image missing
Date: 2024-12-21 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00027146
US CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
SOME KEY BIDEN IDEAS

Brian Tyler Cohen: LIVE: Biden issues MUST-HEAR announcement on Supreme Court reform


Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXaM400cAyk
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess
LIVE: Biden issues MUST-HEAR announcement on Supreme Court reform

Brian Tyler Cohen

2.94M subscribers

Streamed live 4 hours ago LIVE: Biden issues MUST-HEAR announcement on Supreme Court reform
  • Order my new book SHAMELESS: https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/s...
Subscribe for more and follow me here:
  • YouTube (español): / @briantylercohenespanol
  • Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/36UvEHs
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0066rKC...
  • Twitter: / briantylercohen
  • Instagram: / briantylercohen
  • Facebook: / briantylercohen
  • Patreon: / briantylercohen
  • Newsletter: https://www.briantylercohen.com/sign-up/
  • TikTok: / briantylercohen
  • Suit by JB Clothiers: https://jbclothiers.com/btc
Transcript
  • 0:00
  • all right hey everybody thank you so much for joining we have an announcement from Joe Biden he's doing a brief speech
  • right now so I'm going to not waste any time and turn it right over to uh the
  • president here so that we can hear what he has to say as far as uh Supreme Court reform is
  • concerned thank you thank you thank you
  • thank you thank
  • you thank
  • 0:49
  • you thank you thank you thank you really thank you please
  • 1:00
  • thank you Mr Ambassador Ambassador thanks for that
  • 1:08
  • introduction and above all for your friendship over the years there's only one word that comes
  • 1:13
  • to mind every time I think of Andy young the words Integrity absolute integrity
  • 1:20
  • and thank you to the Johnson family for caring for the Legacy a truly great
  • 1:25
  • president and first lady your mama is incredible as well
  • 1:34
  • same goes to Mark upgo president of the LBJ Foundation it's great to back be
  • 1:39
  • back here I thank you all and distinguished guests gathered here today look I was in college at the University
  • 1:47
  • of Delaware in our early beginning years when I heard the news of Doc that
  • 1:52
  • President Kennedy had been assassinated I remember exactly like anybody in my generation remembers exactly where they
  • 1:58
  • were sitting standing or walking I was on the steps of one of the Halls
  • 2:03
  • one of the University Halls called Holan Hall at the University listening on
  • 2:08
  • transistor radio with three other people seemed unbelievable and then later watching
  • 2:15
  • President Johnson help the nation find a way forward and his first address after the
  • 2:22
  • tragedy President Johnson said and I quote nothing could more eloquently honor President Kennedy's memory than
  • 2:29
  • the earliest passage of the Civil Rights bill that's what he
  • 2:36
  • [Music] said as a kid coming up I always admired
  • 2:44
  • President Johnson for his Public Service whether was a school teacher in southern Tex South
  • 2:50
  • Texas Master of the United States Senate historic vice president and president
  • 2:57
  • his philosophy was simple you know in a great society in a great society no one
  • 3:04
  • no one should be left behind he'd
  • 3:10
  • say it's time for us to come to see that every American gets a decent break and a
  • 3:16
  • fair chance to make good as Andy young said President
  • 3:22
  • Johnson met repeatedly with the civil rights leaders and build a coalition to bring that Vision to life he did he
  • 3:29
  • brought to life over 50 years the LBJ Foundation has convened this Symposium
  • 3:36
  • to reflect one of the crowning achievements the Civil Rights Act of
  • 3:42
  • 1964 a defining moment that has since opened doors of opportunities for all
  • 3:48
  • Americans regardless of race sexual orientation gender gender identity
  • 3:54
  • religion national origin together with the Voting Rights Act the Fair Housing Act these three
  • 4:02
  • Landmark laws he signed are remarkable in their scale and their
  • 4:07
  • scope taking together these three acts have made this nation fundamentally more fair fundamentally more just and most
  • 4:15
  • importantly fundamentally more consistent with our founding principles for
  • 4:21
  • [Music] real and we're a better Nation because
  • 4:26
