Discussion for article #222383
Gawd, lets all clutch our pearls now. Instead of calling for her retirement, why don’t you work to get democrats to vote?
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Hey Ruth. It’s not about YOU!
Liberals are afraid that Ginsburg will step down after the next Republican President is elected, which means another Republican leaning Justice will be placed on SCOTUS. More compelling evidence that SCOTUS Justices need to be elected by The People on regular elections every 4 years and that lifetime appointments need to be stopped.
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Sigh. I know of almost no liberal who is afraid the 2016 Republican clown car will produce a credible, electable candidate. The concern here is that if Republicans take the Senate, they’ll refuse to confirm Obama’s nominee hoping to push it off to 2017. If her seat is vacated because of illness she may not be able to participate in the process at all. That would then allow the conservatives on the bench to further destroy the country as they’ve been so intent on doing.
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after the next Republican President is elected,
Which will be in a looooong time…
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At 81, she may be the oldest of the progressive judges, but quite frankly, she may be the only progressive judge left. The last two appointments have been anything but progressive, even though they have voted against the Unholy Five, but I do not think a more progressive judge could get through the Senate, even now, and certainly not before November.
Sandra Day O’Connor left because of family health issues, but noted shortly after the appointment of Roberts and Alito that the Court was not nothing more than a rubber-stamp court designed for a dictatorship. She said if she had known whom Bush would appoint to replace her, she never would have resigned. I think Ginsburg finds herself in much the same situation - the GOP would block any true progressive, and Obama has appointed judges that have been less than spectacular in supporting progressive agendas (Sotomayer on birth control in ACA comes to mind). She knows that this court is corrupt, and she is, perhaps, not seeing anyone on the horizon who would not make it more so. She is an astute judge and an equally astute judge of politics. Let us hope that she can outlast the next 10 years until this nation becomes more reflective of its core liberal values and a strong replacement can replace this strong judge.
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I think you might be on to something regarding her feelings towards Obama naming her replacement. However, its just as unlikely that Hilary is going to be naming any progressive judges to replace her,either so she would be pushing her retirement waaaay out there.
I suspect that there is probably another factor coming into play specifically related to her opinions/relationship with Obama, one that isn’t nearly as much of an issue with Hilary.
It is indeed a concern, but Ginsburg seems to believe that her health isn’t going to slip in the next two years, and none of us really has a better insight to her mental/physical condition today than she does.
It’s also worth noting that no Congress has ever flatly refused to approve some justice and leave the Court with an empty seat. Not that a republican controlled Senate wouldn’t mind you, but they would be moving into uncharted waters then.
Exactly. Quit calling for Ginsburg to resign. It makes us look as foolish as the repubs. Work to get out the vote. That is where our efforts should be.
Oh yea? It is about her. It’s her job and she likes it.
Frankly, if RBG steps down, I think it will be impossible to get any nominee through the Senate prior to 2016. The rule change for the filibuster does not apply to SCOTUS confirmations and I promise you that the Republicans will leave it vacant in hopes that a Republican will be elected in 2016, because leaving it vacant means a 4.5-3.5 conservative tilt (nobody can seem to predict what Anthony Kennedy will do day to day.) Now, if Scalia or Thomas leave or die, ( Scalia is 78 and Thomas is 65 and looks like he’s made of dough,) I think someone gets confirmed, because that leaves the court 3.5-4.5. My concern is if we end up with more than 1 vacancy. The court cannot act with less than 6 judges hearing a case, and with recusions it’s possible to see 6 judge rulings, which really is not good for confidence in the court.
I wish I believed that. The American electorate has voted against their self-interest so often in the past 20 years that I despair.