I have previously criticized Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., for his almost unrivaled advocacy of censorship and speech controls. Blumenthal previously threatened social media companies not to “backslide” in censoring opposing views. Now, Blumenthal is taking up the cudgel of court packing with not so subtle threats to conservative justices that, if they do not vote with their liberal colleagues, the Court may be fundamentally altered. He is not alone in such reckless and coercive rhetoric.
Blumenthal told The Hill:
“It will inevitably fuel and drive an effort to expand the Supreme Court if this activist majority betrays fundamental constitutional principles. It’s already driving that movement. Chipping away at Roe v. Wade will precipitate a seismic movement to reform the Supreme Court. It may not be expanding the Supreme Court, it may be making changes to its jurisdiction, or requiring a certain numbers of votes to strike down certain past precedents.”
The statement is reminiscent of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declaring in front of the Supreme Court “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price.”
Democratic leaders not only have embraced court packing but now openly threaten the Court to vote with the liberal justices or face dire consequences for the Court. The effort seems to be a play for the change in voting on the Court the followed prior threats for court packing in the 1930s. Faced with a conservative majority ruling against his New Deal legislation, Roosevelt called for up to six additional justices, one for every justice older than 70. That was basically the profile of the “four horsemen” blocking his measures.
Like the latest calls, the FDR plan was based on politics rather than principle. When the politics changed, the plan died. FDR dropped his plan as soon as he got what he wanted with a favorable majority. That is why the switch of Justice Owen Roberts in favor of a New Deal case became known as a “switch in time that saved nine.”
The Democrats are pushing to engage in court packing despite polls showing heavy opposition to the move from voters as well as opposition from the justices themselves. Before Ginsburg died, nine nominations had occurred in election years since 1900, and Ginsburg herself said in 2016 that the Senate had to do its “job” and vote on such nominations because “there’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last year.” Moreover, Ginsburg also opposed expanding the Court, but she is not being cited by liberals as the reason to doing precisely what she opposed as inimical to the functioning of the Court. Justice Steven Breyer has also denounced the move to pack the court.
None of that matters to Democratic members who know that court packing is popular with the most extreme elements of their party.
Many of us have discussed the expansion of the Supreme Court through the years. Over 20 years ago, I recommended the expansion of the Court to 17 or 19 members. However, that recommendation would occur over many years and would not give advocates the short-term majority that they are seeking. That is the difference between reforming and packing the Court.
It is particularly chilling to see United States senators openly pressuring justices to vote with their side or face severe consequences. Blumenthal went as far as to mention specific cases and the expected rulings. This follows raw demands in the confirmation hearing of now Justice Amy Coney Barrett that she promise to rule on particular cases “correctly” as a condition for her confirmation.
The question is whether the Democrats are overplaying their hand. Recently, a Democratic “dark money” group called Demand Justice, had a billboard truck in Washington the next day in the streets of Washington warning “Breyer, retire. Don’t risk your legacy.” The group is calling for open court packing to force a liberal majority. (Demand Justice once employed White House press secretary Jen Psaki as a communications consultant, and Psaki was on the advisory board of one of its voting projects.) The question is whether Breyer will accommodate such demands from the left or feel conversely that he should remain on the bench to show that such tactics do not influence members.
These not-so-veiled threats could have the same inverse impact on members like Chief Justice John Roberts, who could view the attempt to influence the justices as a far greater threat than any court-packing scheme.
At some point the Court will have to stand up to the threats or give up its independence. Recent behavior and opinions suggest it’s indepence is waivering.
What a dangerous joker this Blumenthal is. An expanded Supreme Court is no court, and that’s just what the Dems want. If they can eliminate or de-activate SCOTUS, they can rule through two branches of government.
Da Nang Dick…..what more does one need to know to just ignore him.
He lied about his military service….not just fudge his Resume…..we are talking flat assed lied.
The ultimate sleaze bag on roller skates!
Then one might consider he represents just how utterly contemptible the Democrat Party has become……how low must they sink before they are chucked into the waste bin of Life?
Under Turley’s reform of the SC, he proposes: “If Congress ordered the proposed expansion, we’d get to a bench of 19 gradually, with no president allowed to appoint more than two new justices in a term.”
I wholeheartedly support Turley’s proposal. Let Biden nominate 2 Justices this term. Let’s do it!
Any Trumpists here support Turley’s proposal? Anyone?
To change the rules because they’re losing? How is that ethical?
Dems love rigging the game
Blumenthal and his colleague Schumer are little fascists who are too besotted with power to realize that they have no mandate to push their extremism. FDR was far more popular that either of these two shysters, and he couldn’t pack that court.
It’s time to come together and heal. Or else.
First, Blumenthal is an idiot. Second, he and other Democrats are delusional. They seem to forget that they only have a very bare margin in the House and are tied in the Senate, with pseudo-“African-American” Harris as the tie-breaker. Democrats are likely to lose both bodies next year. They act like they have a non-existent mandate.
The SCOTUS is a political organization filled with people who have policy goals just like any other politician. It is thus completely fair to explain that there will be political consequences for their actions. When liberal judges rule the way Rs don’t like they do the same thing.
I can’t remember the court be threatened this way since FDR had his go at it. Even the famous RBG said that nine in fact seemed to her and others to be the perfect number for them to function well.
It is a Fellowship by the reckoning of Middle Earth.
