Jul 13, 2024
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Biden-Harris promote Supreme Court reform!
July 30, 2024
Robert B. Hubbell
At long last! President Biden announced proposals for significant reforms to the Supreme Court, and presumptive nominee Kamala Harris immediately endorsed those reforms! President Biden has also proposed a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. US that granted extra-constitutional immunity to presidents after they leave office.
Although passing these reforms depends on the outcome of the 2024 election and the successful defense of the proposed laws in the courts, President Biden and V.P. Harris have changed the framework for discussing the Supreme Court. The question is now, “When?,” not “If?”
It has been a long and uncertain road to this point, but the Supreme Court’s stream of lawless decisions issued by a conflicted and hyper-partisan bench has proved too much for the American people. In proposing the reforms and constitutional amendment now, President Biden has ensured that the Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2024.
President Biden authored an op-ed in the Washington Post that explains his proposals. See Opinion Joe Biden: My plan to reform the Supreme Court and ensure no president is above the law. (This article is accessible to all.) I hope you will take the time to read the entire op-ed.
President Biden places the ethics scandals at the Court front-and-center in his proposal:
[T] he court is mired in a crisis of ethics. Scandals involving several justices have caused the public to question the court’s fairness and independence, which are essential to faithfully carrying out its mission of equal justice under the law. [¶] What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.
President Biden has proposed three reforms:
1. A constitutional amendment that would provide that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office 2. A binding code of ethics 3. Eighteen-year term limits (A president would appoint a new justice every two years, who would serve for 18 years).
Some commentators welcomed the proposals as a “practical way forward” that could garner support for passage after the 2024 election. See Politico, Democrats May Have a Real Chance to Reform the Supreme Court. President Biden’s proposal omitted enlarging the Court, a proposal that the Politico article described as an unpopular outlier not likely to gain legislative support.
Each proposal faces difficulties in gaining passage.
As to the constitutional amendment abolishing presidential immunity, Ian Millhiser in Vox reviewed the historical challenges faced by earlier proposed amendments, including the ERA and a proposal to ban child labor. (To date, neither has passed.) An amendment requires approval by a 2/3 supermajority in both chambers of Congress and ratification by 3/4 of the states (38 states). That is a tall order, indeed. But it won’t happen if we don’t try. And Republican states may be more supportive of such an amendment if they perceive that a Democratic president—like Kamala Harris—is too powerful.
The binding ethics code is plainly constitutional because the Constitution grants Congress the authority to create “exceptions” and impose “regulations” on the Court’s exercise of appellate jurisdiction. But the plain words of the Constitution haven’t prevented Justice Alito from taking the position that Congress is constitutionally prohibited from imposing regulations on the Court. Alito should lose, but it will be a fight.
As to the term limits, there will be a fight over whether the Constitution’s grant of life tenure to judges—subject to good behavior—permits term limits. Some constitutional scholars (including Professor Laurence Tribe) believe that term limits are permissible in the absence of a constitutional amendment, while others disagree. The Supreme Court would likely decide this issue.
One reform not suggested by President Biden is enlarging the Court. That path would not be subject to constitutional challenge and would require only a majority vote in both chambers of Congress (and a carve-out to the filibuster, which requires only 51 votes in the Senate). But for reasons that escape me, many politicians and observers view the least legally objectionable pathway as the most radical. Nonetheless, Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts has proposed legislation to enlarge the Supreme Court to thirteen justices. See Democracy Docket, ‘We Must Expand the Court:’ Sen. Markey, Advocates Call for Adding 4 SCOTUS Seats.
Oddly, in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Monday, Trump criticized President Biden’s proposal, claiming that Biden “wants to pack the Court.” Laura Ingraham responded, “That’s not in Biden’s proposal.”
Regardless of the way forward, reforming the Supreme Court is now on the table with the support of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and leading Democrats in Congress. It will happen—if only because the current reactionary majority will continue to curtail the rights and liberties of all Americans. It is only a matter of time—and it is up to us. We must all vote as if Supreme Court reform is on the ballot in 2024—because it is!
