As I wrote in an earlier piece, and must now reiterate here, Amy Coney Barrett is going to be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and there isn't a damn thing Democrats can do to prevent it. I know it isn't fair, and, yes, Republicans are hypocrites for plowing forward with this confirmation when, four years ago, they didn't so much as give Merrick Garland the courtesy of a fucking interview.
What I can say? Elections have consequences, and this one's a beaut. This is what happens when you lose the White House and don't have the majority in the upper chamber. You leave yourself open to just this sort of nightmare. And make no mistake about it, this IS a nightmare. Six conservative justices on the highest court in the land. Hell, that's a goddamn five-alarm fire.
Bye bye Roe v. Wade; bye bye Obamacare; bye bye gay marriage. Who knows, maybe even bye bye to the 2020 election. Combined with the other 200 plus nominees Trump and Mitch McConnell have managed to confirm to the judiciary, 53 of which are Circuit judges, there's no telling when or where this slide will end.
But while Democrats may be powerless, they are not helpless. There's still an opportunity for them to make the GOP pay, but NOT if they overplay their hand. This week, when they get the chance to question Barrett, they must focus their laser beams where it will be the most effective. No more "dogma" shit commentaries from Diane Feinstein. Joe Biden is already underwater with Catholics. There's no need to tie an anchor around his ankle.
The fact is one week after election day, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments from Trump's Justice Department to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee must lead with that case, no exceptions. While Republicans have had a hard on for the law ever since it was passed in 2010, most people have grown quite fond of it and they will not look kindly on anyone who threatens its existence.
And then there's abortion rights. The last thing Republicans need going into the most consequential election in the history of the Republic is to alienate even more suburban women. It doesn't matter how Barrett responds to the questions - and for the record I don't expect her to reveal much; she's much too clever to fall into that trap - the point is to place the GOP into an untenable situation.
Naturally, Republicans will attempt to "educate" Americans on the virtues of "judicial restraint" and "strict constructionism." Amy Coney Barrett will interpret the law, not make it, the argument will go. Like most of their arguments, this one will fall flat on its face the moment the public learns that Barrett, in a 2017 essay, wrote that Chief Justice John Roberts' 2012 landmark decision "pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute." In other words, he was wrong.
Now, spoiler alert, yours truly thought Roberts pulled the judicial equivalent of a rabbit out of the hat when he ruled that the law's individual mandate was constitutional because it was a tax and Congress has the authority to levy taxes. But now that the individual mandate is gone, Roberts' raison d'être for upholding the law is rendered moot. Even if he wanted to save the ACA, he's powerless to stop Barrett and the other conservatives on the Court from putting the final dagger in it.
And once that happens, millions of Americans will lose their healthcare insurance and millions more with pre-existing conditions will be denied coverage. Trump's stunt of an executive order will almost certainly be ruled unconstitutional, even with a conservative Supreme Court. Democrats must drive this point home every chance they get this week. It won't change the inevitable outcome, but it will give the DNC the ammunition they need to go after every vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection.
Confirming Barrett will likely cement McConnell's legacy, but it could well cost him his majority. I'm guessing he already knows this, hence the urgency to move quickly. Democrats have one hand to play here, and that's to ensure that the next time a vacancy appears on the Supreme Court, Chuck Schumer fills it with a progressive judge.
Bottom line, you can't do anything about spilt milk, but you can sure as shit do your damnedest to not spill any more.
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