Supreme Beings

For the last 40 years, I have read about and researched extensively the United States Supreme Court- its traditions, its history, its scandals.

Along with the selection of a Pope, the process of replacing a Justice has long-fascinated me, and we are in the middle of that process again- maybe.  If you believe the GOP, again abrogating their responsibility, we are not in the “middle” of anything, have not, and will not, even get started.

Some of the history is fascinating- in fact, most of it!

We all know now that Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were fast friends, despite some very basic ideological differences.  I am not sure there has been anything like it in our times, except maybe Mary Matalin and James Carville being in love and getting married!

Both pairs, as you can find on YouTube, have been hysterical when they have gotten together on the same TV or cable show.

Did you know that there is no such animal as “Chief Justice of the Supreme Court”?  He (so far, only “he”) is officially designated the Chief Justice of the United States.

As I have written about before, perhaps, the most popular Justice ever amongst the employees and staff of SCOTUS is Clarence Thomas, the guy who has not asked a question during oral arguments for the last ten years.  Yup.

He has been fabulous at remembering names, being attentive, celebrating birthdays, keeping track of their family members, and routinely played basketball with the minions  before his knees would not allow it.

In an interesting demographic, there are no Protestants on the Court- we now are down one Catholic, leaving 5, along with the three Jewish members.  As much as we hear about the Founding Fathers, most of them would have been horrified to see the Court dominated by “Papists”.  

I have created a kerfuffle before by pointing out that Catholics have at least some allegiance to a foreign government, the Vatican, and one has to question if they come into oral arguments about the death penalty, abortion, gay marriage, and contraception as truly objective arbiters.

So, the games begin.  What is the best approach for the POTUS?

Can POTUS nominate himself?  Yes, there is nothing in the Constitution prohibiting it.  Likely?  No.

Next, he should look to the Senate- given the traditions of that body, and their “own” status amongst the 125 most-powerful people in the world, they would feel it very awkward to NOT elevate one of their own, let alone not even convening the process.

Elizabeth Warren.  She would serve for a long time, would actually help unify a polarized Democratic Party, and would leave a legacy for the ages.

Hmmm.  Ok, here we go: What about Hillary or Bernie?  Hillary would still be considered one of their “own”, and Bernie is, and the person left standing would almost certainly become POTUS next January.

Think about that?  Really.  Stop and think about it.  A swing vote on the Court, and POTUS in one swell foop?  Brilliant?  Perhaps…

Orrin Hatch has been mentioned, as have other moderate Republicans that are pro-choice.  No!  For the last eight years, they have stalled, dithered, and fiddled, and not only did Rome not burn, it didn’t catch fire, and has recovered nicely from being Bush-whacked.

NO!  As Martin Sheen said to Michael Douglas, “You fight the fights that need fighting! Go after [them]!”  

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

So, if he hasn’t decided by now, after the Senate where for thou go?  To the fork in the road.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch would be the first African-American woman to sit on the Court, and Republicans would be self-immolating to reject her or treat her harshly.

The other fork in the road is to sitting members of the Federal bench.  There are several candidates there who were confirmed unanimously or overwhelmingly, including the eighth Circuit’s Jane Kelly or Srikanth Srinivasan of the D.C. Court.  Once unimpeachably-qualified, how can they say no just a few years later?

So, there is a brief road map and minor history review.

I like Hillary or Bernie- if we are going to battle, as we most definitely should, there is no sense bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Hillary! WTF?!?!?!

What the hell are you thinking?

Sending Albright and Steinem out to castigate women for not supporting another woman?  “Going to hell?”  And sending hubby out to complain about you being “picked on”?

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(If you can read “feline”, you now know that my cat, Zorro, just agreed with me!)

It is 2016, over a hundred years since women were finally allowed to vote, and you and your people just played the GENDER card AND the “picked-on card?”

Now, you are starting to parade out a series of African-American legends to tell people how “black” you have been all these years, and reminding people that Bill used to refer to himself as “the first Black president?” 

