The Heat Is On
[guest post by Dana]
It will be interesting to see if this gains any traction with Democrats:
A Democratic senator is turning up the heat on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to step down while Democrats can select her replacement.
Speaking with NBC’s Sahil Kapur for a story published Wednesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) made a veiled reference to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — who ignored calls to step down for years during former President Barack Obama’s tenure. She passed away in 2020, with former President Donald Trump choosing her successor.
“I’m very respectful of Justice Sotomayor,” Blumenthal told NBC. “I have great admiration for her. But I think she really has to weigh the competing factors. We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be. The old saying — graveyards are full of indispensable people, ourselves in this body included.”
Can’t you just hear the cries of “Ageism!,” “Racism!,” “Sexism!”?
Of course RBG’s refusal to step down cost the Democrats. However, I don’t know if pressuring the first Latina Supreme Court Justice is going to do anything but rile up the left which prides itself on embracing and promoting minorities in every field. And how would the Hispanic voting bloc react to Sotomayor being pressured to step down just as President Biden is trying hard to win them over for 2024?? (Of course, what’s so amusing about this is that Sotomayor remains in control of her faculties at 69 years young, while Democrats are firmly endorsing the re-election of a sometimes seemingly confused elderly man 12 years Sotomayor’s senior.)
Anyway, this is something that I imagine Democrats would need to consider:
“Wouldn’t a replacement for Sotomayor that Senator Joe Manchin has to approve be less progressive, and more centrist, than our sole Latina, super-progressive justice?” Hasan wrote. “Perhaps. But, again, consider the alternative. Would we rather Biden replace Sotomayor with a centrist in 2024 … or Trump replace her with a far-right Federalist Society goon in 2025?”
Can we now all agree that both sides of the political aisle stack the Court to the best of their ability when they are the ones in power?
—Dana
Hello.
Dana (8e902f) — 4/4/2024 @ 12:23 pmIf Justice Sotomayor cares about the Supreme Court as an institution, she should refuse the pressure to retire based on some group’s “timeline” because of a fear of the next President’s selection.
She should be the first one to bow to such pressure that would set a precedent in the future.
whembly (86df54) — 4/4/2024 @ 12:27 pmOf course, what’s so amusing about this is that Sotomayor remains in control of her faculties at 69 years young, while Democrats are firmly endorsing the re-election of a sometimes seemingly confused elderly man 12 years Sotomayor’s senior.
This is very true, but on the other hand Justice Sotomayor does suffer from Type 1 Diabetes, and it is apparently serious enough that she sometimes travels with a medic. Like everyone else, I do find it ironic that a political party which strongly opposes term limits and treats elective and appointed office like lifetime sinecures is always so quick to goad its members into retirement once the political winds start to become unfavorable, but I can understand their concern that Justice Sotomayor might not last in her job as long as they would otherwise hope.
JVW (b02843) — 4/4/2024 @ 1:51 pmThe real news from this story is that Blumenthal (and presumably other democrats) have no confidence whatsoever in Biden’s chances in November.
SaveFarris (79ab12) — 4/4/2024 @ 1:58 pmfar-right Federalist Society goon
Hmmmn. Seems like a far-left goon himself.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 4/4/2024 @ 2:18 pmIt would be one way to unload Harris though.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 4/4/2024 @ 2:20 pm“Can we now all agree that both sides of the political aisle stack the Court to the best of their ability when they are the ones in power?”
Must have missed it. When we’re the GOP demanding a justice resign so they could be replaced while the GOP held the Whitehouse?
This is a left side of the aisle phenomenon.
Harvey’s Potted Plant (de24fd) — 4/4/2024 @ 3:50 pmfar-right Federalist Society goon
If Trump’s appointees were far-right goons they wouldn’t have dismissed his “stolen election” lawsuits.
The only goon here is Mehdi Hasan.
norcal (73161b) — 4/4/2024 @ 4:23 pmI would hope so. Donor class media and corporate deep state establishment demand democrats talk like good government liberal snowflake punching bags. This is why establishment democrats end up looking like phony hypocrites though its probably they are hypocrites.
asset (0c0305) — 4/4/2024 @ 10:32 pm