re: #131 Targetpractice

yeah, no.

We desperately need SCOTUS right now because we can’t get most of what we want legislatively.

But a blue wave in November could change that dynamic, bigly. If we end up with 53 or 54 Democratic seats in the Senate, a strong D House, Biden/Harris in the WH and more Dems in statehouses, a lot of the R policy issues get neutered quickly. Get reproductive rights into legislation, revive the VRA, clean up campaign financing and redistricting, and a lot of the inappropriate role SCOTUS has taken on - which essentially amounts to reinforcing minority rule against majorities that actually want something better - goes away. A Biden/Harris Justice Department isn’t going to go to SCOTUS in support of right-wing causes.

And then? Expand SCOTUS, maybe. But also - Clarence Thomas isn’t going to stay on the court forever. When he goes, if we have a D WH and Senate, we at least get back to 5-4, where we already know Roberts is a little swingier than what will be the rest of the hard-right axis. Breyer is likely to retire at some point soon, and that will give us the chance to get a younger, more progressive judge on the Court for a long run. And who knows what Roberts ends up doing. He’s already 65. He doesn’t seem to like being a contrarian, and maybe he won’t enjoy presiding over a Court that increasingly feels out of touch with where public opinion is headed. And Alito is 70.

If politics has taught us anything in the last few years, it’s to be prepared for surprises. Build a DURABLE majority in the Senate (and remember, the 2022 map is VERY good for our side), and the balance of power could shift faster than the doom-and-gloomers here can imagine.

I’m not thrilled with where we are right at this minute. But this minute won’t last forever, and I’m not anywhere near ready to give up.