It’s time to tell the Supreme Court to shove it

If Mitch McConnell wants a judicial crisis, Democrats should give him one

Welcome to a Saturday edition of Progress Report.

We’ve got a packed newsletter for paid subscribers today, led by a potential constitutional crisis being egged on by Mitch McConnell. Then it’s on to:

• States making major strides toward universal healthcare

• Big decisions on fair elections and new attacks on voting rights and direct democracy…

• Good housing and public education policy news… and more!

Let’s get to it.

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Republican Senate Majority Mitch McConnell on Thursday urged conservative district courts to ignore a new directive from the body that oversees the federal judiciary, setting up a potential showdown with massive implications for the rule of law, separation of powers, and some of Americans’ most cherished rights.

Earlier this week, the Judicial Conference of the United States issued a new rule meant to end “judge-shopping,” a process by which litigants file suits in districts with ideologically sympathetic judges who are more likely to rule in their favor. Conservatives have used the scheme to direct major lawsuits toward the courtrooms of a number of Trump-appointed federal judges, most notably District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a fundamentalist bigot who also happens to be the only judge in his Texas district.

“This was an unforced error by the Judicial Conference. I hope they will reconsider,” McConnell said while speaking on the Senate floor. “And I hope district courts throughout the country will instead weigh what is best for their jurisdictions, not half-baked ‘guidance’ that just does Washington Democrats’ bidding.”

Conservatives manipulated the judiciary to land a judge who would rescind FDA approval for abortion medication.

Naturally, McConnell was being entirely disingenuous; the conference is largely comprised of Republican judicial nominees and chaired by Chief Justice John Roberts, who has made a long career out of thwarting Democrats at just about every opportunity. This is just another power grab by McConnell, who is counting on the fact that a vast majority of Americans have never heard of the Judicial Conference or have any real inkling as to how the judiciary operates.

But in his arrogance, McConnell also handed Democrats a golden opportunity to accomplish several critical goals ahead of November, and more importantly, hand back some power to the majority of Americans stuck living under extremist crank minoritarian rule.

To continue reading this piece, click here.

🗳️ 🧑‍⚖️ A cynical attempt by North Carolina Republicans to meddle in election administration was blocked by a panel of judges this week.

The three judge panel ruled unanimously that Republican legislators violated North Carolina’s constitution when they took away Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s power to appoint the state election board. The law, passed via supermajority over Cooper’s veto last fall, would have shifted responsibility the power of appointment to the legislature and require that it include an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.

Instead of fostering bipartisanship, the partisan split was intended to tie up the board with frequent deadlocks, thereby essentially ending its oversight powers. Though the panel that overturned the law consisted of two Republican and one Democratic judge, GOP legislators are likely to appeal to the state Supreme Court, which has shifted far to the right over the past few election cycles.

🏜️🥔 Republicans in Arizona and Idaho have joined the parade of right-wing lawmakers trying to gut their respective states’ ballot initiative process.