Justice Anthony Kennedy, To Retire

[joan1984]

Justice Kennedy will retire in July 2018, he stated today.

President Trump will begin a full review, and Nominate a new Justice soonest.
There is plenty of time to process his new Nominee, to maintain a full court.

Suggestions for the next President Trump Supreme Court Nominee?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/27/anthony-kennedy-retiring-from-supreme-court.html

[Jed_]

Given the circumstances, I think it should be up to the next president to make this appointment don’t you?  I mean that’s the precedent that was recently set.

[joan1984]

The Biden Rule dealt with a lame duck President with less than a year left in his second term. Some time to go prior to that condition here.

President Trump will make his selection soon enough, and let the process begin so the Court need not be impaired and left with an empty seat.

How would you feel about Senator Ted Cruz for SCOTUS?

Wonder what Justice Ginsberg is waiting to happen before she retires?

Given the circumstances, I think it should be up to the next president to make this appointment don’t you?  I mean that’s the precedent that was recently set.

[MissBarbara]

There is plenty of time to process his new Nominee, to maintain a full court.

Jed is correct: There was "plenty of time to process" Obama's nominee, "to maintain a full court."

Not only did the GOP set a clear precedent then, but the plain fact that the Supreme Court continued to operate normally and with full function during the 14-month period between Scalia's death and Gorsuch's appointment, shows that the need to "maintain a full court" is a very low priority.

[joan1984]

  Leader McConnell stated today the Senate will vote this Fall on President Trump's expected Nominee. President Trump is not a lame duck, and while it is difficult to tell sometimes, no National Campaign for President is underway.

  The Biden Rule does not apply.

  How about Senator Lee, R-UT for SCOTUS? I hate to think of Utah having only Mitt Romney to count upon in the Senate, yet his name has been raised by a number of folks who know his qualifications, and trust his judgement, as to applying valid Constitutional values, without surprises, like Judge Souter, and Judge Kennedy for that matter.

  Having a new Justice to confirm will help bring out patriots of all stripes, and energize the November 2018 mid-terms. Hopefully, Justice Ginsberg will give a similar opportunity and incentive for patriots of all stripes for November 2020.

  Then there is the second term, will be interesting to see opportunities then.

[psiberzerker]

the need to "maintain a full court" is a very low priority.

And one party locking out another party's opportunity to appoint, then gaining the majority as planned is just not even going to be addressed?

We're just going to keep pointing out that Donny is not a "Lame duck," because he doesn't have congress shutting down all 3 branches of the government to prevent him from doing his duties, as president.

[Athos_131]

There is already a list of nominees.

#Resist

[Lois]

The so called "Biden Rule" was hypothetical and was never applied until McConnell used it as justification for violating the US Constitution.  Also, the Biden Rule was never meant to include a nominee more than a few months away from a President's leaving office.

Mid-terms are coming and a Democratic majority and then Trump will be gone.  Then I hope to see a declaration and legislation that will declare Gorsuch appointed to the Supreme Court in violation of the Constitution, and as a consequence removed.

[psiberzerker]

Mid-terms are coming and a Democratic majority and then Trump will be gone.

You called the victory early in the last election, and see what happened?  Yeah, might not want to make that mistake again.  We can't afford it.

[Lois]

Mid-terms are coming and a Democratic majority and then Trump will be gone.

You called the victory early in the last election, and see what happened?  Yeah, might not want to make that mistake again.  We can't afford it.

Fair enough.  The next election is for the Democrats to loose.  I hope they don't blow it.

[artie.jameson]

I am optimistic the GOP gets greedy and tries to push in someone like Pryor (anti-roe vs. wade & gay rights) and they lose the moderate wing of the party.  I'd love to see the GOP fail to elect a judge but the democrats can't actually stop it, the GOP will need to fuck themselves over this time.

[Lois]

Good news for Joan!  Trump is nominating Judge Roy Moore to the Supreme Court.

[Lois]

Interesting.

Senator Collins will not back anti-abortion Supreme Court nominee

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-abortion-collins/u-s-republican-collins-i-will-not-support-anti-abortion-supreme-court-candidate

[joan1984]

Few Senators would vote for a Justice who agrees in advance how s/he may rule in any case, in advance, no matter what the issue. Stability and even handedness are more the measure for Senate consideration.

Justice Gorsuch wrote a whole book on the value of precedent, and convinced those who voted for him of his fidelity to the Law and to the Constitution. Every Justice nominated by a Republican for many years has been trashed by Democrats as the one who would overturn Roe v. Wade, since Roe v. Wade is known to be a weak case Constitutionally.

Precedence is of high priority to every Supreme Court Justice, as it should be.

Interesting.

Senator Collins will not back anti-abortion Supreme Court nominee

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-abortion-collins/u-s-republican-collins-i-will-not-support-anti-abortion-supreme-court-candidate

[psiberzerker]

Few Senators would vote for a Justice who agrees in advance how s/he may rule in any case, in advance, no matter what the issue...  Precedence is of high priority to every Supreme Court Justice, as it should be.

What about internet armchair constitutional layers calling Senate votes?

Also, what about Merrick Garland?

Also, what about Deutshe Bank, and Kennedy Jr?

ol·i·garch
ˈäləˌɡärk/Submit
noun
1.
a ruler in an oligarchy.
2.
(especially in Russia) a very rich business leader with a great deal of political influence.

[joan1984]

[psiberzerker]

#Submit.

[artie.jameson]

I have a curious fantasy - no not that kind - that Trump may end up isolating himself a bit from the evangelicals if whoever he nominates doesn't try and shred Roe v Wade.  I don't believe he's going to find someone that can pass nomination that would walk in with the intent to shred it so... I think this supreme court pick (and delaying it until after the Nov. election) might be a tactic to minimize the damage from not reversing Roe v Wade.

This mostly makes me happy from the angle that the GOP members in washington need to pussy-foot around the absolute batshit crazy core of their base.

[MissBarbara]

I have a curious fantasy - no not that kind - that Trump may end up isolating himself a bit from the evangelicals if whoever he nominates doesn't try and shred Roe v Wade.  I don't believe he's going to find someone that can pass nomination that would walk in with the intent to shred it so... I think this supreme court pick (and delaying it until after the Nov. election) might be a tactic to minimize the damage from not reversing Roe v Wade.

This mostly makes me happy from the angle that the GOP members in washington need to pussy-foot around the absolute batshit crazy core of their base.

Unfortunately, this is the same mistake the Democrats made in 2016, and are continuing to make today: Evangelicals are not the core of the GOP base, and Trump was not elected solely because he captured the Evangelical base.

Trump began alienating himself from the Religious Right the moment he began his campaign, and he continued to alienate them throughout his campaign. They held their noses and voted for him in the general election, but he won because he captured a majority of the middle group, the so-called undecideds. Trump is not a Conservative, he's a Republican by convenience. And, most important, in presidential elections, push-button social issues do not resonate as highly as many think they do.

Time will tell, but there's an extremely slim chance that Trump will nominate a doctrinaire Conservative to the vacant SCOTUS seat, and even if he were to, that nominee would never be approved by either the Senate Judiciary Committee or the full Senate.

Roe v. Wade is no more endangered today than it was a month ago. I know that doesn't fit the narrative, but it's the reality.