  • because of them we must be clear their work our work is not done it's not
  • 4:34
  • done we do not celebrate these laws as part of our past but as critical
  • 4:39
  • components of our future President Johnson understood what President Lincoln understood in his own time that
  • 4:47
  • the courts would determine the scale and scope the scale and scope of our laws
  • 4:53
  • over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation President Johnson vowed in
  • 4:59
  • his words to do this job that Lincoln started to do this job that Lincoln started by
  • 5:06
  • challenging the court to live up to his constitutional responsibility he did that by nominating
  • 5:13
  • th Marshall as the first black Justice of the Supreme
  • 5:21
  • Court by aggressively defending civil rights throughout the courts but now we
  • 5:28
  • live in a different era in recent years extreme opinions that
  • 5:33
  • the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined long establish civil rights principles and
  • 5:40
  • protections 2013 Supreme Court in Shelby County case
  • 5:45
  • gutted the Voting Rights Act opening the floodgates to a wave of restrictive
  • 5:50
  • voting laws that have seen States across the country pass in
  • 5:57
  • 2022 the court overrule Ro be Wade and the right to choose that been the law of
  • 6:03
  • the land for 50 years 50 years the following year the same court
  • 6:10
  • eviscerated affirmative action which had been upheld and reaffirmed for nearly 50 years as well and now there's an extreme
  • 6:19
  • movement and agenda called project 2025 well it by the way they're serious
  • 6:27
  • man they're planning another on SL attacking civil rights in America for
  • 6:32
  • example project 2025 calls aggressively attacking diversity equity and inclusion
  • 6:38
  • all across all aspects of American life this extreme Maga
  • 6:43
  • movement even proposes the end birth rate citizenship that's how far they've come and birth rate citizenship which if
  • 6:51
  • you're born in America you're an American citizen that's how extreme these guys are this issue and so many other civil
  • 7:00
  • rights that Americans take for granted are likely to come before the court in the years to
  • 7:05
  • come and most recently and most shockingly Supreme Court established in
  • 7:10
  • Trump versus the United States a dangerous precedent they ruled as you know that
  • 7:17
  • the president of the United States has immunity for for for potential crimes he
  • 7:24
  • may have committed while in office immunity this nation was founded on the
  • 7:29
  • principle there are no Kings in America each of us is equal before the
  • 7:37
  • law no one is above the law and for all practical purposes the Court's decision
  • 7:42
  • almost certainly means that the president can violate their oath flout our laws and face no
  • 7:49
  • consequences here's what Justice s to my ear Supreme Court Justice Roden her descent I quote under the majority's
  • 7:57
  • reasoning president now will be insulated from from Criminal prosecution orders a Navy SEAL Team Six
  • 8:03
  • to assassinate a political rival immune organizes a military coup to hold
  • 8:09
  • on to power immune takes a bribe in exchange for pardon
  • 8:15
  • immune in every use of official power the president is now a king Above the
  • 8:22
  • Law just what J sary wrote in her descent folks just imagine what a
  • 8:29
  • president could do in trampling civil rights and Liberties given such immunity
  • 8:35
  • the courts being used to weaponize an extreme and unchecked agenda this decision is a total affront
  • 8:42
  • to the basic expectations we have for those who wield the power in this
  • 8:48
  • nation that they are expected to be wholly accountable under the law the president is no longer
  • 8:55
  • constrained by the law and only limits on abuse of power will be self-imposed by the president
  • 9:01
  • alone that's a fundamentally flawed View and a fundamentally flawed principle a
  • 9:06
  • dangerous principle on top of its extreme decisions the court is mired in a crisis
  • 9:14
  • of Ethics these scandals involving the justices have caused public opinion to
  • 9:20
  • question the Court's fairness and Independence that are essential to Faithfully carrying out its
  • 9:26
  • Mission we call justice under the law for example there are documented reports
  • 9:33
  • of a decades long effort to reshape the Judiciary including the Supreme Court back by Shadow special interest that
  • 9:40
