A placard depicting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is
displayed next to the U.S. Supreme Court, as people gather following her
death, in Washington, U.S., September 19, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
COVID relief is possible, and here’s how
COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 25-OCT. 1, 2020 21
EDITORIAL
Trump’s rush to fi ll Ginsburg’s seat is
mutually assured Supreme Court destruction
Ruth Bader Ginsburg will
forever be remembered
as one of the true giants
of the Supreme Court —
an unparalleled champion of
equal rights for every American.
Throughout her 27 years
on the bench, which ended
with her untimely death on
Sept. 18 at the age of 87, she
demonstrated proud service
to the American people with
her undying campaign to fulfi
ll “equal justice under law.”
Ginsburg always put fi rst the
Constitution, our democratic
republican system of government,
and the unalienable
rights of the individual.
The loss of this great
American comes at the worst
possible time — the throes of
the most contentious presidential
election we’ve ever
had, involving a president
that never lets an opportunity
to seize further political
power go to waste.
President Trump says
he will move forward with
nominating a successor to
Ginsburg’s seat, and Senate
Majority Leader Mitch Mc-
Connell — self-proclaimed
member of the Republican
Party-turned-obedientparty
of-Trump — says he’ll
move it forward to a vote.
Never mind, of course,
that McConnell wouldn’t give
Merrick Garland — President
Obama’s nomination to
succeed the late Antonin Scalia
on the Supreme Court —
the time of day months ahead
of the 2016 presidential election.
Back then, McConnell said
it was too close to the election
to move forward with
the Senate’s “advise and consent”
responsibilities. Now,
less than 50 days out from
the 2020 election, timing suddenly
isn’t an issue.
McConnell’s hypocrisy
and Trump’s brazenness
threaten to tear the country
apart even further. Democrats
are already talking
about adding two or more
seats to the Supreme Court if
Trump and McConnell ram
through a nominee — should
Joe Biden win the presidency
in November.
Court-packing would be
the last, best instrument of
neutralizing three partisan
appointments made by an impeached
president who lost the
popular vote four years ago.
But it also opens a Pandora’s
box to further politicize
the Supreme Court, allowing
parties to pack the court each
time they win to get rulings
favorable to them. The independence
of the Judiciary, already
undermined for decades
through partisan appointments,
would be forever dissolved.
Trump and McConnell
have set the country up for the
mutually assured destruction
of the Supreme Court — the
greatest arbiter of justice in
our country. Moving forward
with fi lling Ginsburg’s seat
now will set this country back
decades.
Trump and McConnell’s
mutual selfi shness threaten
to bring the country to a
breaking point. They must
pull back.
BY MAX ROSE
In the just under two years
I’ve been in Congress, we’ve
had our fair share of highstakes
negotiations.
From ending the government
shutdown we inherited
on day one, to matters of war
and peace, every single one
has followed the same frustratingly
predictable script.
Both sides throw out a wish
list from their partisan corners,
then start crossing
things off until we reach the
bare minimum that both can
accept. But now we’re facing a
global crisis greater than anyone
could have imagined, and
the American people deserve
better than this politics of the
least common denominator.
That’s why my colleagues
in the Problem Solvers Caucus
and I unveiled our “March To
Common Ground” framework
to try to rewrite that script.
We realize that no matter what
policy area we’re dealing with
or how high the stakes, our
work as legislators ultimately
boils down to answering two
simple questions – what are
the problems we’re facing, and
how are we going to fi x them?
It’s from there we started
our bipartisan negotiations on
a new proposal for COVID-19
relief, and despite what the
pundits would have you think,
there’s plenty of agreement on
the answers to those questions.
We all agree that small
businesses are hanging on
by a thread through no fault
of their own, so we proposed
$290 billion to give them a lifeline.
We all agree that out-ofwork
families are struggling
to pay their bills and put food
on the table, so we proposed
$436 billion for expanded unemployment
and another
round of stimulus checks. And
it provides funding to support
schools and child care, along
with the necessary testing, so
that parents can get back to
work without worrying about
their children’s safety.
Perhaps most importantly,
this framework acknowledges
the fact that this isn’t a red
state issue or a blue state issue.
Cities and states all across the
country, led by Democrats and
Republicans alike, are facing
unprecedented budget gaps
because of this virus, so our
proposal gives local governments
$500 billion needed to
ensure our cops, fi refi ghters,
EMS, teachers and essential
workers aren’t laid off.
Make no mistake, this is
not a skinny proposal, nor is
it a partisan wish list. This is
government working how it
should – recognizing the problem
at hand and fi nding common
ground to solve it, just
like our constituents have to
do in their own lives on a daily
basis. And if the crisis lessens
or worsens, this bill has automatic
boosters and reducers
in place to adapt to the conditions
on the ground, free from
additional rounds of partisan
bickering.
This isn’t a game. When
lives and economies are on
the line, we can’t shrink from
our responsibility to do something
about it. We’re Americans
fi rst, not Democrats or
Republicans – and that is how
we should govern.
Failure is not an option.
We’ve laid out a framework
that proves a deal is possible.
Now it’s time for leaders on
both sides of the Hill and down
Pennsylvania Avenue to come
together to get this done.
Congressman Max Rose
represents New York’s 11th
Congressional District including
South Brooklyn and
Staten Island.
OP-ED