#1222 A crisis of illegitimacy of our institutions
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 26 October 2018
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date: 10/26/2018
Today we take a look at the crumbling trust in the Supreme Court in the wake of the Kavanaugh confirmation, not to mention the undemocratic electoral college, undemocratic Senate and a whole slew of anti-democracy GOP dirty tricks that have been used to acquire and intrench power for a conservative minority
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Finding the path forward in a rigged system - Bradcast from @TheBradBlog - Air Date 10-8-18
Alleged sexual assaulter and perjurer Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now Justice Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court, meaning all five serving Republican appointees on the nine-person Court serve under one cloud of illegitimacy or another.
Ch. 2: Senator Jeff Merkley on the legitimacy of the Supreme Court - Amicus from @Slate - Air Date 10-12-18
Dahlia Lithwick talks with Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon about the “deep wounds” in the Senate following Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.
Ch. 4: Brett Kavanaugh's banal, reactionary mind - Jacobin Radio (@jacobinmag) - Air Date 10-8-18
Meagan Day reflects on the toxicity — and banality — of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation to the Supreme Court. We look at the way the contentious, emotional hearings exposed the fault lines between gender, privilege, class, and politics in the US.
Ch. 5: John Nichols on impeaching Kavanaugh - Start Making Sense from @TheNation - Air Date 10-9-18
John Nichols talks about investigations that could lead to the filing of articles of impeachment against Brett Kavanaugh.
There is bipartisan agreement that Article 3 Section 2 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate the Supreme Court, so why don't Democrats use this tactic to fight Citizens United?
Ch. 7: How Obama Paved the Way for the Kavanaugh Appointment - @TheRealNews - Air Date 10-14-18
Eoin Higgins of The Intercept argues that had Obama investigated and prosecuted Bush administration officials, Brett Kavanaugh would probably never have made it to the Supreme Court.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 8: A Response To Matthew On Abortion - Ani from Alabama
Ch. 9: Reproductive justice and the ambiguity of life - Elizabeth from Virginia
Ch. 10: Final comments on the choice litmus test
THE MIDTERMS MINUTE
REGISTER TO VOTE: RocktheVote.org/register-to-vote/
CONFIRM VOTER REGISTRATION: HeadCount.org/verify-voter-registration/
CHECK VOTING DATES & POLICIES: RocktheVote.org/voting-information/
VOTER ID INFO/HELP: VoteRiders & 866ourvote.org
All Battleground Info/Resources: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE H.Q.
Early Voting Information by State
TOSS UP BATTLEGROUND HOUSE SEATS (part 3)
Ohio
OH-01: Aftab Pureval
Utah
UT-04: Ben McAdams
Washington
WA-08: Kim Schrier
Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman
MUSIC:
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Chrome and Wax - Ray Catcher (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Heather - Migration (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Tar and Spackle - Plaster (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Entrap - Darby (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Cases to Rest - Bodytonic (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Gusty Hollow - Migration (Blue Dot Sessions)
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today's episode is supported by the Must Triumph Podcast from Sam Yang. Must Triumph is |
| 0:08.2 | a philosophy podcast produced by a guy who is brought up and influenced by anime, pro-wrestling, |
| 0:13.9 | martial arts, Howard Zen, Nome Chomsky, and Ralph Nader. And I can tell you the details |
| 0:19.0 | of what you'd find interesting about an episode or two, but what's really interesting |
| 0:22.6 | about this podcast is what you see when you look at it holistically. Each episode, even |
| 0:27.3 | if it seems disconnected from the others, is actually part of a curriculum and each lesson |
| 0:31.7 | builds on past episodes. The whole series is really thoughtfully done and will definitely |
| 0:36.4 | get you thinking in interesting directions. You can find Must Triumph wherever you listen |
| 0:40.6 | to podcasts or directly at Must Triumph.com. And now, welcome to this episode of the award-winning |
| 0:47.3 | best of the left podcast in which we shall learn about the crisis of illegitimacy, our |
| 0:51.6 | institutions are facing, most starkly at the Supreme Court, and some ideas of what to do |
| 0:56.8 | about it. Cliffs today come from the Bradcast, Amicus, Jackman Radio, Start Making Sense, |
| 1:03.3 | the Tom Hurtman program, and the Real News. |
| 1:16.4 | It is now official. The Republicans have muscled another extreme far right-winger, one who |
| 1:25.1 | is accused of multiple alleged sexual assaults and who absolutely lied multiple times under |
| 1:32.6 | oath to the US Senate onto their already stolen US Supreme Court. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is |
| 1:41.0 | now Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and will have the opportunity to help lurch the court and |
| 1:46.7 | freedoms that many of us have held dear for decades far, far to the right. Yes, for |
| 1:53.9 | decades. And yes, we are all very screwed. That said, there are still, there are still ways to |
| 2:03.4 | level and or reverse the playing field as we move forward, including adding seats to the US |
| 2:09.5 | Supreme Court to take back a majority for the majority of Americans who have watched all of this |
| 2:16.0 | in horror as their key institutions now like now, including the US Supreme Court have been stolen |
... |
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