  • also support project 2025 undisclosed gift of justice is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
  • 9:47
  • from wealthy benefactors who have interest before the very Court they're contributing to conflict of interest
  • 9:55
  • from those connected to January 6th insurrectionist and the blatant attack
  • 10:01
  • on nominating confirming justices of the court itself do you all remember when Justice
  • 10:07
  • Scalia died in February of 2016 and the Republicans blocked our the
  • 10:12
  • president's nomination President Obama's nomination to fill that vacancy for nearly a year by making up an entirely
  • 10:20
  • new standard that there be no confirmations of the Court during an election year but
  • 10:27
  • then when Justice gimberg died G Ginsburg died in 2020 Republicans
  • 10:33
  • rushed through the president's Trump's nominee at the very same time votes are
  • 10:38
  • being cast in an election that Trump would lose it's
  • 10:48
  • outrageous I know I don't look it but I served in the senate for 36
  • 10:53
  • years including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee I'm been told that I've
  • 10:59
  • overseen more Supreme Court nominations as Senator vice president and president
  • 11:05
  • than anyone in history anyone alive today I should
  • 11:11
  • say I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers laid out in our
  • 11:17
  • constitution but what's happening now is not consistent with that doctrine of
  • 11:22
  • separation of powers extremism is undermining the public
  • 11:27
  • confidence in the Court's decision as soon as I came to office I convened a bipartisan presidential commission on
  • 11:35
  • the Supreme Court of the United States comprised of leading constitutional Scholars both liberal and conservative
  • 11:41
  • to provide recommendations on potential reforms to the court I've been careful in these
  • 11:48
  • deliberations because these are serious serious decisions in the face of increasing
  • 11:54
  • threats to American Democratic institutions I use the commission's analysis
  • 11:59
  • and today I'm calling for three bold reforms to Restort trust and accountability to the court and our
  • 12:07
  • democracy as a press shout to me as I got off Air Force One the Republican Speaker of the House said whatever he
  • 12:13
  • proposes is dead on Aral why I think he thinking is Dead on
  • 12:24
  • Arrival first I'm calling for a constitutional
  • 12:29
  • Amendment called no one is above the law Amendment it
  • 12:38
  • holds I mean it sincerely it holds there no immunity for crimes former president
  • 12:44
  • committed while in office I share our Founders
  • 12:51
  • belief that president must answer to the law the president is accountable in the
  • 12:57
  • exercise of the great power of the president We're a nation of laws not Kings and
  • 13:07
  • dictators the decision can be booed down to the title of one case Trump versus the United States a
  • 13:15
  • court asserted it was making a ruling for the ages that isn't true the court
  • 13:21
  • made a ruling for one a former president no other president of our history has
  • 13:28
  • asked for this kind of immunity for criminal actions and no president no former president not me not one not
  • 13:37
  • one has in should have been given given any exception to this with such
  • 13:45
  • immunity the second thing I'm asking for we've had ter term limits for presiden
  • 13:50
  • of the United States for nearly 75 years after the Truman Administration and I believe we should
  • 13:57
  • have term Li for Supreme Court Justice the United States as [Applause]
  • 14:10
  • well in fact the United States is the only major constitutional democracy that
  • 14:16
  • gives lifetime seats in their High Court term limits would help ensure that the
  • 14:21
  • court membership changes with some regularity that would be make timing for
  • 14:28
  • the the course nomination more predictable and less arbitrary reduce the chance that any single president
  • 14:36
  • imposes undue influence in generations to come the bipartisan commission
  • 14:41
  • Iain analyze various term limit structures based on their report I
  • 14:47
  • believe the best structure is the 18-year term limit that would help ensure the country would not have what
  • 14:53
  • it has now an extreme Court that's Sur proud of an attack on the confirmation
  • 14:59
  • process that's been weaponized by those seeking to carry out an extreme agenda