Kamala Harris continues to challenge Trump / Vance directly and vigorously
On Monday, an Iowa six-week abortion ban went into effect. At a campaign rally, V.P. Kamala Harris repeatedly referred to legislation restricting reproductive liberty in the states as “Trump abortion bans.” See WSJ, Harris Puts Abortion, a Weakness for Trump, at Center of Campaign. As noted in the WSJ article, President Biden was reluctant to say the word “abortion,” while Kamala Harris is a “fighter” on the issue who is willing to urge voters to “stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans.”
V.P. Harris also posted a video on YouTube condemning the Iowa abortion ban and promising to sign legislation to protect the right to abortion nationally. See YouTube, Vice President Harris on Trump's Abortion Ban in Iowa | Harris 2024.
Some (most?) women sensed President Biden’s discomfort on the issue and are responding positively to Kamala Harris’s strong support for access to abortions and reproductive healthcare for all women in the US. Harris’s approach resonates with many women in America who felt that President Biden was a reluctant advocate for abortion rights, even though President Biden and Kamala Harris support the same policies.
The Harris Campaign continues to go after Trump and Vance with lightning speed and full force. Within hours of JD Vance removing his absolutist abortion stance from his website, the Harris HQ Twitter feed posted Vance’s now-deleted position with the comment, “Weird that Vance just deleted this from his website.”
The Harris campaign also posted a quick reply to Trump's claim on Monday that the Biden-Harris record on crime was “terrible.” The Harris campaign posted the following:
Our opponent Donald Trump is a criminal.
• Migrants were more likely to be released after a border arrest under President Trump than under the Biden-Harris administration. • As president, Donald Trump oversaw the largest single-year spike in the murder rate in more than a century. • As president, Trump proposed a $400 million cut to local law enforcement funding. • Trump has demanded the defunding of federal law enforcement, while proposing using the FBI and Justice Department to go after his political enemies. • JD Vance said, "I hate the police."
The Harris Campaign is also amplifying a clip from Trump's interview with Laura Ingraham that included this exchange:
Ingraham: Why not debate Kamala Harris? Trump: Because everyone already knows everything Ingraham: They’re saying you’re afraid of debating her Trump: I’m leading in the polls
Can you smell the fear? It is not true that Trump is leading in the polls. The race has tightened considerably, with Kamala Harris making up persistent deficits posted by President Biden. The race remains close, within the margin of error in many polls, but the trends all favor Kamala Harris. She has the momentum, and Trump and Vance are on the defensive.
So, if you are feeling good about Kamala Harris’s candidacy, you should be. After a whole week as the presumptive nominee, she continues to have the Trump campaign on its back foot. And the first three days of this week will feature massive online fundraisers and strategy meetings with hundreds of thousands of volunteers!
I invite readers who attend(ed) any of the online meetings to post your observations in the Comment section.
While we have reason to be hopeful, we have no reason to be complacent. We must beat Trump by a wide margin to remove all doubt and opportunity for election interference by Trump or the Supreme Court. (See Concluding Thoughts.)
Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter
Biden-Harris HQ ain't playin'
"Watergate" spies were nothing compared to what Biden-Harris & the state controlled media have done to 'our democracy' and to our national security.
Define UNSCRIPTED:
Biden claimed that he was ‘First Black Woman to Serve with a Black President’ was made despite receiving questions ahead of the interview.
When asked whether the questions she asked Biden were sent to her by the White House or if she had to submit them for approval beforehand, Lawful-Sanders responded: “The questions were sent to me for approval. I approved them.”
Joe Biden blamed his glitchy debate night performance on Donald Trump. Biden told Stephanopoulos that he couldn't concentrate because he was distracted by Donald Trump who was shouting at him while he [Biden] tried to answer questions.
The Biden Administration has worked overtime to discredit Sky News & Sky News Australia for over 3 years because they have been sounding the alarm to a deaf dumb & blind world about Joe Biden's cognitive state. Take a look at the White House response after Biden's "glitchy" debate night performance: Time Stamp 4:00:00
Philadephia Radio Host explained to CNN how she was offered a choice of eight (8) questions to ask Joe Biden. She chose 4 out of the 8 questions🤦♂️
Hey y’all please maybe listen to AOC if you won’t listen to anyone else.
