Allahpundit calls it a “bombshell,” and I understand why he’s saying that: Supreme Court retirements are generally big news. However, this really won’t make much difference. One liberal will be replaced by another. Whomever Obama picks can’t be much worse.
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Souter is going to retire to his quaint, rustic cabin in rural New Hampshire, and spend the rest of his life
Official Internet Data Office (7a989a) — 4/30/2009 @ 7:43 pmcommuning with nature like Thoreaulistening to show tunes.Au contraire, remember Justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall? Marshall, especially, made Souter look like Alito. He could do much, much worse.
Not that it will ultimately make a difference, though. The basic balance of power remains the same, as it will if Stevens and Ginsburg retire.
Sean P (e57269) — 4/30/2009 @ 7:53 pmHe will probably write his memoirs. Possible titles:
“On the Other Hand”
Kevin Murphy (0b2493) — 4/30/2009 @ 7:55 pm“Weird Justice”
“Thank You, John Sununu!”
“Life with Mom”
“A Moderate Republican”
Not much change, but younger. Probably much younger. Same for Stevens and Ginsberg.
Considering that both Souter and Stevens were Republican appointees, the lost opportunities here are overwhelming.
Just glad Steven Reinhardt is too old.
Kevin Murphy (0b2493) — 4/30/2009 @ 7:59 pmThey should do a reality show to find the replacement. Axelrod and Blagojevich could host it on a fake island covered in Astroturf.
carlitos (23eb68) — 4/30/2009 @ 8:05 pmWhomever Obama picks can’t be much worse.
Worse, probably not, but much harder to find.
Are there any lawyers who believe the constitution to be illegal and at the same time are a lesbian African American woman who have had ten abortions while working for the Communist Party who got their voter registration from ACORN while protesting the war in Iraq at a community organizing event which exposed capitalism as the cause of global warming which can only be stopped by national health care?
highpockets (6ec8fe) — 4/30/2009 @ 8:58 pmWould it be too much to ask that Obama make a similar selection for justice that Bush 41 did with Souter. Someone who is good at hiding their conservative leanings, maybe. Nah, not going to happen.
PatAZ (9d1bb3) — 4/30/2009 @ 8:59 pmThe blog Legal Insurrection has an interesting take; the Dems will have a harder time of it because now that Specter has defected, the rules of the Judiciary Committee requires the consent of at least one member of the minority. If not one Republican goes along, it is the same as a filibuster. The weak link then becomes Lindsay Graham.
BeachBumBill (e1ef02) — 4/30/2009 @ 9:22 pmPolitics is a long game, played over time. The sands shift and who wins at a certain point in time depends on the shifting sands.
The Constitution is immutable, except when the winds shift to place someone in one of the highest offices of the land who is able to decide what the founding document means.
I say this because the deciding voice in this nation is the one who votes for or against the opinion of the other members of the Court.
And, I don’t mean President Obama. I mean the person who will replace Souter or the person who will replace whomever retires of dies next.
I fear that Souter’s retirement will be a long, slow drift away from the intent of the founding fathers to a “feels right” interpretation of the Constitution.
I’m not expressing this very well, but I believe there will be folks along to clarify what I’m saying.
Ag80 (b19e67) — 4/30/2009 @ 9:38 pmJustice William Jefferson Clinton?
(and I’m not sure why this came to mind all of a sudden.
Dave (in MA) (d51df8) — 4/30/2009 @ 9:47 pmRe Post #10–Billy Jeff sitting in with the Supremes? Naaah, he’d never take it, not enough action.
Mike Myers (674050) — 4/30/2009 @ 10:18 pmtime to buy more ammo, reloading supplies, magazines and spare parts.
the 2nd Amendment is the only court of appeal above the Supreme Court.
redc1c4 (652677) — 4/30/2009 @ 10:30 pmAnother glowing legacy from the Bush family brain trust. On 20 years mileage on this one and already a trade it. Souter, no doubt, drives a Chrysler Le Baron as well.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 5/1/2009 @ 12:13 am#13- On = Only. it = in. Typos.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 5/1/2009 @ 12:14 amInteresting coincidence that Ed Rendell dropped a subtle hint that his wife might be interested in a Supreme Court spot just yesterday after helping to broker the Specter defection.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 5/1/2009 @ 12:26 amJesus. If that’s how well you treat a defector who has faithfully toed the Democrat party line, its a wonder that anyone defects at all.
Grow up sunshine.
Dr. K (e70a2d) — 5/1/2009 @ 2:50 amWhat does crap like this even mean? That this dude plans on shooting up a city if the Court doesn’t toe the line on the Commerce Clause? On Separation of Powers?
You guys sure attract a weird group of gun owners
timb (8f04c0) — 5/1/2009 @ 5:10 am“However, this really won’t make much difference.”
Lots of news that won’t make much of a difference lately. Specter, not Souter. What’s next? Snowe and Collins?
imdw (e36369) — 5/1/2009 @ 5:26 am“I fear that Souter’s retirement will be a long, slow drift away from the intent of the founding fathers to a “feels right” interpretation of the Constitution.”
Ever since the warren court trampled state’s rights…
imdw (e36369) — 5/1/2009 @ 5:31 amConsidering how supposedly “unstoppable” Obama and a “filibuster-proof” Dem Senate are, does anyone want to take a bet that Obama would be arrogant enough to appoint someone with a long paper trail, like a Cass Sunstein?
Methinks that the Right could very well change the terms of the debate on judges with this nominee. And likely in a way that would disturb a lot of you on this thread.
