The bias and partisan control of these institutions isn't a natural fact. It's a product of neglect by Democratic politicians to reshape the rules of the game where & when they could to enrich & reinforce the institutional avenues available to them to realize their policy goals.
Reposted from
Brendan Nyhan
The Senate and Supreme Court are *extremely* tilted against Democrats and could stay that way for a long time
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The deeper question, for me, is why the narrative is always about the Dems being the Washington Generals, when the GOP is no globetrotters.
But for the gift of David Souter, I’d like to believe that people would have been sufficiently fired up to overcome this…but they aren’t /right now/, so
We have to fight this framing that everything we don’t like is the fault of Democrats failing. It’s part of the problem.
Hold the right responsible.
Seems more in keeping with the spirit of collective democratic self-government that produced the Constitution to tinker with it where it's broke
Seems to me they're doing the radical restructuring instead in order to maintain power indefinitely.
Obama should never have tolerated McConnell's blockade on Garland. It was absurd on the face of it, and the GOP certainly hasn't followed.
A very smart, judicially ethical woman tried her best to outlive a corrupt admin, so there could be an accepted, decent appointment.
Before Scalia died, a blockade wasn't even considered as a possibility. And after? Was too late.
Probably all women should hope to get appointed just to be placeholders until the perfect generic white guy comes along. What else could they possibly be there for
A president can do a hell of a lot if the other two branches of government decide not to act as a check... As we are finding out.
He absolutely wasn't the person for the moment, though. Neither was Biden. Dems really have to stop picking the generic privileged white guy who hasn't had his turn yet.
"none of this happens if RBG retires". Partly true! But also, none of this happens if narcissistic lefties don't help Trump become president. Dialectics!
Also: your only valid point is RGB not resigning. And if she had resigned, Trump would still have gotten two SC picks and there would still be the most right wing SC majority ever.
Heard a phrase years back I've never been able to forget:
"Democrats play for lunch;
Republicans play for keeps."
Bury your initial doubts under the conviction that an equal Senate is what the country needs, & think on it