Supreme Court Ethics Bill Passes Committee over 100% Republican Opposition
Supreme Court Ethics Bill Passes Committee over 100% Republican Opposition
Cool
Now do the same with Congress and I bet half of them would resign, both democrats and republicans are human garbage when it comes to “ethics”
I’m honestly surprised that people are so partisan, instead of saying “fuck them all, we want change!”
It’s 2023 and people are rooting their entire identity based on their political party. It’s madness.
Democrats conceded the legislation could not pass the current Senate, where it would need 60 votes, and has no prospects in the Republican-controlled House. But they said the debate would focus attention on ethics issues on the Supreme Court and could build momentum for future action by Congress.
Republicans oppose it because that what they do. Chuck could say that it was sunny outside and Lindsay would make a show of bring an umbrella just out of spite.
In an environment like this, when very little can actually get done, sometimes activity like this is done to set the stage for the next thing. Democrats will campaign on this to sell voters on the idea that the Supreme Court is out of touch and unaccountable, and Republicans are standing in the way of changes. And if the Democrats win majorities in both houses in this election, I fully expect them to nuke the filibuster to pack the court.
My preferred method would be to slam in expansion to 13 on Day 1, effective in a years’ time. And then after signing it, Biden can go to Republicans and say “You have a choice: you can work with us to reform the court via amendment: institute ethics requirements, term limits, privledged status for appointments in the Senate, and efforts to make the Court less of a political football and more accountable. Or, you can leave things as they are, I will appoint 4 young judges to lifetime appointments and you can gamble on having both the Presidency and Senate control to appoint any more.”
Because you know that if the Presidency and Senate are controlled by different parties from now on, the Senate Leader will invoke the “McConnell Rule” to ignore the appointment entirely.
If an amendment is passed, that settles the matter permanently. You can’t call something unconstitutional if it’s in the plain text.
Conservative states would never sign on to an amendment on their own, that’s why you couple it with packing the court. Not passing the amendment means any new justices get the same lifetime appointments the current ones enjoy.
Republicans like getting their way by manufacturing deadlines like the dumb debt ceiling thing. Maybe Democrats should give them a taste of their own medicine.
Democrats won’t even talk 13, they don’t have the gumption. “Oh, but the optics!” I don’t give a damn about optics anymore. One side is fighting as low down as they can go, while the other is like, “Let’s work together and not offend anyone.”
Look, I loved Obama, but this high-road crap has to end.
I fully expect them to nuke the filibuster to pack the court.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but nuking the filibuster would end up working both ways, wouldn’t it? If there’s no filibuster, then if Republicans are somehow in control, they’d get by just as much with no resistance in passing laws than if Democrats did because there’d be no opposition, right?
If true, I am almost under the impression that no filibuster is actually a bad idea.
Thank you. Yeah I’m really not understanding why or rather other than obstruction, why the GOP opposes this.
So, you’re literally saying, corruption is fine… or is it only your corruption…
It is hypocrisy I cannot stand
The GOP tried to “both sides” by pointing out the liberal justices took small, nomial fees and hotel stays when giving speeches to law students at colleges. Somehow it didnt line up to “a taking expensive vacation’s with a billionaire donor in your party on their private jets when they have cases before the court (alito)” or “taking expensives vacations with a gop billionaree that also bought your moms home and has let her live in it rent free for decades (thomas)” or " your wife making millions from “consulting” at GOP think tanks (thomas/roberts)."
So they shifted to “whatever. Its cool when our guys do it.”
Comparisons need not be fair. They just need to get it out there and it works. I don’t know how many times I’ve been discussion politics IRL when someone says, “Yeah, but the liberals do it to! Look at this!”
My favorite:
“Are you seriously conflating protests over racial discrimination with a takeover of our nation’s Capital in an attempt to overthrow the government?!”
“They’re the same.”
The most serious thing I heard of was Sotomayor’s staff intimating to universities bringing the Justice in to speak hadn’t purchased enough copies of her book.
Can’t wait for the calls of “But her books!”
For colleges and libraries seeking a big name for a guest lecturer, few come bigger than Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court justice who rose from poverty in the Bronx to the nation’s highest court. But emails show officials frequently found that an appearance by Sotomayor came with an additional benefit — namely the purchase of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of copies of her books. Sotomayor’s staff has repeatedly prodded public institutions to buy her memoir or children’s literature. Details about such events were obtained by The Associated Press through open records requests to public institutions. The documents handed over offer a rare look at the behavior of Sotomayor and fellow justices beyond their official duties.
“It’s too bad” everyone is not corrupt?
Also, the Republicans spent decades buying this court, and nothing - not even what you suggest - would make them put any constraints on it.
Agreed. It's basically requiring the most minimum of ethical guidelines possible. Which one would expect that Supreme Court justices would already have to follow.
It's a shame for the entire United States that this sort of law is needed to make sure the justices are even meeting this minimum ethical line.