Trump Court Watch

There was one more time for people like myself to be upset at the Kavanaugh confirmation process when there was a ceremony at the White House last night. As of the Braves games wasn't annoying enough. (Three native named teams played; all had bad games.)

As argued here, there is an unseemly political aspect to this, especially after he already took his constitutional (Art. VI) and judicial (by statute) oath on Saturday. Of course, with Trump ("I apologize on behalf of the American people ... found innocent") and Kavanaugh (his usual b.s. including starting by sucking up to Trump and name checking various people he thanked, showing how neutral and above the fray he is) this rubs salt in the wound.  For whatever reason, it was handled differently for Sotomayor and Kagan (see op-ed) and that is how it should be.

So, after around a week, there is a full Court for the term. There were orders today (Justice Sotomayor put forth a statement concerned about solitary confinement, something Kennedy also flagged near the end).  And, oral argument (Kagan next to Kavanaugh) in two statutory cases. There were reports it was "jovial" with Kagan joshing with Kavanaugh and (per another report) Sotomayor even pinched Gorsuch (who she sits next to) to make a point, which he found amusing.  Being a grumpy sort, and not having a lifetime appointment with these people, this bothers me somewhat. Someone on Twitter argued:

The deed is done and there's nothing she can do about it. This is how adults, and professionals, are supposed to behave. You make the effort.  You make the best of a bad situation. I would expect nothing less from the decent people on the court.

The person appeared to be someone concerned with Trump at least, not some above the fray sort.  Another critic, a liberal leaning legal analyst, said that Kagan is there to make deals and so forth, and disgusting he might be, but that's how you need to play it.  I realize there are various ways to fight the battle here. You have to live with these people and work within the system when you have certain roles. Emotion alone can't rule.

But, sorry, it's too soon for such a public joshing with someone around ten days ago or less was seen as an unhinged partisan liar which the evidence suggests is also a sexual abuser of some type.  That's just me.  I need time.  It's still raw.  I for one am able to somewhat calmly talk about Thomas. Some still can't.  Time passed. Apparently, there were a few protestors outside, but no incident inside.  I find this disappointing. Again, it just happened.  When usually calm analysts like E.J. Dionne talk about needing to remain angry, the Court itself has to be reminded that things aren't okay. A public presence, reported by observers, inside would be a reminder. Instead we get reports of how "jovial" it all was.

I am not a fan of talk of packing the courts, but long term, things have to be done. The end of the filibuster for executive appointments (even if we can debate how the Supreme Court is handled) to me was necessary given how the system was abused under McConnell.  The request for calm, sometimes but not always by those comfortable enough (even if they find some of it distasteful) with the judges in place, only can be taken so far. For instance, there will be a demand for investigation of Kavanaugh if the Democrats win the House. This might seem unpleasant, but that is what happens when the first process was so flawed.

Along with continual press investigations and other types of additional ways for stuff to come out, this will call attention to the Supreme Court. For good or ill. More so than after Gorsuch where the handling of the Garland Seat lingered on without as much concrete things happening. We will hear about proposals for term limits or a full court with only a panel of nine etc. And, the "let's be reasonable" bunch need to have so limit. What about if RBG and/or Breyer are forced to resign?  Will they act the same with a 6-3 Court?  The first two seats are tainted. Sorry. It's a fact.

One moves on and figures out what to do (including like water finding an outlet, getting protections that the a better Court might bring some other, if more flawed, route).  But, like with Gorsuch, me personally, I am not fully moving on.  Respect has to be earned and if a process is tainted and/or the courts act badly, there is no special obligation to give them the same respect.  Sometimes, this will hurt, but a 5-4 Court with Roberts in the center will more often have results where that taint will benefit in the marginal cases.  And, yes, focus on elections.

It isn't all elections though. We had every right to find the process broken and even yes unjust and in some fashion illegitimate even if he got two more votes in the end.  Might does not by itself make right. This isn't naive. Power matters a lot. But, it also comes in various forms. Trump being tainted with strong public opposition matters and weakens him. Even if he won in November.