  • 15:04
  • for decades to come by the way these guys mean it these guys mean
  • 15:10
  • it project 2025 is real they mean
  • 15:16
  • it third I'm calling for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court
  • 15:25
  • [Music]
  • 15:33
  • Supreme Court's current ethics code is weak and even more frightening voluntary
  • 15:40
  • voluntary any code of Congress must be enforcable under the reform I proposed
  • 15:47
  • Justice would be required to disclose gifts refrain from public political
  • 15:52
  • activity recuse themselves in cases in which they have they or their spouses have a financial or other conflict of
  • 15:58
  • interest most people don't realize that Congress passed the law
  • 16:04
  • decades ago that says all federal judges including Supreme Court justices have to
  • 16:09
  • recuse themselves in such cases but the current justices insist on enforcing that requirement
  • 16:16
  • themselves without any public oversight or
  • 16:22
  • compulsion see that's their decision they don't have to tell us how they made it that might work the court was
  • 16:29
  • actually enforcing those requirements but they are not the court is not
  • 16:34
  • self-policing the court is not dealing with the obvious conflicts of interest
  • 16:39
  • we need a mandatory code of ethics for the Supreme Court and we need it
  • 16:50
  • [Music] now my fellow Americans based on all my experience I'm
  • 16:58
  • certain we need these reforms we need these reforms to restore trust in the courts preserve the system of checks and
  • 17:04
  • balances that are vital toward democracy there also Common Sense
  • 17:10
  • reforms that a vast majority of the American people support as well as leading constitutional law Scholars
  • 17:16
  • progressives and conservatives I look forward to working with the Congress to implement these necessary reforms a number of members of
  • 17:22
  • Congress are here today let me close with this President Johnson signed the
  • 17:29
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964 just two days before the 4th of
  • 17:34
  • July he said in that bill signing and I quote this is a proud
  • 17:40
  • Triumph yet those who founded our country through the freedom would be secure only
  • 17:47
  • if each generation fought to renew in a largest en largest meaning end of
  • 17:52
  • quote that's what I've tried to do throughout my career inspired by the cause of civil rights
  • 17:58
  • [Applause]
  • 18:07
  • that's what got me involved initially my state was a state that was segregated by
  • 18:15
  • law we were one who only reason we didn't figh in this side of the South we
  • 18:20
  • couldn't get there I'm serious what motivated me to be a public
  • 18:27
  • defender County councilman I'll never forget I had a good job with a big trial
  • 18:34
  • firm and uh in Delaware you have to study for the bar for 6 months before
  • 18:41
  • you're allowed to take it and in the meanwhile I was studing for the bar that's when Dr King was
  • 18:48
  • assassinated we're the only state in the nation sitting in the nation that had
  • 18:54
  • the military stationed on every corner with drawn bayonets for 10 months for 10
  • 19:01
  • months insisting because we had a very conservative Democratic governor in
  • 19:08
  • those days when the Democrats won they could choose to be part of the Southern Governors or Northern Governor count
  • 19:14
  • North East Governor's conference they choose a southern Governor's conference lots of
  • 19:19
  • times but guess what got me engaged I love how reading
  • 19:25
  • these biographers of me now that I knew I was going to run for president
  • 19:31
  • [Music] I remember walking in to the public defender's office which
  • 19:37
  • was part-time at the time and asking for an application
  • 19:43
  • because I wanted to join the public vendor office and he looked at me his name is frany Kerns he said don't you
  • 19:50
  • work for pricket Ward Burton Sanders I said yeah why the hell would you want to do
  • 19:57
  • this not a J but I said let me do it I became a
  • 20:03
  • public defender folks here's the deal because I got engaged like a lot of
  • 20:10
  • you do whether you run for office or not you get engaged and you want to change
  • 20:16
  • things so I kept trying to change the Democratic party in my state which is very
  • 20:21
  • conservative and then the group of people came to me as my Senator knows Chris Coons came to me and said look we
  • 20:29
