Justice Breyer Retires, Leaving Warnings In His Wake

Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from the bench Thursday, departing from the Supreme Court as it lurches ever more dramatically to the right. 


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1422121

The Court’s Rightward Collapse.

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Goodbye Justice Breyer, Hellloooooo Justice Jackson!

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The right wing has deliberately caused disfunction in Congress, so the courts have help move us along. Now, the right wing has taken the courts.

With the J6 hearings ripping off the shroud of Trump’s last days, if this is not a civil war, it sure feels like one.

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SC has the lowest approval in history, I wonder why.

/s

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“How can we expect laws and cases that are over a century old to dictate the legality of regulations targeting ‘ghost guns’ constructed with the aid of a three-dimensional printer?” he asks incredulously.

Of course, that’s not quite what is happening. What is happening is the “Conservative” justices are making it up as they go and using any bullshit “logic” to do whatever RepubliQans/FQX wants. In the process, they have been/are/will ruin any faith in what is settled law.

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What is currently called “conservatism” is nothing more than hate and fear posing as authority.
It has become a poison to our national soul.
They have so many excuses for their malice and contempt, their peer pressure doesn’t know which hole to vent from.
The one thing they agree on is hate for some non-existent “left”, outside of their mutual contempt, they share very little ideology or common virtue.
They have been fed validation for that hate now for half a century by an ever-flowing fount of perpetual falsehood.
I still blame FOX for most of this. They created the chasm by defining the terms and coaxing so much contempt from such a privileged crowd of grievers and complainers.
They corrupted the very definition of “Conservative” so it matched their resentments.
Now it just means “stubborn hater.”

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I got to know Justice Breyer when he was a Federal District judge in Boston. He was one of two judges leading the effort for a new courthouse on the Boston Waterfront. I was a somewhat prominent leader of the effort to ensure that there was open space/Harbor Walk included in the design. The Feds initially didn’t want any public access to the stunning site they had chosen on the Boston Waterfront. I sat in many public meetings presided over by Breyer and Woodlock and sat in their offices in the old courthouse/post office building with just a few of us. Often when we were fighting for open space in the city and public access to the shoreline we grew to despise the developers, real estate moguls and public officials we dealt with. In part because he was so smart and so willing to listen, there was hardly a minute of rancor with Breyer. And open space, now Fan Pier Park, and Harborwalk were fully incorporated in the final award-winning design for the Joe Moakley Federal Courthouse and are there today for locals and tourists alike to enjoy.

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With the Supreme Court’s radical politicization complete and now clearly evident, the modern day Civil War continues.

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Yes, sadly it appears the GQP has been playing chess over the past decades and we have been playing checkers, all the while arguing over the rules, the size of the checkerboard, and so on.

Sigh. I hope we have learned from this. Laser focus on a few main points (healthcare, climate) and don‘t expend so much energy in bickering over the small stuff.

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I’m just glad he did the right thing and retired so a vital new liberal minded person can now replace him. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a fine judge.

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A hearty middle finger to the Sarandons and the Third Partiers.

And the Purity People

We rejected the most qualified candidate in 2016. In this day and time, that is unconscionable

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Those three women will be the guardians for the law and precedent in the face of conservative “interpretations.” It’s going to be extremely challenging and stressful, but they are strong and smart enough for the job. We need to support and cheer them on as we all navigate a very difficult and unprecedented time.

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Wow, just wow. Thanks a bunch for sharing. Can’t say it is surprising.

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Can’t like this enough. And 2016 was partly a re-run of 2000. Thanks again, purity ponies.

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wow, thank you for doing all of that! I don’t spend much time down there, but I am very happy that there is public access to the waterfront at that spot.

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Now let’s watch Mitch and his henchmen (and henchwomen (this should be a word, really!)) pretend to entertain Mr. Biden’s nominee(s), while actively obstructing the naming of any highly qualified person to SCOTUS.
Shameful Will Happen.
(Anyone think Moscow Mitch will be able to delay nomination until next national election, or even this fall?)

If Jefferson or Madison came back today they would be appalled at this Taliban Christofascism masquerading falsely as “originalism.” As would Jesus be appalled at it masquerading as Christianity. Adam Server has it right–whatever Fox News is currently concerned with at this moment is magically transformed into what the founders originally intended.

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Breyer must feel relieved that he no longer needs to feign office collegiality with these weirdos who have set up shop in the nation’s highest court. I look forward to hearing him opine about the issues of the day. Maybe he and David Souter can start a podcast.

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This point makes for one of the few times that I disagree with Breyer. These cases are being decided based on personal philosophies and attitudes. The historical justifications in such cases as Dobbs and Bruen are just veneers to offer an appearance of the Justice’s due diligence and the opinion’s legitimacy.

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