When you bring a tissue to a gun fight….
Where the hell are Senate Democrats? In the wake of the latest bombshell news regarding Justice Alito’s rabid partisanship, extremism, love letter to insurrectionists and American coup attempts, and contempt for the rule of law, where are Senate Democrats?
Sorry, Judiciary Chairman and Senate Majority Whip (#2 in the Senate leadership) Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) and Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) but your latest sternly worded letters, press releases, and / or other calls for recusal and actual Court ethics reform which actually does something and for John “Balls and Strikes” Roberts to get off his ass and actually do something just aren’t going to cut it.
Not when this rabidly extreme Court majority — with its latest evisceration of minority voting rights and any protections against extreme gerrymandering newly minted by the robed insurrectionist himself — has made it abundantly clear that they — and the entire Republican Party — just doesn't give a damn about the Court’s reputation oe any any semblance of impartiality, proper judicial conduct or temperament.
High-profile Senate hearings should have been scheduled within a day of Alito’s upside-down scandal — and sure as hell within hours of the latest “insurrection flag by the beach” incarnation. Enough is enough. What in go’d name are they waiting for?
I know that Whitehouse and his Budget Committee — in tandem with Senator Widen and the Senate Finance Committee — finally, and belatedly announced an investigation into Trump’s quid pro quo offer / bribe deal to the oil companies. Bravo — but even with that, where are the hearings?? They should be happening now.
Is there any doubt that in a comparable situation, Republicans would have already held multiple hearings — or at least had them scheduled — and they they would be hearing about this stuff incessantly in Congress and on their Russia-pravdaesque, Trump worshipping, slavish outlets for misinformation? Every single day. Multipole times every day.
Of course, it goes without saying that Senate hearings by themselves won’t explicitly change anything . This Congress — this Republican Party — will never allow legislation reforming the Court or codifying ethics reform or slicing the Court’s budget to pass.
But at a minimum, it would raise the profile of this Court’s corruption, and put a big, sustained spotlight on just what a sick joke Alito and Thomas in particular are to the rule of law and a functioning judiciary that’s worthy of respect. And that is worth something.
I’m SO sick of Senate Democrats too often not doing a damn thing in the wake of historic, gratuitous abuse of ethics, norms, our institutions, and the rule of law.