  • want you to run for state senate I said' I can't I can't go to do all the time I'm just starting a law firm I'm
  • 20:35
  • part-time public defender and then they came back to me and said we why don't you run for the County Council I said I can't they said
  • 20:42
  • you stupid SOB it's right across the street there I'm serious meets meets only twice
  • 20:48
  • a week so my sister and my best friend
  • 20:54
  • managed my campaign and we picked a district that we couldn't possibly win no Democrat had ever
  • 21:00
  • won but my problem was I had my sister doing my campaign and we
  • 21:06
  • won next thing I know is part of a group assigned as young Senators young young
  • 21:12
  • elected officials to try to bring the party around to get someone to run for the United States
  • 21:17
  • Senate and I was put on a commission when you're the young lawyer you get to turn the lights on and off after every
  • 21:24
  • meeting and so I remember going down to the Democratic convention off year in do Delaware and
  • 21:33
  • after the afternoon session went back and I was in my room nice mot Motel you just drive up to
  • 21:40
  • get out walk in your door there and you know an 8 by10 bathroom a
  • 21:45
  • shower and a stall and I had my tarami and the shaving cream in my face I Bam
  • 21:51
  • Bam Bam at my door and I thought it was the guys I
  • 21:56
  • came down with a guy was a real had a talk show named Bob cunning and was a big civil rights
  • 22:02
  • guy and two others so I thought of them and I walked open the door there was the
  • 22:08
  • former Governor former Supreme Court Justice swear to
  • 22:14
  • God the the state chairman and the former Congressman I said we just had dinner I
  • 22:21
  • I said I'm sorry gentlemen I walked in I ran in the bathroom shake the shave girl think I
  • 22:27
  • could put something on there wasn't anything here I walk back out of the tunnel I'm standing against a nail a
  • 22:33
  • desk nail to the wall and there they're on the beds that were nailed with the headboards are nailed with the
  • 22:39
  • wall four of sitting across he said Joe we are thinking you should run for the
  • 22:45
  • United States Senate I said gentlemen are you cra uh you
  • 22:51
  • serious and they went on made their case I hope all of you had a professor's
  • 22:57
  • enlightened his mind I had one Professor named Dr angol my political philosophy professor at the
  • 23:04
  • University of Delaware which is between do and where I was going home so I called him I going stop by and see him
  • 23:12
  • and I said what do you think I should do he said Joe remember what Plato said I'm
  • 23:18
  • thinking what the hell did Plato say seriously so Plato said the penalty good
  • 23:24
  • people pay for not being viol in politic being governed by people worse than themselves
  • 23:29
  • home spoke to my deceased wife she said look Joe you're working 40 hours a week trying to set up a law firm and you're
  • 23:35
  • working 40 hours a week as a public defender get in or get out next I knowah
  • 23:40
  • was running we won by a Nixon won my state by 60% of the vote won but we won
  • 23:46
  • by staggering 3,800 votes my point
  • 23:54
  • is I didn't know what the hell I was doing but look and I went on to be able to be I
  • 24:02
  • had to wait a little bit to be sworn in you got to be 30 to be sworn in and then I had I was the vice
  • 24:09
  • president the first African-American president in American
  • 24:15
  • [Music] history now I'm president to our first woman vice
  • 24:23
  • [Music] president I made clear how feel about KL
  • 24:29
  • and she's been an incredible partner to me a champion of civil rights throughout her career and she'll continue to be an
  • 24:34
  • inspiring leader project this very idea of America the very idea that we're all created equal deser to be treated
  • 24:40
  • equally throughout our lives we've never fully lived up to that we've never walked away from it we've never walked
  • 24:46
  • away because leaders like Lyon main Johnson my fellow Americans and two
  • 24:52
  • years will commemorate the 250th anniversary the signing the Declaration of Independence that July 4 of
  • 24:59
  • 2026 will be a moment not only about our past but about our future imagine that moment and ask
  • 25:07
  • yourself what do we want to be we can and must be protected and
  • 25:13
  • expand our civil rights in America we can and must prevent the abuse of Presidential Power and restore faith in
