Just last night — only days following Supreme Court decisions to merge church and state, deny regional lawmakers the right to legislate protections for their own people, and eliminate individual’s rights to privacy and personal liberty — political pundits and so-called moderate politicians continue to argue that expanding the court would be foul play.
Seriously?
To continue the colorful analogy, for decades Mitch’s cronies have sharpened Leader McConnell’s tooth brush handles. Mitch played the long game, devoid of rules save one: Win at all cost.
The U.S. Senator who arguably has wielded more power than the president of the United States (denying Merrick Garland a seat on the bench and paralyzing the Obama Whitehouse with his own brand of foul play) was elected by fewer people than two percent of the citizens who voted for Barack Obama. How did he get away with it? By ignoring convention. No bar is too low.
And through it all, Mitch has shown a stomach to do the repulsive. Whether that’s snuggle up next to President Trump, ignoring the foul stench of private Oval Office meetings with the Russians, or turn a blind and swollen eye away from Justice Thomas attempts to cover for his wife.
There is no indignity too great, no vile abrogation of the rules too severe, to deter this man from “winning.”
Sadly, his stomach for the fight is not shared by the other side. Greed, avarice, desire, lust and envy must be far more powerful incentives than justice, equality, equity and fair play.
While Mitch and the other cellblock assassins gain what from their fights? More money and all consuming power? The middle and left have far less tangible incentives: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Want to know what’s gone out of favor when quoting the founding fathers? Those three gems!
The Supreme Court — as crafted by Mitch — has proven this week that it is not up to the task of reading, interpreting and implementing the constitution. They have ruled that states can't make their own gun laws; government funding can go to religious indoctrination and they have denied personal liberty and privacy as protections under the constitution. None of this is by accident and the only remedy is grinding down a bigger toothbrush handle and fighting back. It’s time to expand the court. It’s time to admit DC as a state (and Puerto Rico if they’ll have us). It’s time to stop following norms and start doing what’s right.
Of course none of this can be done with out the voter come November. Kurt Vonnegut famously said that there are two political parties in the U.S. — the winners and the losers, and the winners always win. That’s what Joe Manchin’s for and Kyrsten Sinema and Susan Collins. They give shade to those who would call themselves moderates and in the end they assure that who the winners are never changes.
Unless voters start seeing Mitch McConnell and his legion of toilet stall assassins as the existential threat that they are, Americans will keep taking a blade to the ribs until the U.S. Constitution is as dead as the hemp that it’s printed on. Vote in November for candidates that will disregard protocol, act fearlessly and expand the court to dilute the impact made by Mitch and the other unscrupulous tyrants.