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| nationalvoterregistrationday.org |
Hello Everyone:
A nice warm sunny Tuesday afternoon in the Blogosphere. Today, The Candidate Forum is stepping in for a look at how the upcoming fight over who will replace Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will impact the general election. Before we get started, The Candidate Forum has a question for the group: Are you a registered voter?
Today, September 22, 2020, is #nationalvoterregistrationday and The Candidate Forum cannot think of a better day than to register to vote in the upcoming general election November 3, 2020. Registering to vote is fast, easy, and makes you feel good. Where can you register? You can go to nationalvoterregistrationday.org, it takes a few minutes and you are done. If you are a registered to vote, check your registration status at usa.gov. Need a plan to vote? Easy, text VOTE to 30330. Once you have registered to vote, checked your status, and made a plan, pat yourself on the back and read the post. Onward
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| The justices of the United States Supreme Court nbcnews.com |
Could the 2020 election cycle be anymore of a wild roller coaster ride to the finish?
The death of Justice Ginsburg suddenly opened up another seat on the Supreme Court for Mr. Donald Trump to fill with than 42 days until the election. The president, enabled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), before November 3rd. Mr. Trump has already committed to nominating a woman and currently there are two potential female justices on the shortlist: Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa. Both women are conservative and would tilt the high court rightward. The point of today's post is to take a look at how the upcoming nominating process will impact the election. Will it make much of difference to voters?
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| Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa nationalreview.com |
Four years ago, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the incumbent president were locked in a fierce battle for the Oval Office. In February 2016, a full nine months before Election Day, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. Following an appropriate amount of time, then-President Barack Obama fulfilled his constitutional duty by nominate federal appellate Judge Merrick Garland. However, what should have been a very straightforward process, became quite contentious because the Senate refused to allow a vote on President Obama's nominee. Senator McConnell pledged instead,
...let the American people decide (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020; date accessed Sept. 22, 2020)
His power play worked, Mr. Trump won the election and successfully appointed a conservative justice--Neil Gorsuch--14 months after Justice Scalia's death.
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| Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ballotpedia.org |
Since Friday, the Gentleman from Kentucky has done a complete about face, saying "the Trump administration will decide who Ginsburg's replacement will be--not the American people on election day" (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020). Hypocritical? Absolutely. Incumbent South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee also pledged in 2016 to let the next president nominate the next Supreme Court justice. Now, the Gentleman from South Carolina, who said on camera that voters could hold him to his words, has turned around and agreed with Senator McConnell. The incumbent president plans to move quickly and the looming battle guarantees that the wild roller coaster ride of an election is about to get more wild. Hang on tight. Ask yourself this, why is the Supreme Court so important?
The Supreme Court is the third branch of government of the United States. The high court keeps the other two branches--executive and legislative--in check. Its landmark decisions have fundamentally transformed the nation: the 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education ruling declared that segregation of pubic schools was unconstitutional.
The current make up of the court features three justices appointed by Democratic presidents and five appointments by Republicans (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020), the potential for a sixth conservative justice could have generational implications on issues such as healthcare, a woman's reproductive health, and immigration. SCOTUS settled contested elections in the past (Bush v. Gore, 2000). With both campaigns ready to mount legal challenges to this election, there is a good chance this could happen again.
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| Senate Judiciary Committee chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) axios.com |
Why are the Republicans so determined to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court?
American politicians, like the president, are subject to term limits and the ballot box, however, federal judges, including SCOTUS justices, serve lifetime appointments. Thus, appointing conservative judges is of the utmost importance to the Republicans. Few issues, outside of women' reproductive health, is more sacrosanct.
The main reason for this is the demographics are not on the side of the Republicans. "The US is gradually becoming more urban and non-white--two trends that favor [sic] the Democratic Party more than the Republicans" (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020). This could explain why the Gentleman from Kentucky has prioritised [sic] the appointments of conservative judges to the federal bench. These judges potentially could outlast the decline of conservative political power (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020).
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| The incumbent president theguardian.com |
Before the 2016 election, many within the Republican circles wondered just how much of a conservative Mr. Trump was. In a move, obviously designed to prove his conservative credentials, his campaign made the unusual move of releasing a list of potential SCOTUS nominees. The list of established conservatives eased (some of the) concerns about a Trump candidacy.
In fact, exit polling from the 2016 contest indicated 26-percent of Trump voters said high court nominees were the single deciding factor for them (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020), compared to the 18-percent of Clinton voters (Ibid). This year, with the incumbent president either trailing or running neck-and- neck with VPOTUS Biden, "Trump's victory reliant on a combined margin of just under 80,000 votes across Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, even the smallest of advantages--in this case, those deciding who to vote for based on the Supreme Court--could have had outsized importance" (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020). This has energized the Democrats.
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| VPOTUS Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) bbc.com |
Some of the political chattering class have posited that the newly vacated SCOTUS may help the incumbent president's chances in this year's cycle because it changes the subject from his lethal ineptitude in managing the COVID-19 pandemic and flagging economy. However, it also has energized the Democrats.
Indeed, in the hour after the announcement of Ginsburg's passing, Democrats raised US$6.2 million on the fundraising digital platform ActBlue--more money in a single hour than the website had ever seen. This record was broken the next hour when donors gave over $100,000 a minute on average to total $6.3 million (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020).
In total, about $42 million was raised in less than a day by online donors.
Four years ago, Republican voters held their noses and voted for Mr. Trump. This year, Democratic voters may do the same with the Gentleman from Delaware.
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| The incumbent president and Senator McConnell apnews.com |
Nothing in The Constitution prevents the incumbent president from nominating judge and the Gentleman from Kentucky going ahead with hearings and a vote. Even if the Democrats regain control of the Senate and the White House, they cannot prevent a lame-duck Republican Senate from confirming a lame-duck president's appointee. There is every reason to believe that is exactly what the incumbent president and Gentleman from Kentucky plan to do. The real question is other than Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), what about the remaining 49 Republicans?
Already, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) have committed to voting on a nominee this year. Be that as it may, amid the deep political polarization, some Republicans are questioning the long-term impact of rushing through a SCOTUS justice, "most notably, what doors this opens for Democrats if they gain power" (theconversation.com; Sept, 20, 2020). Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said nothing is off the table if the Republicans try to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat before the the final results of the General Election.
Already there are rumblings from the Democrats about what they would should they regain the Senate and White House. This included giving statehood Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. (yes), which would ostensibly each add two more Democratic senators. Some Democrats have proposed expanding the Supreme Court to temper conservative votes. A tricky move that late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted during his second term but was stymied by Congress. Court packing is something that the Gentleman from Delaware has explicitly crticised [sic].
This just in: In a retaliatory move, Senator Schumer has invoked the "two-hour rule," a measure intended to hamstring the scheduling and duration of Senate Committee meetings (cbsnews.com; Sept. 22, 2020)
The 2020 Presidential Election will go down in history as one of the most contentious contests in memory. This is why it is so important that every man and woman, 18-years-old and over register to vote. Vote by any way you can, mail-in or in-person. Staying home or tossing your ballot in the recycling bag is not option available this year or any year. With so much riding on who sits in the Oval Office beginning 20 January 2021, you need to register and vote.
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