As the Republicans prepare to ram through a Supreme Court nominee in a fit of hypocrisy, Democrats are likely focusing on the next steps. Many people presume that the party will try to add seats to the Supreme Court as retribution for Mitch McConnell's blatant and naked politicization of the Court. While this is definitely an option, Democrats should focus on other things first. While it sounds cynical, the Democrats should wait a year or two to let the Republican majority on the Court do some damage first. This will build public opinion for when court packing becomes a necessity.

FDR's Failed Court Packing Plan Could Haunt Democrats

It is not an "if" but a "when" as to whether the new Court will do damage. Right now, the Court is at its furthest Right that it has been since the 1930s. While many forget the history, FDR threatened court packing back in the 1930s when the Supreme Court struck down many of his New Deal proposals. He effectively used the threat to back the court down from its extreme opposition to the New Deal. Many think that the court packing plan was FDR's greatest failure, but he still got his legislative program largely enacted into law.

There is little doubt that today's Supreme Court is going to take an even harder turn rightwards. The Court is in the grip of extremists, and they will not waste a second trying to impose their harsh views on the rest of the country. The Court has already chipped away at a woman's right to choose. They have already eviscerated voting rights throughout the country. However, most people are still holding to traditional rules when it comes to a clearly political court.

The Country Is Not Yet There When it Comes to Adding Justices

Accordingly, there is little appetite yet in this country for court packing. This is a fight that would drag the Democrats down in the early days of a Biden Administration. Much of the public is not yet ready to go along with this plan. This is why Democrats need to hang back and let the Court become even more unpopular in the eyes of the public. People simply cannot understand what Mitch McConnell has done until something happens that would impact their daily life. Court packing would not happen in time to save Obamacare or Roe v. Wade. It may not even be a battle that the Democrats have the votes to win.

Instead, the Democrats should take an alternate road to repay the GOP for stealing the Supreme Court. It goes without saying that the filibuster should be a thing of the past. If the Democrats end up with 52 Senate seats, they will most likely get rid of the filibuster. What the Democrats should first do is focus on using their new majority to give statehood to D.C. and Puerto Rico. Then, they should wait until the new Court issues a ruling so at odds with the American public that people will be clamoring for court packing.

Democrats Should Be Playing the Long Game

It may take playing a long game of a few years. The Senate map is every bit as bad for the Republicans in 2022 as it is this year. Being seen as the party that made a historically unpopular Supreme Court possible, the GOP could also be seeing massive Senate losses in the next cycle. With that advantage, the Democrats should pounce on restructuring the Court. Now would be premature to take a rash step that could alienate a large part of the American public. The dangers from the Court are not yet tangible.

While this course would require people to accept some short-term pain, the alternative would be failing at enacting reform. When that happens, the Democrats may get gun shy and not want to bring up court reform again for decades. It is better to be patient and wait for public opinion to catch up to where part of the Democratic caucus is. While the Amy Coney Barrett court may cause significant damage in the meantime, these are effects that likely would not have been stopped anyway. A large Democratic victory in November may be the start of a major realignment of American politics for a generation. It is better to stay cautious now and work to consolidate and build on those advantages in the future.