Interview Only w/ Sarah Isgur - Will The Supreme Court Reshape The Balance Of Power In D.C.?

On today’s Chuck ToddCast, editor of The Dispatch Sarah Isgur joins Chuck for a sweeping conversation about the Supreme Court, constitutional design, and the modern dysfunction of Congress. Sarah argues that SCOTUS is the only institution still operating as the founders intended—and with two major cases on the docket, the Court could soon reshape the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches. She and Chuck examine how the activist class has abandoned Congress, why long-term challenges like climate change require legislation rather than court battles, and how a dramatically expanded House—potentially 1,200 members or more—could restore true representation. They dig into how the collapse of traditional parties, the rise of communications-focused lawmakers, and the outsize influence of small states have all warped American governance. The conversation then widens into history, culture, and political “what-ifs”—from Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War documentary to the chaotic post-Lincoln era, to the tantalizing possibility that a surviving President Garfield might have accelerated civil rights by a century. Chuck and Sarah compare Obama to Chester Arthur, debate whether Democrats learned the wrong lessons from Trump, and revisit the alternate timelines of Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, and the Tea Party. They close with a provocative question: Should the DOJ be structurally separated from the executive branch? And, more fundamentally, should it be far easier to amend the Constitution for a modern nation of 300 million people? Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!  Got injured in an accident? 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Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Sarah Isgur joins the Chuck ToddCast 01:30 SCOTUS is the only institution functioning as founders intended 02:00 SCOTUS has 2 cases that could rebalance other two branches 03:15 SCOTUS may strengthen executive while empowering congress 05:30 What if SCOTUS gives Trump everything he wants? 07:00 Activist class has given up or ignored congressional authority 08:00 You need legislation to address long term problems like climate change 09:30 The house needs to be expanded to make it more representative 11:45 The house should have 1200+ members 13:15 We replaced political parties with high dollar special interests 14:00 Members aren’t attending town halls, they’re posting on social media 16:30 The two leaders of each chamber run congress, not committee chairs 17:15 Legislators are frustrated with the broken nature of congress 18:30 Members aren’t hiring legislating staff, they hire comms staff 20:00 Boebert, AOC, MTG would be backbenchers without comms 21:30 Small states are getting far too much influence electorally 24:30 The constitution is a good ballast if we follow it and regularly amend it 25:30 Ken Burns was gutsy to make a doc on the American revolution 27:00 If you want 300 million people to follow a law, it should take time to pass 29:00 Death By Lightning was too short to tell the whole story 31:00 “Manhunt” really painted a picture of Andrew Johnson 32:00 Lincoln assassination was meant to  Lincoln's administration 32:45 Holiday reading list  34:00 End of 19th century was a weird time for the U.S. presidency 36:00 Rehnquist’s book comments on Bush v Gore through 19th century lens 37:45 Thomas Jefferson impeached justices in order to get a SCOTUS rubber stamp 38:30 Chuck’s project to create a scripted TV show about Garfield & reconstruction 39:45 George Washington wanted D.C. to be the biggest port city on east coast 42:30 1860-1865 was a fascinating time for the city of Washington DC 44:00 If Garfield lived we might have gotten the Civil Rights Act 100 years sooner 45:30 Parallels between Obama and Chester A. Arthur presidencies 46:30 Democrats learning from Trump that action matters over process 47:30 Dems gutted their bench during Obama years 48:30 Obama endorsing Clinton was a massive mistake for the Democratic Party 51:00 GOP voters realized the “nice” candidate like Romney couldn’t win 52:30 Without “bridgegate”, Chris Christie may be president instead of Trump 54:00 Chris Christie is a wildly talented politician, but mismanaged era with his shot 55:30 The Tea Party energy in GOP could have derailed Christie’s ambitions 56:45 Christie derailed Carly Fiorina’s campaign in 2016 58:00 Should DOJ be detached from the executive branch? 1:00:30 Founders never specified how many justices should be on SCOTUS 1:03:15 Ford pardon was a huge mistake, created protected political class 1:04:45 Where to find Sarah’s work 1:06:00 It should be easier to pass constitutional amendments See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.