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Election nerds and high school civics teachers will absolutely delight in the new PBS special, DEADLOCK: an election story. And, frankly, the interesting (if overly earnest) documentary is worth a watch for anyone looking to turn down the highly partisan election rhetoric. The special, hosted by UC Davis School of Law professor Aaron Tang, plays a game of “what would you do” with a political all-star panel[1] roleplaying how they’d handle an election dilemma in the fictional state of Middlevania.
As Tang notes, “The current climate of American discourse finds us deeply entrenched and overconfident in our own beliefs. DEADLOCK aims to illuminate how, for many of the difficult challenges facing our nation, the honest answers are nuanced and complex. Our goal is to spark open-mindedness and help people find the middle ground instead of retreating to our usual corners.”
Certainly a laudable goal. In furtherance of that bipartisan tone, the show is introduced by Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett. The pair highlight the similarities and differences in their backgrounds, both telling anecdotes from their past highlighting their belief in community and civic-mindedness. The justices explain that they see the program as a way to rebuild trust in institutions — something the Supreme Court is acutely interested in, one imagines.
As high minded as those goals may be, the inclusion of the justices rings hollow. I was provided an advance copy of the program and watching Sotomayor and Coney Barrett trying to reclaim the veneer of neutrality for the Court just felt rich. Over the last four years (and even longer than that, if we’re being perfectly honest) the conservative majority on the Supreme Court has repeatedly demonstrated it’s primarily interested in advancing partisan policy goals. The Court is stripping rights and hoping to re-make the nation to their liking regardless of what established precedent, norms, or even public opinion says.
Sotomayor KNOWS this — that’s why she says she cries over her colleagues’ decisions and issued a dire warning for democracy in the dissent in the Trump immunity case. And, not for nothing, but Coney Barrett’s plea on behalf of the common good would be a lot more meaningful if she didn’t use her role on the High Court to weaken voting rights and dilute the power of Black voters.
But, overall, DEADLOCK provides an interesting look at how people sort through the ethical dilemmas baked into an election. It premieres nationwide tonight Sept. 20, 2024, 9 p.m. ET (check local listings) and streams on PBS.org, YouTube and the PBS app.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
[1] Panelists: Dr. Rachel Bitecofer, political strategist; Adrian Fontes, Arizona secretary of state; Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., James S McDonnell professor of African American studies, Princeton University; Katie Harbath, CEO, Anchor Change and former Facebook executive; Astead Herndon, national politics reporter, The New York Times and host, The Run-Up; Jeh C. Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security and former general counsel, Department of Defense; Elise Jordan, NBC/MSNBC political analyst; Kris Kobach, Kansas attorney general; Mick Mulvaney, former U.S. representative for South Carolina and NewsNation contributor; Russell Moore, editor in chief, Christianity Today and author; Scott Pelley, CBS 60 Minutes correspondent; and Gabriel Sterling, COO, Office of the Georgia Secretary of State