Former vice president Joe Biden has refused to answer questions about whether he would support a Democratic proposal to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices, suggesting he doesn't think voters deserve to know where he stands on the issue. Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris, has argued that court packing is something Democrats will "deal with later."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) recently told his Democratic colleagues "nothing is off the table" when it comes to court packing, but some of his handpicked candidates in hotly contested Senate races around the country are reluctant to embrace the proposal.
One of those candidates, Cal Cunningham in North Carolina, has described proposals to pack the Supreme Court as the "exact wrong path" for Democrats. That's a sensible position, given the widespread public skepticism. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that just 34 percent of Americans support the idea of court packing.
Cunningham does not, however, seem to think his party's presidential candidate should tell voters whether or not he supports proposals to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices. The Democrat demurred when asked if Biden should give a direct answer to that question during Thursday night's debate against incumbent senator Thom Tillis (R., N.C.).
"I can speak for my standpoint. I can speak for the people of North Carolina," Cunningham said. "Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsburg herself said that nine was the right number. That has stood us well through the history of this country. That's where it should stay."
Cal Cunningham ducks question on whether Biden should come out against expanding SCOTUS and repeats Schumer's phony pre-election talking points pic.twitter.com/dFFngzC7O5
— Jesse Hunt (@JJHunt10) October 1, 2020