My View by Silvio Canto, Jr.: 02/05/21

On this day in 1937, a recently reelected President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to spend some political capital, as the pundits like to say. This is the story:

On February 5, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt announces a plan to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges, allegedly to make it more efficient. Critics immediately charged that Roosevelt was trying to “pack” the court and thus neutralize Supreme Court justices hostile to his New Deal.

President Roosevelt did not write an executive order but he was clearly frustrated with a Supreme Court that rejected some of his New Deal proposals. He did propose a law (the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937) that would allow the President to appoint an additional justice for every one who was over 70 years of age. (Age discrimination)

The President went on radio a month later to make his present his side to the American people.

The reaction was swift and the "fireside chat" did not work. The Congress and public opinion rejected the idea on the grounds that President Roosevelt was "packing the court" or adding more justices to get his proposals through.

The whole thing blew up in the President's face. The voters had the last word in the 1938 mid term elections: 81 new Republicans in the House.

We understand that Senator Schumer is talking about the 2020 version of court reform. My hope is that this one crashes like its predecessor from 1937.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk)

My View by Silvio Canto, Jr.

Friday, February 05, 2021

Hyper partisan Pelosi plus "catch and release"? and teachers' unions

Friday’s show: Hyper partisanship will be Pelosi’s legacy

Remember packing the court in 1937?