Staff Reports
In a classic case of a politician throwing a Hail Mary pass right before election season, President Biden has decided to shake things up at the U.S. Supreme Court. He’s now advocating for term limits and an ethics code for the justices—because, obviously, the liberal playbook needs a new chapter when there’s a 6-3 conservative majority on the bench. This latest move is another attempt to distract voters from Biden’s record as election day looms just 99 days away.
The proposal, which may as well have been hand-delivered with a side of desperation, is likely as effective as a screen door on a submarine. Although the Democrats are rallying around it, the reality is that a closely divided Congress is not about to rubber-stamp a package of reforms that have about as much chance of passing as a snowball in hell. The Democratic National Committee appears convinced that shining the spotlight on the judiciary will help energize voters. One has to wonder if they think “freedom and chaos” sounds better than “a president who can’t seem to find his way out of a paper bag.”
UPDATED: Biden unveils Supreme Court overhaul amid liberal frustrations https://t.co/MwuquNIDJs
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) July 29, 2024
Biden’s plan includes suggesting that the Supreme Court should ditch lifetime appointments in favor of a system that allows the sitting president to appoint new justices every two years. Apparently, the argument is that this would lead to a “predictable” nomination process, whatever that means in Washington. Biden also believes creating a code of ethics for the court—equipped with rules on gift disclosures and recusal requirements—is the ticket to restoring public faith. No one told him that lifetime appointments and ethics codes didn’t matter when justices were issuing rulings the left liked.
Meanwhile, the outrage from the left over the Supreme Court’s decisions has reached new heights. Turns out, pesky rulings that overturn long-standing judicial activism on issues like abortion rights and regulatory overreach aren’t sitting well with the liberal base. This seems poetic justice for Democrats who spent years demanding court decisions aligned with their worldview while gleefully ignoring the political implications when it was a liberal court issuing the opinions. Now that they’re out in the cold, it’s a different story entirely.
In a strange twist, Biden’s public respect for the function of governmental institutions appears to waver when it comes time to hold onto power. It’s almost as if the president’s respect leads him to believe he can weaponize the very institutions he claims to revere—like the Supreme Court—against his political opponents. Trump called out the Democrats’ blatant orchestration of a court reform agenda, accusing them of “playing the ref.” In a world where liberal complaints about the court translate into electoral strategy, one has to question why the liberal elite seems so engrossed by the possibility of a results-oriented judiciary.
Republican leaders wasted no time in pointing out the irony of Biden’s newfound zeal for court reform after largely ignoring the call during his presidential campaign. One can’t help but wonder if Biden’s quick transition to wanting changes stems from a combination of fear and frustration. As the days count down to a crucial election, his bold claims on judicial reform seem less about justice and more about an overzealous grasp at political survival. Meanwhile, Graham aptly articulated the hypocrisy of a party only howling at the moon now that they’ve been handed a conservative bench that doesn’t play by their rules.
