"Impeach Amy Coney Barrett!" The headline cried.
Okay. For what?
The Constitution says that Supreme Court judges can serve "during good behavior." Violation of that, whatever that would mean functionally, would justify impeachment and removal.
There have been federal judges impeached and removed, but for pretty dicey stuff that constitutes corruption, to be sure. But what has Amy Barrett done to this point to deserve it?
The question merits asking: Whose idea is this?
I clicked on the headline and found something called the "Democratic Strategy Institute" there. It says that it "provide(s) its services free of charge to the Democratic community."
Such as what, organizing an impeachment of a Supreme Court justice who just got there and ruled on, to the best of my knowledge, just one case?
The DSI's webpage features the logos of the AFL-CIO; the Daily Kos; the Democratic Party; and a pro-immigrant group called "United We Dream."
Really? The AFL-CIO stands behind impeaching Amy Barrett at this point? And the entire Democratic Party, too? I have a notion to pull out.
Look--you can say what you want about the Supreme Court at this time, and you don't have to like the people that 45 has appointed to it. But as cantankerous as it all has been, it's been constitutional right down the line. Elections do have consequences. So does timing.
As difficult as it's all been, and as long in coming as it took, the American people finally had their voice about the current administration (if that's what you want to call it) on Nov. 3. But outside of obnoxious executive orders, it can't take back what it's done, especially the more than 200 federal judges it's appointed. All of them, every single one, gets to serve for life.
That includes Amy Coney Barrett, who is probably due to weigh in on Roe v. Wade before too terribly long, and is likely to oppose it. Whether that means to throw it out or toss abortion to the states is beyond anyone's guess. But the betting's pretty good that that's what's going to happen.
In anticipation of that, maybe, the DSI wants to suddenly get rid of her, give that position back to Joe Biden, who would appoint someone friendlier to reproductive rights. But it can't, and it knows it can't. It's a phony way of raising money, every bit as phony as 45 getting more than $200 million (and counting) for financing his election objections, all of which have gone and will go exactly nowhere.
I don't mind if another group of liberals wants to organize and raise money to support causes; there are plenty already and another one or two wouldn't hurt. But let's get real here. Her behavior looks to be as clean as a countertop after bleaching, and no one ruling's going to get her a reasonable challenge to her membership in the nation's highest court, anyhow.
The same thing was done by conservative crazies after Brown V. Board in 1954; "Impeach Earl Warren" billboards decorated the South. It sparked no serious movement, because nothing could be done. Rulings you don't like don't qualify anybody for being kicked off the Supreme Court.
And remember that Earl Warren was the Republican governor of California before he was nominated by Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican (though Eisenhower reportedly called that the worst decision of his presidency). And the lead opinion of Roe V. Wade was written by Harry Blackmun, who was nominated by Richard Nixon, also a Republican.
So Supreme Court members can change their minds--not often, but they can. I wouldn't count on that happening in the case of Amy Barrett, at least not right away. But justices grow in different ways, especially with that lifetime term in their back pockets. Nowhere else in our system but the federal courts can anyone relax once they're appointed.
If the Democratic Strategic Institute wants to truly make a difference, it could do one of three things, and quickly:
- It could find a way to help the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates win in Georgia; or
- Find a way to accurately determine who's getting stricken with the coronavirus most often so we can start tracing it accurately; or even
- Do some serious linguistics research and get us out of the hole dug for us by Black Lives Matter who, though they meant well, put us behind the eight-ball by suggesting that we "defund the police," which probably got five or ten candidates for Congress beaten, and three or four Senate candidates to boot. (How about, "Stop Police Racism"? Because that's really what we all want.)
If they managed to do that, lots of people would remember them and give them lots more money. If they crabbed about Amy Barrett some more, lots of people will vote with their feet and go elsewhere.
When conservatives complain about liberals being out of touch with reality, this is what they mean. Liberals look as bad as conservatives do when they do things like this, and they waste their energy.
I'm no expert on any of this, so I don't know how serious the Democratic Party takes the Democratic Strategic Institute. But it should take another look. We have enough challenges with or without victory in Georgia in another month. And the Republican nonsense machine will continue.
If you want to be taken seriously, then change what you can when you can. When you can't, lick your wounds and move on. There are plenty of other unresolved issues out there.
Be well. Be careful. Wear a mask. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.
Mister Mark
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