Also watch the whole vid on her instagram
From gerrymandering to voter roll purges, we showed people around the world how the American system works. It didn’t go well.
NYT Opinion | “It’s Like You Want to Stop People From Voting”” How U.S. Elections Look Abroad >
“From gerrymandering to voter roll purges, we showed people around the world how the American system works. It didn’t go well.”
This NYT Opinion video is really worth watching!
Here are some highlights from the video:
We found people around the world... ...and showed them American democracy in action.
Dan (Australia): “It is chaotic. It’s crazy.”
Hridaya (India): “It’s like you want to stop people from voting.”
It didn’t go well.
Ott (Estonia): “This is... It’s stupid.”
Nikita & Jezza (New Zealand): “Ugh.”
Sibs (South Africa) : “Ugh.”
Linda (U.K.): “I’m done. I’m done.”
On Gerrymandering:
Ott (Estonia): “Well, now when you tell me what gerrymandering is then this sounds like cheating.”
Linda (UK): “That’s illegal. I’m sorry, firstly, gerrymandering needs to be illegal.”
Dan (Australia): ”In Australia, redistricting is done by an independent commission, not done by the politicians who won those districts, so it is a lot fairer.”
On Voter Registration
Ott (Estonia): “What is voter registration? I mean, I know what it is, but I understand, why do you have this kind of thing?
Olga (Germany): ”In Germany, you don’t need to register yourself for the vote.”
Ott (Estonia): “In Estonia, voter registration is automatic.”
Hridaya (India): “I actually had somebody who is an election officer come over to my house and help me out with my process of voter registration, and mind you, this is in a country of 1.3 billion people.”
On Voter Purging
Linda (UK): ”Come on. No one thinks of a word ‘purge’ and thinks of anything positive. We have seen the ‘Purge’ films.”
Clara (Italy): “Georgia likely removed nearly 200,000 from voter rolls wrongfully? How?”
Olga (Germany): ”I can’t imagine for this to happen in Germany.”
Nikita (New Zealand): “Nope, you don’t get to vote. Nope, you don’t get to vote either. Nope.”
On Making Voting Inconvenient
Ott (Estonia): “To me, it sounds like 19th century to be honest.”
Olga (Germany): “What I really appreciate about Germany is it’s so easy for you to go and vote. It’s on a Sunday. It’s on a free day.”
Hridaya (India): “In India, it’s actually illegal to keep your employees from voting.”
Dan (Australia): “So in Australia, we have this thing called a ‘democracy sausage.’ You take a selfie with your democracy sausage. You haven’t voted in Australia unless you’ve gotten your democracy sausage.”
Ott (Estonia): “In the last Estonian parliamentary elections, I think I cast my vote during breakfast. I have this identity card. I insert it into a computer reader, pick my candidate, and cast my vote.”
Jezza (New Zealand): “It took me two minutes.”
Ott (Estonia): “Approximately a minute.”
Linda (UK): “Five minutes.”
Hridaya (India): “Five to seven minutes.”
Olga (Germany): “Five to 10.”
Dan (Australia) “Ten minutes.”
Linda (UK): “Wait, wait, wait, it took him the amount of time it will take for me to fly from the U.K., from London to New York.”
Hridaya (India): “This feels like the opposite of easy to vote.”
Ott (Estonia): “This is not acceptable. It’s just not acceptable in a democratic country, I think.”
Linda (UK): “I’ll say 80 percent, just because they haven’t been doing too well recently with everything else.”
Linda (UK): “64 percent.”
Nikita (New Zealand): “Yeah, that’s not good.”
Sibs (South Africa): “That’s almost half of the Americans have no voice.”
Hridaya (India): “It’s like you want to stop people from voting.”
Sibs (South Africa): “Why is that so?”
American democracy is broken.
Republicans in particular seem to want to make it hard for many Americans to vote.
Unfortunately, the conservative justices appointed by Republicans frequently uphold these kinds of voter suppression tactics.
We have to fix our democracy.
Voting Blue right now is the best chance we have to do so.
_______________ Posted 11.02.20; updated 04.09.23 and 06.14.26
