It's Not 'Court Packing.' Don't Be A Moron and Call It That.

[FM123]

(Josh Marshall - Talking Points Memo) I wrote this tweet because I thought I would become apoplectic when I saw that some Democrats were referring to expanding the Supreme Court as “court packing” or tacitly accepting the use of the phrase when asked about it by reporters. Any Democrat who uses this phrase should be, metaphorically at least, hit over the head with a stick.

The simple fact is that “court packing” is a pejorative phrase. It is nonsensical to use it as a description of something you’re considering supporting or actively supporting. If you decide to support a certain politician you don’t refer to deciding to ‘carry their water.’ Someone who supports expanding the estate tax doesn’t call it the ‘death tax’. This is obvious. Doing so is an act of comical political negligence. But of course the error is far more than semantic. No one should be using this phrase because it is false and turns the entire reality of the situation on its head.

snip

Few things show how much Washington DC remains wired for Republican power than the idea that anyone can with a straight face call the possibility of Democrats taking some remedial action “court packing.”

People can call things anything they want. Partisans will use phrases to advance their partisan interests. It is comically inept to use the phrasing your opponents adopt in the hopes of knee-capping you. “Court packing” on its face means an illegitimate action. It means acting to secure favorable judicial decisions by political means. But this is not what’s happening. The point of expanding the Court – in addition to being a good idea in general – is simply to get the Court out of the business of overruling majority legislation for corrupt partisan purposes, a power they have acquired through a perversion and abuse of the constitutional process.

We have gotten to this point by Republicans using every political power that is not expressly illegal to maximize their drive to dominate the courts to retain power while losing elections. That illegitimate gain can only continue if Democrats refuse to use legitimate and expressly constitutional means to undo the damage. Not doing so is not only political folly it is a danger to the constitutional order inasmuch as it encourages more Republican abuses.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/its-not-court-packing-dont-be-a-moron-and-call-it-that

[PTWB]

1. I've been trying to make this point for a while.

Republicans have been packing the courts - hypocritically ramming ACB through while denying Garland a hearing. Expanding the court to counter their hypocritical court packing is perfectly reasonable.

[KPN]

2. Hear, Hear!

" ...Republicans using every political power that is not expressly illegal to maximize their drive to dominate the courts to retain power while losing elections ... can only continue if Democrats refuse to use legitimate and expressly constitutional means to undo the damage."

[cureautismnow]

3. Call it Court Balancing.

[Bettie]

4. That's my choice too

The courts are currently not balanced at all. There needs to be a correction.