Ending the Filibuster … and Packing the Supreme Court

The real authoritarian threat to American democracy may not be wearing a red MAGA hat – as the left claims — but a blue donkey pin.  If the United States is trending toward an authoritarian state, the greater danger is coming from the left and not the right. That has been the case since at least President Roosevelt’s New Deal. 

In addition to the Democrats’ historic devotion to an increasingly powerful central government run by an entrenched ruling class, there are two specific contemporary issues that should scare the hell out of every American citizen.  Democrats are openly flirting with – nay, planning – the elimination of the filibuster and the packing of the Supreme Court.  Those are two moves that would further shred minority protections and destabilize the judiciary.

The Filibuster

Let us start with the filibuster. That quirky Senate rule requiring 60 votes to end debate has long been the speed bump preventing whichever party is in power from driving the legislative car onto the side road of tyranny. It is the one thing that forces compromise or at least slows down the majority’s impulse to bulldoze the minority. Without it, the Senate becomes a glorified House of Representatives—majority rules, minority rues. An impotent minority does not make for a healthy democracy.

Democrats have already shown their cards. In the past, 49 Senate Democrats voted to end the filibuster, stopped only by two holdouts—Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema—who are now gone from the Senate. That is like having two referees keeping the game fair, only to watch them retire while the players sharpen their elbows. The next time Democrats hold power, the temptation to eliminate the filibuster will be irresistible. After all, why settle for gridlock when you can have a tyranny of the majority?

The Supreme Court

Let us not pretend this is just speculation. James Carville, the grizzled Democratic strategist, has openly suggested that Democrats should expand the Supreme Court by adding four liberal justices.  That is not a whisper in the cloakroom, that is a bullhorn on national television. Carville’s logic? The public has “lost faith” in the Court, so let us fix it by stacking the deck for the other side.

Carville is not alone. Kamala Harris once said “everything is on the table” when asked about court-packing. Chuck Schumer echoed the same line, leaving the door wide open to expansion. Senator Ron Wyden even introduced a bill to add six new seats to the Court. These are not fringe voices—they are mainstream Democratic leaders. The message is clear.  If in their minds the Court is not liberal, it is illegitimate and needs to be changed.

For more than 150 years, the Supreme Court has had nine members. That number has become part of the furniture of American democracy—like the nine innings of baseball. Break that tradition, and suddenly the Court becomes a political yo-yo. Democrats add four justices, Republicans take power and add four more – cut back to nine — and pretty soon the Court looks like a clown car, with justices spilling out like circus performers. Stability? Gone. Legitimacy? Shredded.

The irony here is delicious. Democrats claim they want to “restore balance” to the Court. But balance is not achieved by tipping the scales until your side dominates. That is not balance. That is rigging

Tyranny of the Majority

And let us not forget the authoritarian undertones. Eliminating the filibuster means the majority can ram through any legislation without minority input. We have seen that repeatedly in the House.

Packing the Court means the judiciary becomes a partisan extension of Congress. Put those together, and you’ve got a recipe for one-party rule. That is not democracy.  That is autocracy – a tyranny of the majority.

Of course, Democrats will argue this is all in the name of justice, fairness, and saving democracy. But when one side insists that only their version of democracy is legitimate, you are more than halfway down the road to authoritarianism. It’s the political equivalent of saying, “Heads I win, tails you lose.”

So yes, America faces threats from both left and right extremism. But if you are worried about creeping authoritarianism, do not just look for jackboots marching in red states. Keep an eye on the blue suits in Washington — sharpening their knives for the filibuster and their chisels for the marble cornice of the Supreme Court. Because once those traditions are gone, the only thing left standing between America and tyranny will be the hope that politicians suddenly discover humility … honesty … fairness. And if you expect that, you are taking an option on a bridge in Brooklyn.

So, there ‘tis.