Trump's Supreme Court move: Distraction attempt or autocratic assault on democracy?

<p>The US president seemed hushed, almost intimate, as he warmly introduced his nominee - "one of our nation's most brilliant legal minds" - into the approving elegance of a Rose Garden gathering.</p><p>A president doing parent, like he felt Amy Coney Barrett needed reassurance amid the stillness of polite celebration they all knew wouldn't last. It didn't.</p><p>The president and his pick had barely parted company when the assault on her, her nomination and its timing, was in full war cry.</p><p>Ms Barrett will bring change to the court and country, no doubt. The nomination of the 48 year-old mother of seven brings with it considerable controversy.</p><p>Assuming she is confirmed on the bench of the US Supreme Court, she will tilt its political balance to the right, as one of six conservative justices versus three liberal.</p><p>At any time, it would have huge implications for the country's highest court and how it shapes the lives of Americans. At no time, perhaps, like now - a month before the election.</p><p>The career record of the federal appellate judge demonstrates conservative credentials on contentious issues like gun control, immigration and access to medical care. A devout Catholic, she is lauded by anti-abortionists for her pro-life convictions.</p><p>"The dogma lives loudly within you," is a slogan famously associated with Ms Barrett. The phrase was used during her 2017 Senate confirmation hearing to become a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein.</p><p>It catapulted Ms Barrett to wider national prominence and stirred religious conservatives who viewed the episode as an example of anti-religion bias.</p><p>There will be controversies to come.</p><p>Ms Barrett will have a lifetime's appointment to a right-wing bench with which to wield influence over generations who don't necessarily share her politics or life choices.</p><p>Vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris was among those who claimed that Amy Coney Barrett's presence on the Supreme Court would threaten a woman's right to abortion in the US, tweeting: "They intend to destroy the affordable care act and overturn Roe (the ruling that legalised abortion). This selection would move the court further right for a generation and harm millions of Americans. I strongly oppose Judge Barrett's nomination."</p><p>Opinion polls indicate that most members of the public believe a replacement Supreme Court justice should wait until after the election.</p><p>Republicans, however, are intent on pressing ahead.</p><p>A confirmation hearing is due to start on 12 October before the Senate Judiciary Committee and Republicans believe they have the numbers in the bag to wave her through in a vote on the Senate floor before election day on 3 November.</p><p>Therein lies a concern for Donald Trump's opponents. They sense he is scripting a stitch-up around his Supreme Court nominee.</p> <p><strong>:: Subscribe to Divided States on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/divided-states/id1488434518" target="_blank">Apple podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvNDEzOTYxNS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7nBcCiQRNzLsgMdj6UqVGw" target="_blank">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/divided-states" target="_blank">Spreaker</a></strong></p><p>The president has routinely branded postal votes a "scam" and "hoax", without evidence. Just last week, he predicted that uncertainty around the outcome would mean the election ending up in the Supreme Court and so a replacement 9th Justice would be needed "quickly".</p><p>Democrats joining the dots scream that it presents the picture of a president who won't accept a loss at the polls but who would steer a legal challenge towards a conservative-leaning Supreme Court in the expectation it would declare him winner, whatever the democratic will of the American people.</p><p>All of this amid his refusal to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power after the election.</p><p>Senior Republicans offer reassurance that the president will indeed agree to an orderly, peaceful transfer of power if he loses in a "free and fair" election. And yet it's a qualification that doesn't sit easily with Donald Trump's framing of the election so far - he consistently undermines its legitimacy and has sought to sow distrust in the system, claiming the process is "rigged".</p><p>On one view, the president is creating distraction to deflect from his performance on coronavirus (more than 200,000 US deaths), a tanking economy and opinion polls that consistently show him behind. To that end, discussion about a new Supreme Court nominee can open up a new campaigning focus.</p><p>His Democratic opponents take a different view. They see his manoeuvring as nothing less than a full-scale autocratic assault on democracy, a battle plan crafted to keep him in office and consolidate Republic power in the Supreme Court.</p><p>The question of where and when the battle ends Is a question that remains open. So does the matter of "how", in a country darkly contemplating all possibilities.</p>