Like Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, California Sen. Kamala Harris refused to say whether she would support the Left’s court-packing efforts during the vice presidential debate on Wednesday. The reason is obvious: Biden’s campaign doesn’t want to risk isolating any part of its voter coalition, and staking out a position on such a radical policy would do just that.
When pressed by Vice President Mike Pence about where she stands on the issue, Harris completely dodged the question, not even pretending to answer.
“In 1864 … Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection, and it was 27 days before the election, and a seat became open on the United States Supreme Court. Abraham Lincoln’s party was in charge not only of the White House but the Senate. But Honest Abe said, ‘Not the right thing to do,’” Harris said. “So Joe and I are very clear. The American people are voting right now, and it should be their decision.”
Nothing about Harris’s response was clear. The question was whether she would support efforts to add seats to the Supreme Court if the Senate confirms Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, not whether Ginsburg’s seat should be filled before the election. We already know Harris and Biden oppose Barrett’s nomination. What we don’t know is what they plan to do about it.
It is unlikely that voters will get a straight answer from either candidate before November, and maybe not even then. Harris and Biden know that endorsing court-packing would repel thousands of swing-state voters, while a preemptive rejection of the policy would isolate the Democratic Party’s far-left wing. Biden’s campaign cannot afford to lose either group, so they are treating the topic of court-packing the way they treat President Trump’s impeachment — they avoid talking about it, even in response to direct questions.
This might be a politically savvy strategy, but it’s also dishonest. Court-packing is more than just a threat. It is a very real goal that liberals have been advocating for throughout the last few years. And if Biden wins this November, he will almost certainly be faced with the choice of whether to embark on the fight to add seats to the bench — even if the Senate does not confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court before November. So voters ought to know where Biden stands on this, once and for all.
Until Biden gives us that answer, voters should assume that he and Harris will indeed pack the court, caving to the Left just as they have on other policies. Pence put it this way, saying to Harris: “You once again gave a nonanswer. Joe Biden gave a nonanswer. The American people deserve a straight answer. And if you haven’t figured it out yet, the straight answer is they are going to pack the Supreme Court if they somehow win this election.”
