if they were serious, there would be no announcement. they would just do it. pre-announcements are literally the way advisors take the temp on an issue, as read by pollsters. phone calls and arm twists would all already be happening to make sure everything sails through, and if there was a holdout that didn’t respond to private inducements on something deemed “popular”, there would be a leak in that individual’s constituency, or more likely overtures to their political machine to get them to twist the arm. federal money for whatever 4 car dealership owners run that guy’s district would have the representative clapping at the signing.

instead they do this and then try to divine if this gesture will shore up the Harris nom or they should back away from it and try something else if support still seems soft.

if they actually do anything beyond pageantry, even something as simple as getting Clarence Thomas the fuck off the court for being the most obvious ethically compromised shithead, it would literally blow my mind. the high court being a completely compromised institution with no hope for reform is probably the most essential characteristic of american government, which is why it has been a key feature in the strategic plans of reactionary elements to dismantle basic, humanitarian reforms for most of its existence.