MUST READ. The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump's Supreme Court Pick

[CousinIT]

Last edited Tue Oct 27, 2020, 10:49 PM - Edit history (1)

PLEASE GET THIS AND SHELDON WHITEHOUSE'S VIDEO IN FRONT OF JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS. Sheldon Whitehouse's video is awesome, but this article goes into a LOT more detail about this American Taliban Leonard Leo. It's LONG and packed with info.

I know Joe dislikes the idea of "court packing" but goddammit the courts have ALREADY BEEN PACKED! That's NOT what he'd be doing and he and his administration need to be able to properly demonstrate that and explain to the American people WHY it's necessary to REFORM, RESTORE and REBALANCE our courts. NOW.

We have NO courts in America capable of dispensing JUSTICE, as things stand right now. Worst of all, the highest court in the land is TOTALLY INCAPABLE of dispensing justice. And guess what? That was THE PLAN. Read the excerpts and then the article.

WE. MUST. HAVE. COURT. REFORM. Rebalancing, restoration. GET THIS IN FRONT OF THEM. If they win, we MUST. DEMAND. COURT. REFORM. Whitehouse's video and this article demonstrate WHY we must. And within the FIRST TWO YEARS of a Biden administration we must have it.

_ _ _ _ _


https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick

. . .

He figured out twenty years ago that conservatives had lost the culture war. Abortion, gay rights, contraception—conservatives didn’t have a chance if public opinion prevailed. So they needed to stack the courts.”

Amazingly, said Carter, Leo has succeeded in this mission with few people taking notice.

“The Christian right has been written about a lot, but hardly anyone talks about the Catholic right,” Carter said. “Four Supreme Court justices—they’re more successful than anybody: the NRA, the Israel lobby, Big Pharma, no one else has had that kind of impact.”

(NOTE: ever wonder where "destroy the administrative state" came from? Well, read this from the article):

In addition to creating a vast network that serves as a counterpoint to the mainstream legal world, the Federalist Society has mainstreamed ideas that were once considered intellectual outliers: that most of the New Deal and administrative state are unconstitutional, that corporations have free speech and free religion rights, that women and LGBT people are not “protected classes” under constitutional law, and that there is no right to privacy implied by the due process clause of the Constitution (i.e., banning abortion, contraception, and gay marriage are entirely constitutional).

. . .

The documents released as part of the FOIA request show Leo intervening multiple times . . . and promoting curricula on “Law and Economics,” which predominantly favors conservative legal positions by evaluating issues in terms of financial efficiency rather than justice.

[dalton99a]

1. Republicans have seized the judicial branch to perpetuate their minority rule

by packing the courts with their lifetime judges

[CousinIT]

3. EXACTLY. And it must END. n/t

[Solly Mack]

4. Precisely so.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. from Wikipedia on this dude

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Leo

On October 12, 2018, Leo appeared on an episode of Firing Line. When asked about a possible vacancy on the Supreme Court in a future election year, he replied by saying: "If a vacancy occurs in 2020, the vacancy needs to remain open until a president is elected and inaugurated and can pick. That's my position, period." Leo said he would advise President Trump not to act on an election year Supreme Court vacancy, saying he had never asked President Trump about the possible scenario, but that it was Leo's opinion that President Trump should not act on a 2020 Supreme Court vacancy, should it arise.[18]

After the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020, Leo said the impending Supreme Court nomination fight "can be an important galvanizing force for President Trump."[19] In September 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Leo was involved in the selection process for a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; this ultimately resulted in the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett.[20]

[halfulglas]

5. Ad hoc dem legislators should start now

The dem legislators should be networking now to be ready for this bipartisan commission to get a jump - to let any Republicans know they aren't driving this bus, that their own credibility will be at stake. The court needs to be rebalanced quickly if we want to get anything done or the republicans will run every single thing we try to accomplish to the court. Even if they don't win, it will delay any justice. So they have to get an ad hoc committee before the actual commission to have something to work from. They should also start rewriting the health plan right away so that it gets a start on replacing the ACA but write it so it will be airtight to constant attacking and picking at it that has been going on for the last 10 years.

[chikita]

9. yeah, lets shoot half the country

Brilliant!

[UTUSN]

7. & it used to be feared JFK would take orders from the Pope - these Catholics don't.

[BruinDadd]

8. I really get tired of abusive corruption being written about as "brilliance"

Just because someone is willing to wallow in the bottom of the trough where others won’t go - that doesn’t make them brilliant. It makes them a lot of things, but not brilliant. I guess I might say “predatory.”

[AlexSFCA]

10. theoretically, can SC block court expansion?

court reform legislation? Because if theoretically they could, they 100% will.
My understanding is that short of constitutional amendment, an extreme SC can block any legislation and EO not related to military.