AUSTIN, Texas — Taking on the Supreme Court is high on the priority list for Democrats, should they win back Congress after the midterms.
Zeroing in on the high court over cases Democrats lost, including voting rights, abortion and executive power in regulatory agencies, members of the Democratic National Committee on Friday slammed conservative justices for the decisions that have slowed down the party’s political agenda.
Party members at the DNC’s summer meeting unanimously agreed to advance a resolution during a committee meeting to denounce how the Supreme Court uses the court’s “shadow” docket and provide greater transparency into the decisions on the cases.
The term is used by justices for the interim or emergency docket regarding cases that rush to the court during a term, usually on preliminary issues, and receiving rulings without going through full briefing and oral argument.
Democrats say conservatives on the court are using the shadow docket too often to make “incredibly consequential decisions.”
These include rulings related to upholding immigration stops that Democrats decried as biased policing, the authority of the president to terminate members of independent agencies, the upholding of mass firing of federal workers and the upholding of deportation of illegal criminal aliens to countries with which they have no connection.
“We need to pull back the curtain hiding major changes in the law and promote transparency in Supreme Court decisions,” said one DNC member on the panel. “This Supreme Court is totally out of control …”
One Democratic lawmaker drew cheers from the crowd at the DNC’s youth council when he proposed that Democrats should face down the high court, which he described as “corrupt.”
“Is it OK that some billionaires got their friends appointed to the Supreme Court, and no matter how much we try to defend abortion rights or raise the minimum wage, they can just tell us no?” Rep. Greg Casar of Texas asked. “Or are we going to be like the organizers from SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] of the past?”
The civil rights group founded in the 1960s was at the forefront of demonstrations and protests.
Mr. Casar added, “We’re going to, instead, demand that if Democrats win back control, we… tell the Supreme Court, you know what? The people rule here, not just the ultra-powerful that put you in office.”
Mr. Casar said Democrats cannot just elect their own party, but specifically need to elect lawmakers “willing to face down the Supreme Court” and “willing to say, no more gerrymandering.”
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.