Best of the Left Podcast

Tue, 17 July 2018

#1197 Showing up at the last minute to fight for the Supreme Court

Air Date: 7/17/2018

Today we take a look at the history of what led us to be on the brink of the most conservative Supreme Court in 90 years, some of the details as to what's at stake and some ideas on fighting back, now and in the future

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: The right has been more focused, more committed, and better organized - The Ezra Klein Show - Air Date 7-2-18

Dahlia Lithwick, Slate’s exceptional legal analyst, on how the right has won the fight for the Supreme Court for the next few decades because they were more focused, more committed, and better organized. This is how they did it.

Ch. 2: Sheldon Whitehouse on the importance of the Supreme Court being explained to Democrats - Amicus from @Slate - Air Date 7-7-18

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic senator from Rhode Island talks about why Democrats must care more about the Supreme Court, the danger of dark money, and the frustration of confirmation hearings.

Ch. 3: Lives Are At Stake: The Struggle to Stop Trump’s Right-Wing Takeover of the Supreme Court - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 07-10-18

Activists and organizers around the country are mobilizing against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who needs a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate to be confirmed.

Ch. 4: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE- Tell Senators #WhatsAtStake with Kavanaugh & Support Progressives Primary Candidates in Wisconsin (and MN, CT and VT) on 8.14 - Best of the Left Activism

*Scroll down for the segment info, dates and links. Or click above for the full blog post.*

Ch. 5: John Nichols argues that it's possible to block Trump’s supreme court pick - Start Making Sense from @TheNation - Air Date 7-5-18

The most important political task of the year is blocking Trump’s supreme court pick. It can be done, John Nichols argues—with the right political strategy: organizing in the states with the swing votes: Maine and Alaska.

Ch. 6: How Democrats Can Get Past a Far Right Court - @Thom_Hartmann - Air Date: 6-28-18

Thom Hartmann discusses a potential congressional check on our far right supreme court, one that perhaps should have been used long before now.

Ch. 7: Ian Millhiser on John Roberts and the calls for Democrats to pack the court - @offkiltershow - Air Date 7-3-18

Ian Millhiser, justice editor at ThinkProgress and Off-Kilter’s SCOTUS correspondent, on the roll that John Roberts now plays in deciding whether there will be a call for Democrats to take the nuclear option against the Supreme Court.

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 8: Building the future of progressivism - V from Central New York

Ch. 9: What is it like to be on the left? Why are you on the left? - Ralph from Waterbury, CT

Ch. 10: Final comments on the philosophy of progressivism

THE MIDTERMS MINUTE:

Take Action with SPLC's #WhatsAtStake SCOTUS Campaign:

Stop Kavanaugh: SPLC's list of 6 Senators and their contact information

RSVP to call these Senators weekly until the confirmation hearings

MIDTERMS RESOURCES:

Check on candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats | Brand New Congress | DSA | Latino Victory | Our Revolution

Check your state registration deadlines and voter ID laws with rockthevote.org

For an easy way to donate to candidates, check out DownTicket.com on your mobile browser.