In Possible Retirement, the Likelihood of an Election-Year Confrontation

[usregimechange]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — No announcement has been made, but the widely anticipated retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens in coming weeks has the White House, Senate and lobbying groups bracing for an election-year confrontation over the future of the Supreme Court...

Wary of appearing presumptuous, the White House has avoided overt moves to prepare, but it already has long dossiers on a host of candidates after last year’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. If Justice Stevens retires, Democrats close to the White House said, the leading contenders will be three runners-up from last year: Elena Kagan, the solicitor general; Diane P. Wood, an appeals court judge in Chicago; and Merrick B. Garland, an appeals court judge in Washington...

A confirmation battle could not only provoke fresh skirmishing on longstanding issues like guns, abortion, race and terrorism; it might also generate new divisions stemming from constitutional challenges to Mr. Obama’s new health care program and a recent Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing the right of corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money in candidate elections.

Mr. Obama may feel empowered to take on a fight. “The president now has health care behind him,” said Walter E. Dellinger III, acting solicitor general in the Clinton administration. “Though there are other major initiatives, there’s nothing comparable with health care to compete with this for expenditure of the president’s political capital.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/us/politics/26court.html

---

You can bet Republicans wouldn't play it safe and their base wouldn't put up with a moderate.

[bluestateguy]

1. Doesn't Kagan have some baggage?

I just don't remember what.

[usregimechange]

2. She has been suggested because she doesn't have much but...

there was something about her banning military recruiters at Harvard due to don't ask don't tell.

[Hawaii Hiker]

3. Considering the 2 Bush put on the court

And considering how Bush even got there (Bush V. Gore 2000) & throw in the disasterous Citizens United case from this year, I think President Obama needs to go hard left on the next appointment....

Goodwin Liu would be a grand-slam home run in the bottom of the 9th. inning of the 7th game of the World Series..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwin_Liu

[NBachers]

4. Zowie! Thanks for the Goodwin Liu link

[HillbillyBob]

12. very hard left

nt

[DainBramaged]

5. Fuck the Republicans and their 'base' fuck them

I'm tired of worrying about them, they don't give a shit about America, why do we worry about them?

[Lasher]

6. There ya go.

I was about to post the very same thing, word for word.

[Mopar151]

7. Now, if someone will convince Uncle Clarence

That he should resign from the court to run for president as the Tea Party canidate, that would be a beautiful thing.

[zonkers]

16. Fuckem is right!!!!!

[PinkFloyd]

8. I wish Ginsburg and Breyer would retire too.

I'm not saying anything bad about either of them, they've been great justices over the years. But they're both in their 70's. I don't mean to be a pessimist but God forbid something crazy happens and we end up with "President Palin" and something happens with one of them. The idea of her picking a replacement for either one of them is scary...Hell, she'll probably even pick that 30-something who graduated from Pat Robertson Law School that helped run the DOJ for Bush.

[jmowreader]

9. Who's the most liberal judge in America?

It won't matter who Obama picks. The far right is going to depict that person as some kind of liberal commie firebrand who will outlaw God, start high school interscholastic sport sex leagues and require every student to try out for the team, require everyone in America to pick up a Marijuana Habit and mandate women to have abortions at gunpoint. Since that's the kind of person they seem to want, let's give them one.

[HillbillyBob]

13. Oh I can go along with sport sex and mj

but not for underage folks. I m liberal, but not that liberal...
Frankly legal pot and give to the teapartiers calm them down bit...funny as I was typing that a coanchor on CBS am show said the same thing in reference to Californias possible legalization..now if NC would get the message....

[Mopar151]

14. Fu*&^%$ with the Stars?

Might as well - Idol is getting pretty lame, I hear. As far as teapartiers go - "Tea" is an old slang term for weed anyway, but some brownies with that tea oughta mellow 'em right out.

[jmowreader]

17. Just imagine the NSL--the National Screwing League!

There'd have to be rules, and you could have a panel of judges like they do on Idol. There'd be two pimps, dressed as stereotypical pimps (no, not like James O'Keefe--no self-respecting pimp would borrow a fur coat from his mother) and two female porn stars, and Ron Jeremy would be the host. Put it on the Playboy Channel, isn't that the most popular adult channel? Your sponsors would be Trojan Condoms, Astroglide, whatever outfit makes sex toys and "dancewear" for the dirty book stores, maybe Adam & Eve...I'd want to work out the rulebook and the classes. So many people like porn there's no way this wouldn't be popular. And you know WHY it would be popular? Obviously lots of people like to watch porn, but also it would be popular for the same reason NASCAR is popular--everyone can sit there and go "I could do that." Very few people who watch LeBron shoot threes can shoot a three. Very few people who watch Brett Favre make forty-yard passes can throw a football 120 feet at all, and even fewer people can do it with eleven 300-pound men running at them. But everyone can drive and everyone can screw, so NASCAR is popular and the NSL will be.

[No Elephants]

10. K and R for Reply ##'s and 9. And thank you, Justice Stevens for announcing

retirement while a Democratic President is in office.

I saw him inteviewed not long ago and he was still amazingly youthful and still absolutely tickled with his job. So, I believe he is doing this for Democrats, not because he wants his career to end soon--unless, heaven forbid, he got some negative medical news since that interview.

[usregimechange]

15. And because he knows Republicans are not reasonable anymore

[fasttense]

11. He was appointed by a RepubliCON

Back when RepubliCONS were not right wing-nuts spouting dribble, claiming the sky was falling and shooting up anything that smacked of reasonable.

Ford appointed him. Can you imagine the bushes or any current RepubliCON making such a reasonable nomination today? Only goes to show you how far right wing crazy we have moved as a country.

[Odin2005]

18. Tome for a REAL LIBERAL! Apooint Kagan!