  • 25:20
  • the Supreme Court we can and must strengthen the guardrails of democracy we must have to remind ourselves who we
  • 25:26
  • are we're the United States of America and there is nothing nothing beyond their capacity nothing when we do it
  • 25:34
  • together so let's stay together and God bless you all lynon Johnson lady birg
  • 25:39
  • Johnson may God bless the whole family ladies and gentlemen may God protect our troops thank you for
  • 25:46
  • [Applause]
  • 25:55
  • listening okay so let's talk about what he just brought up there because I think
  • 26:01
  • that a lot of this is important and it definitely requires some clarification in terms of what we can actually get
  • 26:07
  • done and what it would take to actually get some of this stuff done so there are three reforms that President Biden
  • 26:13
  • called for
  • 26:20
  • here so of those three reforms let's discuss what they actually are so the
  • 26:27
  • first one is is the no one is above the law Constitutional Amendment this would
  • 26:33
  • basically reverse the Supreme Court's 63 decision conferring broad presidential
  • 26:38
  • immunity to any any president basically so so here's what I think is especially
  • 26:46
  • important here um to actually get this pasted obviously this is monumentally
  • 26:51
  • important and absolutely absolutely necessary we've had wrongly decided Supreme Court decisions in the past
  • 26:57
  • sometimes they take a couple of decades to fix sometimes they take as many as six decades to fix but those decisions
  • 27:04
  • include Dread Scott uh koram Matsu uh py versus Ferguson so we've had wrongly
  • 27:11
  • decided court cases before they have eventually been overturned this one is very clearly a wrongly decided court
  • 27:16
  • case but what is important now is how we actually get this done so first of all to pass a constitutional amendment we
  • 27:22
  • would need the support of 2/3 of both houses of Congress so 2third of the house two-thirds of the Senate as well
  • 27:29
  • as 3/4 of all the states so obviously a very heavy lift in terms of the actual
  • 27:35
  • feasibility of getting a constitutional amendment passed it is unlikely at least in the current makeup of this country of
  • 27:42
  • the Congress that we would actually get that done which is not to say that it isn't especially important that Joe Biden come forward and and normalize
  • 27:50
  • this idea and just as a quick aside on that that has been Joe Biden's superpower in all of this this is a a
  • 27:56
  • 50-year long time Centrist Democratic senator for a long time who became the vice president
  • 28:02
  • became the president but because he's a Centrist he's been able to normalize a lot of these very Progressive ideas that
  • 28:09
  • if a president Bernie Sanders for example brought forward they wouldn't be received the same way so this is a
  • 28:14
  • superpower of Biden for him to come forward and call for Supreme Court reform not just unto itself is important
  • 28:21
  • but for him to take his time at the end of his presidency and do it right now to make it easier for the next
  • 28:27
  • Administration to push for these reforms to normalize this kind of to make it to make it feel
  • 28:33
  • like it's not some radical farle communist Marxist plan that is exceedingly important here um I do want
  • 28:41
  • to go over two others and that is the idea of term limits and a code of ethics
  • 28:48
  • and and shortly I'm going to bring forward uh a discussion a piece of a discussion I had with Mark Elias about
  • 28:53
  • exactly this point because I think that this is going to be uh an important dend them to this but the the other two
  • 29:00
  • things that he brought forward were the idea of 18 18-year term limits so a president would be able to appoint a
  • 29:05
  • Supreme Court Justice every two years to spend 18 years on the Supreme Court uh
  • 29:12
  • and the second piece is a Code of Ethics that basically says that justices would be required to disclose gifts which
  • 29:18
  • would be a major blow to someone like Clarence Thomas who uh may or may not be
  • 29:24
  • on a yacht somewhere right now living his best life with Haren Crow who may or
  • 29:29
  • may not have business before The Supreme Court it'll also call for uh refraining from from public political activity big
  • 29:36
  • blow to Martha an Alo uh and her love of flags and would also call for accusal in
  • 29:42
