Court packing would be the last straw

According to news reports,  the Democrats are talking court packing again.   They plan to increase the Supreme Court to 13 Justices by adding four new ones.  This did not work well for President Roosevelt in 1937, as I recall from my history class.  Let’s not forget that Roosevelt had huge majorities in the Congress as a consequence of the 1936 reelection landslide.  Today, Biden has a 50-50 Senate and a single digit majority in the House.   In other words, show me a mandate, because I don’t see it.

This is a horrible idea but I am not sure that the Democrats will actually pull the trigger.  Let me tell you why:

First, this is a 50-50 Senate and Senator Joe Manchin would be literally removed by West Virginia if he went along.  I’m  not sure about Senator Jon Tester of Montana but I don’t think that he will go along with it.  So that leaves the Democrats with 48 and that’s not enough.  

Second, let’s force the Democrat leadership to put it to a vote.  Force every Democrat to vote “yes or no.”  My guess is that we will see a replay of that “Green New Deal” vote when most of them dodged the According to news reports,  the Democrats are talking court packing again.   They plan to increase the Supreme Court to 13 Justices by adding four new ones.  This did not work well for President Roosevelt in 1937, as I recall from my history class.  Let’s not forget that Roosevelt had huge majorities in the Congress as a consequence of the 1936 reelection landslide.  Today, Biden has a 50-50 Senate and a single digit majority in the House.   In other words, show me a mandate, because I don’t see it.

This is a horrible idea but I am not sure that the Democrats will actually pull the trigger.  Let me tell you why:

First, this is a 50-50 Senate and Senator Joe Manchin would be literally removed by West Virginia if he went along.  I’m  not sure about Senator Jon Tester of Montana but I don’t think that he will go along with it.  So that leaves the Democrats with 48 and that’s not enough.  

Second, let’s force the Democrat leadership to put it to a vote.  Force every Democrat to vote “yes or no.”  My guess is that we will see a replay of that “Green New Deal” vote when most of them dodged the issue.

Third, “packing the court” would literally blow up the union.  What incentive would Texas, for example, have to stay in the Union?  Or Montana?  Or any other state?   It would be the most destructive idea to hit the union since 1861, and you know how that one turned out.