Election 2020

Most Americans Oppose Quick Supreme Court Vote

Written by SK Ashby

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Friday night and when the news broke I was personally broken. The prospect of Trump appointing another anti-abortion transphobic theocrat to the court should frighten everyone even if you aren't a member of a vulnerable class. The line between church and state has already been blurred and it could be nearly eliminated.

Now, it may not matter in the end, but for whatever it's worth a pretty clear majority of Americans are opposed to appointing a new justice before the 2020 election which is just six weeks away.

From Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A majority of Americans, including many Republicans, want the winner of the November presidential election to name a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday. [...]

The poll found that 62% of American adults agreed the vacancy should be filled by the winner of the Nov. 3 matchup between Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden, while 23% disagreed and the rest said they were not sure.

Eight out of 10 Democrats - and five in 10 Republicans - agreed that the appointment should wait until after the election.

The reason it may not ultimately matter what a clear majority of Americans say is because the only thing that still arouses Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is dishonorably violating his own standards and exercising raw power over his opponents.

It's possible that McConnell does not have enough votes to confirm a nominee before the election even if our current timetable would support it, but I'm personally more concerned they'll appoint someone after the election even if Trump loses.

If they do, Democrats will have no choice but to balance the scale next year if they win control of the Senate by adding seats to court and by possibly adding states in Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. And you know what? Maybe that should be done anyway as at least one court seat was already stolen by denying a vote to Merrick Garland when he was nominated by President Obama.

What happens next could depend on the likes of Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins and that does not exactly fill me with hope.