Its always been kind of a thing, but beginning in earnest back in 2016, you had a party (the democrats) who were trying to govern and move us forward, and a party (the republicans) who were trying to exert their will and hold us back.
The GOP said - You want meaningful change? Nah, we'd rather tell you how to live your life.
It came to a head when Justice Antonin Salia died while Obama was still in office. The GOP decided that we had to wait to fill the seat until after the election, and rather than DO SOMETHING, the dems went mostly along with it.
That election was a bit of cluster; Obama was aware there was some form of election interference, but the GOP leadership told him if he pursued anything related to it, they would cry about it being politicized and be big babies. So he mostly let it go (I would assume he hoped the wheels of justice would catch up with all of it). He and the dems could have - and probably should have - done something.
T-rump gets "elected" and got to pick a successor to Scalia.
Then, for reasons, I can't understand, Anthony Kennedy retires. There were stories about him being lured into it with some lucrative incentives, but that may just be a story. Who knows? That meant T-rump got another appointee. this time flipping a seat from democrat-leaning to republican.
And by the way, the person they put in the role was a person who everyone had concerns about - if memory serves even Marco Rubio publicly said (paraphrasing) "yeah, I'm concerned about his history but I'm going to vote for him anyway" (the "because I'm a sycophant" is implied).
Then, just before the 2020 election, Ruth Bader Ginsberg died, meaning another seat was now open - another democratic one that would sway the balance of power dramatically.
The dems tried using the same logic the republicans used 4 years prior - that it was an election year so we should wait. Except the republicans saw an opportunity and took it. They wanted what they wanted and didn't care.
And T-rump got to appoint a 3rd justice, fully 1/3 of the court.
What did they do with the power? They took on several long-standing rules and previous cases and undid protections that we had as a result. The most notable was the Roe v Wade abortion ruling. Without a case before the court, they simply upended it and said it was flawed.
They were able to do this .... because the dems opted not to oppose each step and let it play out.
You had the 2020 election and Biden wins. But does nothing to try and right the ship. He doesn't really take on the insurrection. He doesn't do anything about the court. And meanwhile the GOP continues to consolidate power.
The 2024 election cycle is another circus. Biden doesn't want to give up the power he has. And meanwhile T-rump is playing by "other rules" and not involved in a primary per se, but becomes the candidate again. And it "feels like" there was some kind of conspiracy going on - because he never seemed to care about the election; kind of like he already knew he'd likely win.
Kamala steps in late and talks a big game about doing something....and yet she kind of doesn't do something, either. She loses, yet doesn't challenge a single vote total or otherwise say much about the election.
And Biden again had a chance to do something here. Remake the court? Maybe have been prepared for something like a voting irregularity happening? Nope. He just lets it go.
And now the GOP has all the control. The oval office, both houses, and the court. And intends to use that power to remake America... will the dems finally put up a fight? Or will the GOP fracture on its own because everyone wants "something" and there are already disagreements on what those are?
Time will tell. But for all the hype to "do something" its amazing that no one actually did.
