Tie a Blue Ribbon Around It

Joe Biden gave an interview with CBS's Norah O'Donnell for "60 Minutes," airing tonight, about his presidential candidacy and revealed what he would do about the ideological imbalance in the federal court system.

The answer reminds us why Joe Biden is considered a moderate. It also disappoints everyone on either side of America's political divide. 

Biden said that if he's elected President, he would a bipartisan blue-ribbon commission that would look at the federal judiciary over a six-month period and report back to him on how to fix the courts.

"What I will do," Biden said, "is I'll put together a national commission of - bipartisan commission of - scholars, constitutional scholars, Democrats, Republicans, liberal, conservative," Biden told O’Donnell. "And I will ask them to, over 180 days, come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system. Because it’s getting out of whack, the way in which it’s being handled . . .. The last thing we need to do is turn the Supreme Court into just a political football."

Biden fails to appreciate one thing; that's already happened. Amy Coney Barrett is about to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice tomorrow, and a Court with her on it is likely to overturn the Affordable Care Act - for starters. Assuming this commission Biden speaks of is seated by February should he win the White House, a Justice Barrett could do a lot of damage by the tie the commission reports back to Biden in August.

Biden's solution will likely fail to satisfy anyone. Conservatives who think the court system works just fine (because it's always ruling in their favor) don't want to have a commission look at anything in the judiciary, while progressives will be bitterly disappointed that Biden won't move quickly to expand the Supreme Court (something Biden will only admit he has not ruled out).  

I don't think I'm satisfied with Biden's stand either, as I believe that the courts should be expanded, and I'm saying this as someone who wants him to win the election.  I know that some judicial experts have urged Biden not to act on Supreme Court expansion until the Court moves too far on anything if he becomes President.  Okay.  Let him wait if he becomes President.  But I'm telling you, he won't have to wait long.  

And let me tell you, a blue-ribbon panel is the last thing you want to rely on.  Blue-ribbon panels suggest, they recommend, the advocate, and they opine, but they never actually do anything.