If you think Durbin doesn’t want to do something about it, then you know less than nothing about him.
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It is my (probably naive) thinking that Dems will put up a decent fight this cycle and therefore have what it’ll take to put the court to rights with a mandate, no less.
Democrats are overperforming in local elections; the “caught car” of abortion rights becoming a wedge issue against R’s and the middle class actually making gains might be good signs. I know it’s tentative, uneven, and that we still have to fight, but there’s some hope in me at the moment.
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I share your optimism and I sure hope you’re right.
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We may have a difference of opinion, but I prefer leadership that does things to leadership that wants to do things but ends up telling us why it can’t be done now, but oh boy just wait until after the next election…
Durbin’s milquetoast reaction to Roberts declining his “invitation” to appear before the judiciary committee (and his shifting justifications for why he couldn’t/wouldn’t/shouldn’t use his subpoena power) illustrates just how much credence I care to give his inner desires.
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What would you like them to “do” in this fantasy world you’ve created?
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As a start, I’d love if Democratic leadership used their power of subpoena to compel Roberts and/or Thomas to appear and address these issues in open session. The fact that they haven’t done so tells me how seriously they actually are taking this issue, and the fact you consider this to be a fantasy indicates we have different expectations for Democratic leadership.
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If people had listened to Anita Hill we’d ALL be in a better place.
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Buying the highest court in the country is cheap. 38 I mean one billionaire-funded vacation at a time.
All the decisions that has this guy’s hand should be put under microscope under independent council and put back in consideration again. He should recuse himself from anything after this. This court is tainted and anything associated with Thomas shouldn’t be considered precedence.
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With the continuing ProPublica revelations about Thomas, this is obviously important journalism, but at the same time part of me sort of feels like, “Ok, ProPublica, we get it, he’s totally corrupt. Now you’re just rubbing our noses in the total lack of accountability in the system.”
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Unlike T****, Roberts and Thomas can say “None of your business” all day long, just like Roberts has done in public so far. What you’re describing is at best toothless and possibly worse than doing nothing.
I was talking about actions. What action do you think they can take to hold Thomas accountable?
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Not everyone is a fan of the “it might not work, so best not to try” school of thought, but I understand better why you’re sticking up for Durbin.
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Actual official actions of government that they can successfully compete are clearly limited.
In the old days, the alternative was a full court press to shame and embarrass them. Either Thomas or Roberts in this case. Thomas for the direct acts, Roberts for the legacy of his court.
In these new times, one group seems to not have any shame or embarrassment for anything at all. That a very loud group of people don’t care at all, so they can just shrug it off. That’s the problem with so much of our institutions depending on norms for how they function.
I suspect, they would need to shame, embarrass, and discredit the entire court as an institution. A maneuver that could fundamentally damage it forever. The real trick would be to find how close to this they need to go to actually influence Roberts without actually destroying the court forever. I’m not sure there is a line. At this point, Roberts might not care if he goes down in history as the chief who destroyed the court forever.
This function based on norms is also asymmetric. If one of the liberal justices did this, there would be shame and embarrassment and loud calls for them to leave.
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ProPublica does incredible work, and it is “free” as in independent.
But it’s certainly not “free” as in costs nothing. They spend a lot to do this work.
We all can make donations to support them. I’ve been doing so for several years now (and I know I’m fortunate to be able to afford it). It sure makes me feel good.
“ProPublica is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and as such, donations to our organization are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law in your personal circumstances.”
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That could be difficult. Do you know how low the parts per billion of Clarence Thomas has to be before it’s not toxic?
(That said, yeah, let’s do it!)
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they keep getting re-elected
that’s all the rescuing they need
it worked last time, why mess with success
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So it may or may not have been possible to actually block Thomas’s confirmation if the hearings had been handled a bit differently several decades ago, but either way it’s a shame that things happened the way they did. I’ll bet that Biden thinks a lot about that these days.
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Cue the offended outrage from which ever Republican justice is in the rotation.
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“See, it’s just like we were telling you! Here’s an example of a Black man who benefited tremendously from being bought and paid for by rich white men!”
—Florida Board of Education
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