the Supreme Court. I could get behind that. I’m sure when we vote in the midterms, a whole lot of us can get behind that.
Democrats can stack the damn court. If we don’t, America will unravel into warring factions as Republicans bankrupt their own states and come begging their neighbors for support.
We cannot let a cruel conservative court continue to ruin ordinary lives based on their ideological interpretation of the Constitution.
We’re losing freedoms. I’m not cool with that. That’s not America. That’s not the place I love. That’s not the home I want for my children and grandchildren.
But overturning Roe v. Wade is what it took to unify blue America. And Biden will try to ride that wave all the way into 2024. Nothing will change for women until then. That’s what I believe.
I hope I’m proven wrong and this article does not age well. I’ll welcome any and all ‘I told you so-s’ should Biden et al give us political relief. But I’m not holding my breath. As Basdeo Pandey once said, ‘Politics has a morality all of its own.’
And the longer Biden refuses to pack the court, the more I’ll believe it.
