[Madison, WI] – Wisconsin Democrats are following Joe Biden’s lead and refusing to say whether or not they support plans to pack the Supreme Court. Ron Kind, Tammy Baldwin, and other Democrats in congress could end up having a say on the issue, yet they continue to duck voters and the media on the question.
WisGOP Chairman Andrew Hitt reacted in a tweet saying: “@JoeBiden and @WisDems won’t tell us if they want to pack the court because they don’t think you deserve to know about their plans to use the courts to advance their liberal agenda. Just unacceptable.
Read the full story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here, or find excerpts below.
Wisconsin Democrats sidestep question of whether they support expanding the Supreme Court
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Molly Beck
October 13, 2020
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Democratic members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation aren’t saying whether they believe expanding the U.S. Supreme Court is an idea Joe Biden and Congress should explore if he becomes president.
Baldwin would vote on such a plan as a member of the U.S. Senate but did not answer whether she supported the idea that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has avoided answering questions about in recent weeks as Republicans in the Senate move forward with confirming a new justice to the high court before the November election.
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Former Vice President Biden has repeatedly sidestepped questions recently about whether he would push to expand the number of justices if he is elected to overhaul the makeup of the court as Republicans push to confirm Barrett.
But on Monday, Biden came close and told a Cincinnati television station he was “not a fan of court packing.” Like his past responses to similar questions, however, Biden said he did not want to focus on the issue.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Oshkosh who also would vote to confirm new justices, said Monday before Biden’s Ohio interview that the former vice president’s avoidance of directly addressing the question was displaying a “level of arrogance and disrespect” that is “jaw-dropping.”
GOP Reps. Mike Gallagher, Glenn Grothman, Bryan Steil and Tom Tiffany said they opposed the idea.
“This is a crazy idea and one that would effectively destroy our constitutional republic,” Gallagher, R-Green Bay, said in a statement.
Gallagher said Biden should make clear where he stands on the issue.
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Retiring GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner said it’s “unacceptable for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to dodge clarification of their views on court packing, or any other issue, weeks before an election.”
Harris did not answer the question during a debate with Vice President Mike Pence last week.
“The issue of court packing is a question of basic American checks and balances,” Sensenbrenner said.
Baldwin and Democratic U.S. Reps. Ron Kind did not respond to questions as of Tuesday.
Read the full story online here.
