Neil Gorsuch Confirmation Process Discussion (confirmed 54-45)

[Stranger in a strange land]

I hate to say it but the Filibuster has to go at some point for the Republic to continue to function. This was my position when the Dems were in the majority and it continues to be my position now. It may just be better to just get rid of it now and let the GOP take the consequences if there are any (there probably won't be because hardly anyone cares about procedure outside of ultra-partisan hacks and political nerds like us.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Let's now put 10 20-something year-old judges on the Court who will be willing to not only overturn Roe v. Wade, but also say that all first-degree murder laws apply to the killing of babies nationwide.  Ending abortion is more important than our system of government itself.  I'm serious!

Ten?  But there are only nine seats!

Sorry!  Your understanding of the Court is about as good as your understanding of chicken eggs.

Nothing says there has to be nine.  If we appoint ten more right now, those ten can be so conservative that they can overrule the other nine (Clarence Thomas would look like RBG next to these hypothetical ten).

You don't actually want this because the spate of theocratic and plutocratic rulings it would issue would cause backlash so severe that it would lead to a Democratic Supermajority in both Houses of Congress, and possibly to a new Constitutional Convention.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Let's now put 10 20-something year-old judges on the Court who will be willing to not only overturn Roe v. Wade, but also say that all first-degree murder laws apply to the killing of babies nationwide.  Ending abortion is more important than our system of government itself.  I'm serious!

Ten?  But there are only nine seats!

Sorry!  Your understanding of the Court is about as good as your understanding of chicken eggs.

Nothing says there has to be nine.  If we appoint ten more right now, those ten can be so conservative that they can overrule the other nine (Clarence Thomas would look like RBG next to these hypothetical ten).

You don't actually want this because the spate of theocratic and plutocratic rulings it would issue would cause backlash so severe that it would lead to a Democratic Supermajority in both Houses of Congress, and possibly to a new Constitutional Convention.

Altho to be fair, a constitutional convention would probably just engrave said theocratic and plutocratic rulings into a new constitution, given that Republicans are 1 state legislature short of being able to write a new constitution all by themselves, and Democrats don't seem to care about winning them back.

They would get voted out after 2-3 cycles because living under Christian Sharia would be even less fun than it sounds.

[Stranger in a strange land]

I'm glad Democrats decided to walk back from the brink on this one -Neil Gorsuch's confirmation doesn't change the liberal/conservative equilibrium on the court.  Best to save the judicial filibuster for another day, perhaps when either Anthony Kennedy or Ruth Bader Ginsburg die or retire with Republicans still in full control.

The GOP killed the filibuster. What are you talking about?

Whoops....

Still, I was never comfortable with Democrats using the filibuster, and staking everything on stopping a nominee who isn't going to change the ideological composition of the Supreme Court even if he was confirmed.  I would have preferred if we had saved it for another day, perhaps if Anthony Kennedy or Ruth Bader Ginsburg either die or retire with Republican still in full control.  

And it would've gone down identically...

Yes, agreed. The Filibuster had to end eventually for the Republic to continue to function. It had outlived its usefulness and its intended purpose, and when it got to where any controversial legislation was being filibustered, it was contributing to the gridlock and paralysis which has afflicted congress for the past 20 years, the result being an increasingly - dangerously - powerful executive branch. And in the long run, this gridlock benefits Republicans for ideological reasons: by making government look broken and ineffective, low-information swing voters will gravitate towards the party that claims all government is inherently broken and ineffective. Just think what the Democratic trifecta could have accomplished in 2009-2010 without the filibuster: we could have gotten a public option, comprehensive immigration reform, gun safety legislation, more robust regulation of Wall Street, and possibly much else besides.

And yes, I know we technically have the filibuster for legislation, though I don't expect that to be the case a year or two from now. In any case, long run it has to end, and it's better for Republicans to take the heat for ending it. At the rate things are going, I don't think we'll have to wait long for the next Democratic Trifecta.