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Notes -
President Biden proposed a reform of the Supreme Court:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/07/29/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-bold-plan-to-reform-the-supreme-court-and-ensure-no-president-is-above-the-law/
I don't know if 1 is really necessary, I honestly kind of like 2 and are sceptic how to enforce 3. Certainly a more centrist approach instead of court packing.
The whole point of no term limits on supreme judges is so they remove the incentive of selling out to interest groups to maximize their income or social interested during their tenure. Unless there's evidence that long standing judges do in fact profit more than, say, congressmen in the nature of their duration as supreme court judges, #2 is pure culture war and could end up backfiring spectacularly.
#1 is from what I've read on this from here and other places, is a way to push things through this through disingenuous reading of the ruling and ignores the nuance of what the judges put forth. The only reason to put this into the reform is to go after an ex-president legally, and if it doesn't go through is a way to blame "those wiley Republicans are preventing the rule of law, what power hungry hypocrites!" It's pure dog-whistle for Democrats.
#3 is too open ended and essentially is a way to perpetuate those in power by hemming in the presidency. The liked president who toes the party line will get a pass, the unliked or controversial president will be hamstrung by 'morality' and 'ethics' which will mean whatever people want it to mean at the time.
That didn't seem to workout in the Thomas case, given all the gifts he received. And, his claims of being underpaid are another reason your statement seems false.
You would have to argue that the gifts he received was quid pro quo, and that multiple justices have done it in recent history, as one dissenting ruling doesn't seem to have an impact on the supreme court. Democrats have been attacking Thomas for 30 years, so him hobnobbing with wealthy friends hardly constitutes a new attack on his character. Who doesn't bellyache about getting paid enough?
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