MSNBC: Joe Manchin's support for Supreme Court reform is a sign

[Dennis Donovan]

MSNBC - Joe Manchin's support for Supreme Court reform is a sign

The outgoing West Virginia senator is finally recognizing his years-long miscalculation.

Dec. 11, 2024, 6:00 AM EST
By Ryan Teague Beckwith, Newsletter Editor

The United States has a long tradition of politicians pausing on their way out the door to point out a serious problem the country is facing. From George Washington lamenting the growing power of political parties to Dwight Eisenhower warning about the "military-industrial complex" to, well, pretty much everything Mitt Romney's been going on about since he decided to retire.

The flip side of this truth-telling is that it can feel a little disappointing to the audience. You're telling us this now? Why didn't you do something about it when you were in power?

That's pretty much the reaction to the recent announcement from outgoing West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the most consistently exasperating member of the U.S. Senate in living memory. Over the weekend, the Democratic-turned-independent senator declared his support for a constitutional amendment establishing term limits for Supreme Court justices.

"The current lifetime Supreme Court appointment structure is broken and fuels polarizing confirmation battles and political posturing that has eroded public confidence in the highest court in our land," he wrote on X.

Link to tweet

That's not news to anyone who's paid attention to the Supreme Court in recent years. More than half of Americans have an unfavorable view of the court, a historic low that has come about after years of decline followed by a massive drop in the aftermath of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Supreme Court confirmations have become mostly party-line votes. The current court is the most conservative in nearly a century and will likely remain that way for decades. The 6-3 supermajority also seems to have emboldened the justices' worst impulses, from sketchy dealings with conservative donors to the lack of an enforceable ethics code.

/snip

[Think. Again.]

1. He pulls this same crap all the time...

He throws out crumbs or meaningless "statements" to the Dems and then consistently supports the rightwingers when it is most destructive.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. In my opinion

Manchin has been relevant only because he was the final vote on the margin of many issues. And he's been right about 2 things. This SCOTUS issue, there is meat on the bones to clockwork like term limits. It's not perfect, but it's very important. Not clear what happens if a Justice dies or quits while on the bench.

And Sen. Manchin was right about inflation. It came back to bite us.

[Mike 03]

3. Joe Manchin is the Master of Insight

He experiences these epiphanies only when its too late for him or his fellow senators to actually do anything about them.

[yorkster]

8. Master of hindsight perhaps.

[Meadowoak]

4. I never want to hear the names Manchin, or Sinema, again.

[Scrivener7]

5. Asshole.

[maxrandb]

6. Thank God Manchin and Sinema saved the filibuster

It will take about 2 frickin seconds for our new MAGAt Senate majority to do away with the filibuster.

You think you want Supreme Court expansion? I think we're about to get it. They'll expand to 13 justices, just to give Putin's puppet 4 more appointments.

The "press" will be "amazed" at how "unprecedented" and "savvy" it is.

[hatrack]

7. A sign that he's trying to perfume his reputation on his way out the door?

[spanone]

9. JUST GO AWAY!

[JI7]

10. He is tryng to stay relevant. He is best ignored.

[SocialDemocrat61]

11. Yes it's a sign Manchin is a jerk

who knows the right thing to do but didn’t because it didn’t benefit him personally.

[Efilroft Sul]

12. Manchin only tries doing the right thing when it doesn't really matter.

American media: "Ooh, Joe Manchin gives a reasoned argument about reforming the Supreme Court!"

Reality: "It'll never happen. Manchin knows this."

[Passages]

13. Complicit.

Gutting BBB, way to go.


Why does anyone listen to this man??




Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
Yes. The Court should have 13 members, one for each circuit; the size was set at 9 when there were 9 circuits. And it would not be Court packing, but Court restoration.

Link to tweet

Norman Ornstein
Mr. Ornstein led a working group of scholars and practitioners that helped shape the law, known as McCain-Feingold, that reformed the campaign financing system. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004.
https://igs.berkeley.edu/people/norman-ornstein

[standingtall]

16. 1 Member for each circuit is weak sauce reform

May have been set at 9 with 1 member per circuit, but that was set in the post civil war era when the population was only about 31 million. Today the population is over 330 to 340 million. So there is a whole lot more population per circuit then then was in the 1860 and 1870s and that would be the case even with 4 extra Justices. The court should be expanded to 15 minimum, but it's a moot point right now, because we want be able to expand it for awhile.

[Passages]

18. It should be a minimum.

I would not call it weak sauce, but a reason to establish with voters the failures of the 6.

Clarence Thomas takes bribes so out in the open that it is a sickness in American society that is not given attention from M$M
it deserves.

[Midnight Writer]

14. Like a dinner guest who pisses on your carpet and then compliments your decor on his way out the door.

[Celerity]

15. Manchin and Sinema will go down in history as 2 of the very worst post Dixiecrat Democratic Senators ever

They absolutely helped pave the way for the return of Trump, especially by ripping out and gutting (aided by the worst of the House Problem Solvers obstructionist centrist/conservadems) over 5.1 trillion USD in new spend from Bidens 2 infrastructure plans' 6.1 trillion USD new spend, PLUS their blocking the 2 VITAL voters' rights/voter protection bills.

A pox on all of the above's houses.

[OnDoutside]

17. I brought a bag of popcorn for the comments and it didn't disappoint !!!