I’ve been thinking about this myself.
The most important news from the Supreme Court this month?
Sure, we’ve had landmark rulings in Hobby Lobby, Canning and several other cases. But the non-retirements of the court’s two senior liberal associate justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, might overshadow any of those decisions in the longer run.
You have to be thankful that the two Justices in question aren’t being ideologues first on this topic, at least – but I imagine that the thought of either one retiring in 2015 or 2016 must be keeping the more thoughtful Democratic strategists up at night. Because it’s very true that the polling has been sour for the President lately, and that’s going to be reflected in the final Senate totals. It’s equally true that a Republican-controlled Senate is going to be, ah, disinclined to work with Barack Obama, given the way that the man has acted like a petulant brat* towards the GOP since Obama took office. So, kudos to Ginsburg and Breyer, here.
I don’t think that the Democrats would agree with me on that, though.
Moe Lane
Via RCP.
*I am being nice.
I had noticed this and .. it’s *odd*, right?
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I mean .. Ginsberg and Breyer are 81 and 75 respectively and .. while the Supremes are not a physically taxing job, it has to be kind of a grind after a while.
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I have to wonder what the brat in chief did that’s got them staying on… and just when the Kos Kidz are going to, you know, *notice* this ideological disloyalty.
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Mew
The Kos Kidz have already noticed, but no one cares what they think. (and frankly, no one ever did)
They’re a little like a Gallagher concert .. they’re fun to watch, if you’re out of the spatter zone.
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Mew
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p.s. they’ll also help keep Kennedy steering in a generally rational direction…
As for why they’d stay, they have one of the most powerful positions in the world and can’t fired (realistically). Supposedly, O`Conner has been really regretting her retirement and lets her friends still on the court know it.
Watch out Moe, or he’ll revert to 12 year old playground talk. “So sue me.”
A quarter of Republican Senators voted to confirm Sotomayor.
The character of Obama’s administration was just as crappy then as it is now, and she was a weak nominee. But 9 Republican Senators supported her publicly. More voted for cloture, knowing the Democrat could push the nomination through on a party line vote after that point.
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You give them credit they do not deserve, and have done nothing to earn.
:shrug: The shape of the board changes significantly when we control the Judiciary Committee. Hard to see, because we have no access to alternate universes to show us how things could have turned out.
Because with 13 9-0 decisions in the last 2 years, maybe they don’t really want to give *this* president the power to replace them. Because they have seen the quality of the 2 replacements that *this* president sent, and decided, no more.
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Or maybe they’re just happy to go another round another turn of the sun.
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Either way, works for me.