I think we're in agreement on the priority and the solution might be the end of both parties. As far as the Court is concerned, term limits, expanding the Court, and maybe a couple of impeachments to may clear that there is accountability would help but, in the end, respect for the Court and its decisions depends on the respectability of the Justices and that's something that can't be legislated.
I think we're in agreement on the priority and the solution might be the end of both parties. As far as the Court is concerned, term limits, expanding the Court, and maybe a couple of impeachments to may clear that there is accountability would help but, in the end, respect for the Court and its decisions depends on the respectability of the Justices and that's something that can't be legislated.
Trouble is, economic power undergirds and drives both parties, and their transformations over the many decades. Not to mention the composition of the Supreme Court, and not just its current makeup. Until we start to deal with what I like to call the "unelected fourth branch of government" -- big wealth, corporate and otherwise -- I'm not holding my breath. (Currently reading Heather Cox Richardson's HOW THE SOUTH WON THE CIVIL WAR, which discusses economic alliances across regions, I'm even less optimistic than usual.)
Highly recommended reading might work better. That battle never really ends; the best we can hope for is to combine grassroots activism with enough support from mavericks like FDR to preserve what we have and make occasional progress. One problem that too many progressives have is an intense and unshakeable desire to have everything right now and, if they can't get it, take nothing. Scorched earth approaches typically end up with nothing more than burnt dirt.
I think we're in agreement on the priority and the solution might be the end of both parties. As far as the Court is concerned, term limits, expanding the Court, and maybe a couple of impeachments to may clear that there is accountability would help but, in the end, respect for the Court and its decisions depends on the respectability of the Justices and that's something that can't be legislated.
Trouble is, economic power undergirds and drives both parties, and their transformations over the many decades. Not to mention the composition of the Supreme Court, and not just its current makeup. Until we start to deal with what I like to call the "unelected fourth branch of government" -- big wealth, corporate and otherwise -- I'm not holding my breath. (Currently reading Heather Cox Richardson's HOW THE SOUTH WON THE CIVIL WAR, which discusses economic alliances across regions, I'm even less optimistic than usual.)
That's an excellent book.
It seriously is, and if my dislike of "required reading" didn't date back to high school, I would call it "required reading." <g>
Highly recommended reading might work better. That battle never really ends; the best we can hope for is to combine grassroots activism with enough support from mavericks like FDR to preserve what we have and make occasional progress. One problem that too many progressives have is an intense and unshakeable desire to have everything right now and, if they can't get it, take nothing. Scorched earth approaches typically end up with nothing more than burnt dirt.