According to my early 1980s Childcraft book Mathemagic:
“Some people also think that nine belongs to the star group called Sagittarius, the Archer.”
I think that is quite apt for a group of judges who must rule on laws and ‘hit the mark’ with just rulings.
Molly, I think you are correct to a degree; the courts have become political institutions.
They were not meant to be. President William Howard Taft (R) left the White House still dreaming of being on the Supreme Court. He was appointed and his appointment was approved almost at once. It was generally recognized that he would follow the law so the appointment was unexceptional.
To an unhealthy degree the courts, bottom to top, have made themselves political creatures and I have little sympathy for them when they are roughly handled by other politicians. I would rather they had stuck to law, but they wanted to be more. Now they are more. And they don’t like it.
It is disgusting that after spending decades sticking their noses into policy issues when they were submitted great legal issues touching on the legitimacy of the last election they fled. They could have spared the country a lot of trouble, but they didn’t. The issues won’t go away easily but the courts might as well stay clear of them. The States will have to try to deal with the problems now.
Molly, you are right. The sky is the limit.
Where’s the link to the GOP corollary to Blumenthal’s quote in this article? What a big fat lie you just posted.
Crickets…
Obama essentially threatened the Supreme Court as well. The Democrats are Jacobins at heart.
Professor………Please begin any post about Richard Blumenthal with the fact that he purposefully lied to his constituents about serving in the
Vietnam Nam War! That is shameful, and the public should be reminded of it! That sort of sick dishonesty cannot and should not be ignored.
It does not matter any longer if a Dem politico lied or not. That’s fairly evidence. This threat to do something that many Dems, including Obama’s VP, want to do. It should terrify any American who wishes to see our country survive. That will be the end.
You are right Cindy. It is especially important on Memorial Day when we recognize heroes, not liars.
I BELIEVE MR. BLUMENTHAL IS A POLITICALLY MOTIVATED EVIL MAN – HE LIED ABOUT SERVING HIS COUNTRY AND, IN MY OPINION, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE
A VOTE IN THE SENATE OR ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION
On this Memorial Day, let’s all take a knee in honor of the heroic Sen. Blumenthal, who risked his life serving in Vietnam as a Marine sergeant and suffered taunts and abuse upon his return. At least that’s what I remember he said.
Did Blumenthal die in Vietnam? Memorial Day is to honor THE DEAD, not pseudo-veterans.
semcgowanjr,
Creekan is mocking Sen. “the Dick of Da Nang” Blumenthal for stealing valor of vets that served & some died in Vietnam.
Yale/Conn has turn out some real anti-American Aholes in recent decades.
I can’t help but wonder of Yale, as I’ve heard of Harvard, how few if the graduates are able to find suitable employment afterwards.
Between 15-20% was the number was the number I heard of Harvard a few years ago.
Creekan…………..Perfect! LOL
There is only one reason to try to expand the court size and that is to obtain a like-minded majority to issue decisions that align with you politically. Blumenthal is a proven liar and lacks any sense of integrity having once lied about serving in Vietnam. It’s hard to imagine that Connecticut cannot find a better person to represent them in the Senate that this mutt. He is a totalitarian wannabe and reminds me of Ray Bradbury’s Capt Beatty in Fahrenheit 451 where he explains to Fireman Montag “…if you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him, give him one.” Much like Beatty, Blumenthal wants one opinion, his. He is a clear and present danger to democracy and threat to the liberties and freedoms that America enjoys. He would remove all of those he would disagree with, which are many.
I dealt with cognitive dissonance until I was 75. I am no longer doing that. However, it is rampant in the Land of the coward and home of the slave. All the states and territories of the United States are under Lieber Code/martial law except Oregon. We assembled, formed a civilian court of record, implemented Ex Parte Milligan, which nullified Lieber Code/martial law. DOJ, USMS, FBI, USMC and STATE OF OREGON all acquiesced and defaulted to the Oregon Statewide Jural Assembly’s civilian court of record..ronvrooman38@gmail.com
It seems clear to me that the justices have been “silenced” for the most part by shadowy DS operatives making threats about the safety of their families etc. That has been working so well that I am surprised they are resorting to such blatant partisan pressure. Maybe because this isn’t really about President Trump they have to apply different pressures?
Phuque the SCOTUS they went communist 7 to 2.
Nice court ya got here. Be a shame if anything happened to it…
-Senator Richard Blumenthal
BLUMENTHAL is a Certified NUT/Radical Dem – who makes threats all the time, he constantly threatened Trump. He and Schumer are broken records on their threats to the Supreme Court. Blumenthal should retire. He is not qualified to be a Senator. Rush L use to call Blumenthal Dang Dick, referring to his lies about serving in Vietnam.
If this Dick by name and nature is in favor of speech control why did he lie about Vietnam and so many thing he lies about regarding guns This man is actually evil.
Blumenthal is a rotten leftist Jew who lied about his military service. I am a Jew and he makes me ashamed, Packing the court did not work for FDR; it will not work for Biden or any Republican president either.
It seems to work for a disgraced twice impeached President with the help of Moscow Mitch. They packed the courts and the nation and the world knows it.
Filling openings is not “packing the courts” you liar.
Fish Wings is probably the most uneducated and vile troll the Dems have produced.
Packed the courts? You mean appointed new Justices for empty seats. Which was mandated by the Constitution. Why do people like you always lie and use half truths?