  • cases in which they or their spouses have Financial or other conflicts of interest which would basically uh which
  • 29:48
  • would be yet another blow to Clarence Thomas or Samuel Leto and uh and their wives as well so for these two whereas
  • 29:56
  • the first constitutional amendment would require 2third of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the states for
  • 30:02
  • ratification this would require basic legislation it would go through the regular the regular course of order in
  • 30:09
  • in in Congress here so that means that a simple majority in the house and then it
  • 30:14
  • has to overcome the filibuster in the Senate unless the filibuster is eliminated in which case we would just
  • 30:20
  • need a simple majority of senators now I I do want to switch over to a conversation that I had with Mark Elias
  • 30:26
  • because I did ask him let's say for example and just gaming this out while it's highly unlikely that we'll get a
  • 30:32
  • constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court's decision on immunity at least at least for the moment while
  • 30:37
  • Donald Trump is running because that is that is a major that's a major Cornerstone of what Donald Trump needs
  • 30:43
  • to become president is is this presidential immunity because so much of his agenda relies on him being able to
  • 30:49
  • commit criminal acts with impunity to actually put forward what he wants to put forward but on these other two points term limits and code of ethics
  • 30:56
  • passing them through regular order and just getting them through through the house and the Senate I asked mark what
  • 31:02
  • he thinks in terms of let's say for example we do get these um push through we do get these passed sorry and uh
  • 31:09
  • because we've been able to uh gain a majority in both houses of Congress and the Senate decided to eliminate the
  • 31:15
  • filibuster I asked would it be possible if the Supreme Court could then meddle in that and overturn that decision so
  • 31:21
  • I'm going to I'm going to transfer over here and show you what Mark had to say on exactly that issue
  • 31:33
  • well can the Supreme Court overrule a constitutional amendment even on the unlikely chance that it actually does
  • 31:38
  • get passed would they have the ability to kind of SWAT it down no they don't right so the Supreme Court has the
  • 31:45
  • authority to interpret Constitutional Amendments uh but the once they are in the con once they are once the amendment
  • 31:51
  • has passed they are in the Constitution they are part of the text the Supreme Court cannot invalidate a constitutional amendment we have seen the Supreme Court
  • 31:58
  • interpret some constitutional Provisions in ways that I don't think are truly faithful to the text but when you read
  • 32:04
  • this provision and democracy docket has it on their website they wrote a really good article summarizing and they post
  • 32:09
  • the actual constitutional text it's pretty hard to get around like the Supreme Court would not be able to
  • 32:15
  • navigate around the way in which congressman Ry has framed this and okay so this is uh and I was wrong I
  • 32:22
  • apologize for the mistake he was talking about the Constitutional Amendment and uh and whether the Supreme Court would be able to strike that down
  • 32:28
  • um and clearly they wouldn't but that again relies on them being able to get it past but I think it's important now
  • 32:34
  • that that we discuss this and again kudos to President Biden when he could be doing nothing you know he doesn't
  • 32:39
  • have to do this instead he's coming out and using his long-standing his long-standing
  • 32:45
  • uh um uh uh like characterization as a Centrist Senator to normalize what would
  • 32:52
  • otherwise be perceived as or attacked as um an exceedingly an exceedingly radical
  • 32:58
  • idea which is this idea that the Supreme Court is corrupt and it's of course not a radical idea the only thing that's radical in all of this the only thing
  • 33:04
  • that is that is overtly corrupt and all of this is what the Supreme Court is doing right now so he is basically
  • 33:09
  • setting the stage to get people used to this idea that we have a serious PL
  • 33:15
  • problem with the Supreme Court that it has that it has you know his that some
  • 33:20
  • Court reform has his stamp of approval and that we should move forward with some type of Reform but all of that
  • 33:26
  • relies right now all of it on being able to gain majorities in both the house and
