My point was that the back and forth escalation by both sides has landed us here. That's not something I would be hopeful of either side continuing.
Kagan and Sotomayor aren't as far to the left as Roberts and Kavanaugh are to the right? Perhaps, if your view is from the left side. It certainly seems like Roberts has crossed over on more high impact cases than any of the liberals on the court have.
I agree that the way Garland was handled was slimy. That's easily the most legitimate complaint either side has in my mind.
Do you really find your list of grievances in the last paragraph more odious than the Ds identity politics, open borders to import voters, ever more handouts to buy votes, attacks on the parts of the Bill of Rights they don't like, calls to abolish ICE, and calling Every. Single. Person. who disagrees with them racist/sexist/whateverist? (Fun fact- I was once called a racist for having a Herman Cain bumper sticker.) That doesn't get into the nearly continual and almost completely one sided stream of propaganda from academia and media.
As for federal judiciary allies...how many states voted to legalize gay marriage prior to the federal judiciary forcing it on them? How many states would deem a viable pregnancy to be a person with rights, if the federal judiciary would let them?
It doesn't sound to me that picking sides like kids in an elementary school yard and hoping for continued escalation is the best way forward.
I agree that there has been back-and-forth escalation around the federal judiciary, but my point was that opposing a candidate with massive disqualifying red flags (Bork, Thomas) does not fall into that category.
And, yes, I’m comfortable saying that the Scalia-Thomas-Alito axis and their successors are further to the right than Soto-Kagan-RGB-Breyer. It’s not global, but Sotomayor and RGB have solidly liberal records, Breyer and Kagan center-left, Roberts center-right, Alito solidly right, Scalia (and his successor) significantly further to the right, and Thomas further still. Kavanaugh would slot in somewhere between Alito and Thomas/Gorsuch, based on his record. Multiple analyses have been done on this, Google them as you will.
As for the bolded section, I’m talking about, in most of these cases, concrete actions that have been taken to undermine the democratic process. You’re talking about political tactics that you don’t like. Like, to crib from my man sturg, I’m talking data and you’re talking emotion. Nebulous cries of “identity politics” mean what, exactky, compared to federal court cases identifying states who tried to make it harder for people to vote, on the basis of race? Let’s just stipulate that you’re right on one point, and say that “open borders” policies are a means to “import” voters. Now, first we have to acknowledge that were using politically charged language which in and of itself assume certain conclusions. Next, it’s worth pointing out that some of the biggest proponents of so-called “open borders” are the Chamber of Commerce Republican types. Finally, my question is that if people achieve citizenship, why should they not be allowed and encouraged to vote? I want everybody who is eligible to vote to do so. Don’t you? Do you think that reflects the current culture of the Republican party?
Basically, I’m giving you concrete examples about how one party (the one that’s lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections) is trying to consolidate minority rule, and you’re responding with stuff you don’t like about political discourse.