AYFKM?  STOP!

Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republicans!”, applies to us Democrats, too, lest we lose the White House!

You are in trouble.  You are feeling the Bern on the back of your neck- or maybe it is wind Bern or sun Bern!  I get it…

The State Department e-mail kerfuffle is horribly unfair, given what we have known for a long time about Colin Powell, and, more recently, about Condoleezza Rice. 

That’s politics, with the same typical bias and distortion over Democratic scandals that has existed for years.  Allow me to remind you of pervert Senators David Vitter and Larry Craig.  Somehow, the party that thinks it has God firmly on its side allows boys to be boys.

However, go after Powell and Rice!  Drag them into the pit, call them out of “retirement”, and broil them!  Talk non-specifically about the double standard, the false outrage, the attitude that this has never been done before!

It looks like the text of the speeches to Wall Street firms will, in all or part, be made public.  Shame on you for being gullible, and thinking that ANY speech you give is to a “safe” audience.  When the young people and minorities that you count on for support read what you said, you are likely, at least for now, to be toast- plain and simple, and it is self-inflicted. 

In the meantime, compete with The Bern, but no goddamn eviscerating each other!  Call him.  Get together.  Set up some ground rules.

Yes, it is well-beyond the time we should have had a woman president, and you have been our best hope for a very long time.  Now, you have Elizabeth Warren in your shadow, knocking on your door, right next to the Bern- and, maybe, to a lesser extent, Washington’s two senators, as well.

Ask yourself, “WHY IS THAT?  The presidency was sitting there on a platter for you, along the yellow-brick road- what happened? 

LEARN FROM BERNIE AND ELIZABETH, and slowly downshift- you have a hill to climb, and changing gears is mandatory.

You will likely win South Carolina by a wide margin, but the road is snowy and icy, after that- salt the road!

We can only help you if you help yourself!  If the last two weeks have been your idea, STOP!  If it has been advice you have been given, CHANGE ADVISORS!

Yes, fight- but not Bernie.  Go after the misogynist Trump!  Go after Cruz!  Use what they have given you, and there is plenty of ammunition!  Throw the stuff Cruz said about Obama’s birthplace in the Canadian’s face, but do it cleverly!

No, it is not over.  There is a chance you can recover, and your blind supporters will not abandon you no matter what. 

New Hampshire is not the disaster that is being portrayed.  Of course, Bernie did well there.  New Hampshire has always danced to a different tune, and it is right next to Vermont, where they love and respect the man immensely.  You are down, but not out- so far.

Get your act together. 

John Lewis says he has never met Bernie, never seen him march for minority rights, but the pictures on Facebook say otherwise.  People rising to your defense MUST be accurate and truthful.

Above all, you, Bernie, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren must emerge from this contest unbattered by teammates!

When Obama came out of nowhere, and beat you, you got be SecState.  What if it happens to you again?

Bernie is 76 years old- how about you being Vice-President, and Bernie serving one term?  The two of you would be unbeatable.  In four years, Bernie retires, and you and Elizabeth form the first female 1-2 punch in American history.

This is not about any of you as individuals- it is about the future of the country.  Will we be moving forward, keeping our momentum- or going backwards?

I hope you can remember “Profiles in Courage” from memory, and without looking it up, the story of Edmund Ross.  He was the deciding vote on the impeachment of Andrew Johnson- and was destined for ridicule for voting his conscious, for doing the right thing for his country.

And remember this?  “Ask not what your country can do for you; rather, ask what you can do for your country”.

Courtesy of NBC News

Gut Check Time

And so it begins…

Iowa has spoken- loudly perhaps, perhaps not.  We shall see…

The other primaries and caucuses are approaching.  Hillary and Bernie were neck-and-neck in Iowa, and Bernie is leading in New Hampshire.  The Canadian won the GOP nod, but The Trumpeter is still amongst the leaders of the gaggle of sheep running to represent the Grand Old Party.