  • 33:31
  • the Senate and the white house once we do that if we get a simple majority in the house done deal all of this any any
  • 33:38
  • legislation just requires a simple majority to be able to pass if we are in the Senate right now without Joe mansion
  • 33:43
  • and Kirsten Cinema we have those are the only two senators who have expressed um
  • 33:50
  • uh opposition to the filibuster as it stands right now neither one of them are going to be running for reelection which
  • 33:55
  • means if we can replace Kiren Cinema with Ruben gyo and that'll bring us down
  • 34:00
  • to uh to to just one that's Joe mansion and then Joe mansion that seat is as good as gone in West Virginia but if we
  • 34:07
  • can still win the rest of the seats that we're defending right now which means sherid Brown in Ohio Jackie Rosen in
  • 34:12
  • Nevada Bob Casey in Pennsylvania sherid Brown in Ohio and of course uh Ruben gyo
  • 34:18
  • in Arizona uh among a couple of others that are going to be you know tough races regardless uh John tester in
  • 34:24
  • Montana for example then we will have a 50 50 majority as long as we have a simple majority they can vote to
  • 34:30
  • overturn the filibuster uh and and then we are able to move forward with passing legislation that we need pass like for
  • 34:36
  • example codification of abortion rights um and uh and a Voting Rights Act and a
  • 34:44
  • uh some whatever iteration of what they call the freedom to vote act so all of these are absolutely necessary but it relies on not just winning at the top of
  • 34:51
  • the ticket but winning down ballot as well and so so again good on Biden for standing up here in his lame presidency
  • 34:58
  • and basically advocating for these ideas that not just priming the American people to to to to gear up for this
  • 35:05
  • fight but also normalizing them just by virtue of who Joe Biden is as a
  • 35:10
  • president as a longtime Centrist and and showing Americans across the country that if Joe Biden can say it it's not
  • 35:17
  • like AOC is advocating for it it's not like uh like you know Bernie Sanders is advocating for it people who've been
  • 35:23
  • primed to believe that these are these uh extreme communist Marxist Democrats according to Fox News and Newsmax and O
  • 35:29
  • this is Joe Biden who's saying it and again this is this has been his superpower is making making Progressive
  • 35:36
  • policy uh or or important advocacy like this seem moderate seem Centrist just by
  • 35:43
  • virtue of who the messenger actually is so um we will leave it there of course
  • 35:49
  • um it remains to be seen you know nothing is going to happen right now President Biden can't do any of this
  • 35:55
  • unilaterally which is important to note he's called for these things he's advocating for these things hopefully if
  • 36:01
  • and when kamla Harris wins in in November of 2024 this becomes a central plank of her agenda heading into 2025
  • 36:09
  • because it is important but a lot of it's going to rely on our ability to make sure that we keep the house and
  • 36:15
  • that we uh keep this or win the house rather and that we keep the Senate both of those are going to be uh crucial to
  • 36:20
  • getting anything done at the Supreme Court and uh hopefully we do the see these reforms so with that said um we
  • 36:27
  • will I'll jump on either later on today or tomorrow for another live stream for those watching right now if you want to
  • 36:32
  • continue to watch these live streams please make sure to subscribe to this channel doesn't cost anything to be able
  • 36:38
  • to do that uh but it's a great way to support my work you can see more videos like this one this is my series
  • 36:43
  • democracy watch with Mark Elias um as well as a few other series that I host on this channel including an interview
  • 36:49
  • series uh a legal series and also my video podcast so to support the work that I do and to see more of this stuff
  • 36:55
  • please make sure to subscribe about half of you watching yet right now aren't yet subscribed so again
  • 37:00
  • doesn't cost you anything but it's a great way to support this work so with that said I'm going to end it here thank you everybody for watching and I'll uh
  • 37:07
  • see you next time


SITE COUNT Amazing and shiny stats
Copyright © 2005-2021 Peter Burgess. All rights reserved. This material may only be used for limited low profit purposes: e.g. socio-enviro-economic performance analysis, education and training.