Brad S (9f6740) — 5/1/2009 @ 5:57 amI don’t get your point, Brad S. Are you saying he would be that arrogant, or wouldn’t be?
danebramage (700c93) — 5/1/2009 @ 7:03 amPossible titles:
“One man’s stand against the evils of Republicanism”
“After you, Justice Ginsberg”
“Individual property rights? What are those?”
Dmac (1ddf7e) — 5/1/2009 @ 7:07 amSouter is the perfect example of how confusing Cocktailist Republican with Conservatism leads to bad results.
If GBI had been a real conservative …..
HeavenSent (637168) — 5/1/2009 @ 7:24 amThe rules in the Senate Judiciary Committee are about to change.
tmac (3afd16) — 5/1/2009 @ 7:28 amWhomever Obama picks can’t be much worse.
Wanna bet?
mojo (8096f2) — 5/1/2009 @ 8:00 amI don’t think John Edwards will get it
The Limerick Avenger (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:16 amIf ‘bama got Liz’ book and read it
John’s soft on crime,
And a real slime
And has Rielle’s kid to his credit.
Did you ever think:
carlitos as the Haiku Avenger (eeffbc) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:21 amWhere have all the hippies gone?
O knows where they are.
And it won’t be Hillary Clinton. President Obama likes her where she is now: a position in which he can give her orders, and fire her when he feels like it. 🙂
The snarky Dana (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:23 am*shrug* Souter was a run-of-the-mill Justice who will be elevated in the history books by liberal historians because he was a disappointment to the President who appointed him and willing to lend his vote to keeping the citadel of incompetent legal reasoning that is Roe v. Wade from collapsing under its own weight. Whoever replaces him won’t shift the balance once unless, ironically, he/she turns out to be another stealth candidate like Souter himself
M. Scott Eiland (5ccff0) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:26 amDave Souter will go
The ORIGINAL Haiku Avenger (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:45 aminto hist’ry as nothing
He was just a tool
If we can just keep
The ORIGINAL Haiku Avenger (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:48 amThe Cath’lic judges healthy
We can wait eight years
The Audacity of Appointing One’s Wife (OK, maybe the next opening.)
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:48 amSurely Barry won’t appoint Shelly
The Limerick Avenger (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:51 amSuch a move would be smelly
‘Course, he is Teh One
So it could be done
And the Court would go straight to Helly
I don’t know if I’ll ever dare to post again after that comeuppance by The LA.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2009 @ 10:01 amFrankly, a devout liberal on the Court will be an improvement from a squish like Souter. It will be a much more clear message to voters next time around that results matter.
A liberal will be more likely to announce very liberal views in very s stark terms that can be clearly understood and debated, in the false comfort that all enlightened people have the same beliefs.
The other positive is that John Sununu can now crawl into a hole and pull the dirt in on top of him, his saddest legacy now at an end.
WLS Shipwrecked (53653f) — 5/1/2009 @ 10:07 amHere’s someone to keep an eye on: Leah Ward Sears, a black woman is the chief justice of the Georgia State Supreme Court.
(I hope the following link works; if not, just visit ajc.com)
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/05/01/leah_ward_sears_supreme_court.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab
Bubba Maximus (456175) — 5/1/2009 @ 10:17 amThe Lim’rick Avenger is stumped
The Limerick Avenger (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 10:23 am‘Cause though we’re rid of this chump
Anyone Barry likes
Will make us say, “Yikes!”
The Court will become such a dump.
MD in Philly wrote:
I know the Limerick Avenger. The Limerick Avenger is a friend of mine. And MD, you have nothing to fear from LA.
The friendly Dana (3e4784) — 5/1/2009 @ 10:26 amLindsey Graham just got an invite to lunch at the White House. Oh Noes!?!?!
Seriously, though, LG may get courted a bit but it’s quite obvious that if they don’t get LG the Dems will simply change the rules, the media will bless it and we’ll all Moveon.org. The script is being written this very moment.
EBJ (2fd7f7) — 5/1/2009 @ 11:38 amfriendly Dana-
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 5/1/2009 @ 1:29 pmI was not attributing any malice or ill will in the LA’s post, I was just commenting that it’s tough when one’s idea appears in verse from another poster. I’m not usually up for such a height of creativity. 😉
Are you really that obtuse or is it an act? The leftmost President ever gets to fill a SC seat soon and when a guy says he’d better buy his gun & ammo first, you think it’s a threat?
Dave (in MA) (d51df8) — 5/1/2009 @ 1:32 pmWell, you see, on the Moron Scale, timb is off-the-scale!
AD - RtR/OS! (f774a9) — 5/1/2009 @ 2:02 pmthe Moron Scale
That of course is the calibrated scale known to scientists as the Biden Scale, which goes as high as 11.0.
Official Internet Data Office (7a989a) — 5/1/2009 @ 3:05 pmtimb must be at least a 12 or 13!
AD - RtR/OS! (f774a9) — 5/1/2009 @ 3:14 pmI have a straight-forward question:
I was just watching ABC’s evening newscast with Charlie Gibson and some reporter was doing a story on Souter. It was the usual fawning about how Souter managed to keep the Court from turning right, yadayadayada.
However, she also said this: “President Obama, a former constitutional law professor …”
But Robert Gibbs said the other day that the President had not been a constitutional law professor.
I’m just looking for a simple answer: Was Gibbs right or wrong? My money’s on him being wrong, but I am curious.
Ag80 (b19e67) — 5/1/2009 @ 3:40 pmIt depends on the meaning of….”professor”.
AD - RtR/OS! (f774a9) — 5/1/2009 @ 3:46 pmKim Wardlaw. You heard it here first/
Kate (7c43ea) — 5/1/2009 @ 9:48 pm