Here's What I Heard

In the wake of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Washington has, predictably, been thrown into political chaos.  We are just 6 weeks out from a Presidential election the Democrats are convinced they can win, while the Republicans find themselves in a moment of enormous opportunity and advantage.  The possibility is very real that the Republican Senate will have occasion to confirm the nominee of the Republican President to the highest court in the land, effectively and significantly altering the political composition of the bench for decades to come.

 

Such a reality would seriously hinder the current political agenda of an increasingly radical Democratic Party, and affect the future of critical issues such as Obamacare, abortion-on-demand, gender fluidity, the definitions of marriage and family, gun ownership, open borders and choice in education, to name just a few.  What is at stake here is the very nature and fabric of our American society.  What is at stake is the very definition of what future generations will understand it means to be “American.”

 

The Democrats’ (rather disingenuous) contention, of course, is that it is inappropriate for a sitting President - no, for THIS sitting President - to nominate, and for a Senate controlled by the opposing party to appoint, a Supreme Court Justice this close to an election.  Of course, they imply, WE holier-than-thou Dems would NEVER do such a thing!  Right.  And if you believe that, have I got such a (Green New) deal for you! 

 

Such is the uproar that, over the weekend, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued both a call to arms and a threat.  First, he urged, “We (Democrats) HAVE to get the majority.”  Implication:  During the upcoming election, it is more important than ever for we Dems to win back both houses.  Then, provided we can forestall a vote on President Trump’s nominee, we will have the opportunity to defeat her (or, more unlikely, him).  Second, he said, should the Republicans proceed with such an evil and unfair tactic as nominating and confirming a replacement for RBG prior to the election, AND if the Dems successfully win the majority in both houses, “Everything is on the table.”

 

Implication:  Having a majority in both houses, we can then move to restructure the Court, so that there will be twelve Justices rather than nine, and we will load the three additive seats with Justices who will interpret or even confirm a rewrite of the US Constitution according to our “progressive” agenda and vision for the future of this country.  “You want to play hardball?” he is suggesting, “We can and will stuff that ball down your collective throats.”

 

So what did I hear Senator Schumer say?  Schumer actually threatened the American electorate.  How?  Well, it was the electorate who voted Trump into office; it was the electorate who voted in a Republican majority in the Senate.  And the consensus of the electorate was that they voted as they did largely to see a conservative President nominate, and a conservative Senate confirm, conservative Supreme Court Justices.  Now that RBG has gone to her eternal reward, to them it matters not that she did so close to November 3rd; the electorate’s wishes remain that the President for whom they voted would carry out his Constitutional privilege - and responsibility - to name her replacement while he is in office.

 

Should these elected officials carry out the wishes of those who elected them, and should the Republicans lose the Executive and Legislative Branches in the upcoming election, Schumer says, “Boy will you be sorry!”  That was a threat.  And it was a threat aimed not only at his political opponents, but at the populace who vote, and at their children, and grandchildren for generations to come.  Personally, I don’t take to being threatened by my elected officials.  And I will make my reply known in the polling booth in just six weeks’ time.