A Democratic Socialist establishing a juggernaut, and getting the attention of the country?  Who’da thunk?

However, the road ahead is treacherous, lest we turn over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to the Draconians.

Eight years ago, senators were persona non grata amongst the Republican aspirants- Senator Obama wasn’t qualified, we needed somebody with executive experience in order to hit the ground running from Day 1- ultimately, of course, in the form of Mitt Romney.

The governors and “executives” are being shunned this time around, in favor of “new ideas”, and “fresh leadership”, the maverick Trump, Senators Cruz and Rubio.

Jeb Bush has been shortchanged horribly by his handlers, and the heir apparent has run a horrendous campaign- to the point where one has to question for whom he was running- himself or the family?

Chris Christie, particularly post-bridgegate (Thank you, Rachel!) has mostly been an assterisk.

And Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina have had some brief blips on the radar, but nothing of consequence.

I have been “watching” Bernie for years, weekly, on the Thom Hartmann radio show, and I love him to death- and he, too, has tapped into the search for fresh leadership and new ideas, and has been coming on strong.

His quest for single-payer healthcare, and his indignation over not even having that on the table during the formulation of the ACA, are legendary.  Yes, it is an uphill battle, with no less than Nancy Pelosi announcing this week that the whole idea is a non-starter.

Not so fast.  If the “Medicaid For All” plan gains no cumulative traction, maybe with some persuasion, and perhaps some inducements, might not a President Sanders divide and conquer, and get individual states to take the plunge?  

Maybe.  

He wants to break up the banks, and is likewise being ridiculed for likely not having the necessary clout in the Congress with which he will be confronted.

Again, not so fast.  

Even though Reagan stopped enforcing it, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act is still in effect.  That’s right.  Remember the Baby Bells after they broke up A.T.&T.?  So, what’s a non-starter here is that he does not even need Congress- just a resolute Justice Department.

Could he pull it off, and find a permanenet solution, outlasting his presidency?  Perhaps.  Me thinks that the subsequent solution during the break-ups, can be found in the construction of the Charters of the new banks.  Clause or clauses within, that would limit their scope and/or size in perpetuity?

As I said, Sanders is running on the “change” platform, Hillary as the battle-hardened, progressive pragmatist, that will continue parts of the last 8 years, and tweak and/or go beyond when necessary- and suddenly a fan of continuing the fight for “universal healthcare”.

So, Bernie or Hillary?

New Hampshire feels the problem acutely right now, because it can be, and often has been, pivotal in making or breaking campaigns.  It is early, second place, and it is a primary, not a caucus, state. They 

can change the course, or set it in place more firmly.

You may be asking, “What exactly is the problem?”, and perhaps commenting: “Just vote your conscience!”

And maybe lose the White House…

The problem is that Hillary can beat every one of the long list of GOP wannabes- Bernie probably cannot.

Once alone at the top, Hillary will capture the female vote, and her lagging support amongst young people will increase and solidify- many people see what’s real about her and what’s not, and recognize the character assassination that has dogged the Clintons for years.  Many people will want to be a part of electing the first woman POTUS, as they did 8 years ago with the first African-American.  I believe it will become a juggernaut, and unless there are serious missteps along the way, cannot be stopped.

And we don't hate Hillary, stop giving us that bullshit.  Many of us just think she is not as good for the country as Bernie would be. She is like Dianne Feinstein, has forgotten whence she came, her roots, but we will work hard for her if she is the nominee.  It is clear though, that right now, she is in panic mode to some extent.

Bernie can beat Trump easily, but it becomes murky after that- Cruz and Rubio will go toe-to-toe with him, and he’s vulnerable among too many shallow voters to their methods- the socialism; the subtle, but clever attacks on his age; his dreaming the “impossible” dream.

The important thing is that one does not destroy the other during this process, creating cannon fodder for the GOP.  It may become critical at some point that the voters recognize the inevitable, when it becomes so, set their consciences aside, and vote for the country and not themselves.