Ep. 5 - Capture the Courts: The Trump-McConnell Judicial Takeover

Get ready for a whirlwind primer in the GOP donor-funded Trump-McConnell takeover of the U.S. judiciary. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has essentially shut down the Legislative Branch for anything except confirming Trump judges. They know they’re not going to finish in Trump’s first term. If he gets a second term, they WILL finish. 

Already, the Trump-McConnell controlled courts have a unanimous victory on the 80 corporate cases that have appeared in front of the Supreme Court. That is 80, 5-4 decisions, in favor of corporate interests and that is EVERY case decided in favor of private interests and against the public good. 

Their priority is to pack the courts with judges who are young, inexperienced, and pro-corporate. McConnell and the Senate Republicans have turned the Senate and the Legislative Branch into  a conveyor belt for confirming Trump judges. The House Democrats have passed over 350 bills, 90% of which have bi-partisan support, that have yet to even be considered by the Senate.

The courts are all but captured and with Justice Ginsberg’s seat now vacant, the stakes for America have never been higher. 

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Links to research used in this episode:

• The Myth of 'Captured Courts' | Opinion
• President Trump's re-election rally in Tulsa
• An inside look at how Trump's Supreme Court list is made: ‘A tremendous investment of time’
• DPCC Report: Stabenow, Schumer, Whitehouse Unveil Report Detailing GOP's Big-Money Assault on the Constitution, Our Independent Judiciary, and the Rule of Law
• Mitch Part 4: 'Not A Happy Choice' : Embedded
• https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/07/he-defended-anti-gay-and-anti-muslim-causes-now-hes-an-immigration-judge/ 
• Frequently Asked Questions, fedsoc.org
• Trump’s New Judicial Litmus Test: Shrinking ‘the Administrative State’
• Economic Inequality and Political Representation