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Will Another Alito Ever Be Confirmed?
After the Supreme Court’s latest term, a line has been drawn in the sand so clearly that even a RINO can see it without glasses.
The Obergefell decision is fairly fragile. Justice Kennedy might resign during the next president’s term, and a Republican president might appoint his replacement. But if the current balance of the court is in danger of being pushed rightward*, the Democrats will do anything to stop it. They will use the filibuster and leave the seat unoccupied, for years if necessary.
In this scenario, our best hope is that the GOP holds firm and refuses to accept another moderate like Kennedy. As long as Republicans has a majority in the Senate, they should use all available countermeasures against the filibuster, blocking bills and even holding payment of federal employees as ransom.
We need to make leftist judges at all levels toxic. Remember: we don’t need the courts the way the left does. A denuded or discredited court for us would be unfortunate, but for the left it would be an apocalypse.
Alito was the last reliably conservative justice confirmed. I am pessimistic we will ever see his like again. The GOP establishment finds a liberal court very convenient and may join with the left to stab us in the back.
* Interestingly, Ginsburg shows no interest in resigning during Obama’s presidency and she is 82. Fellow member James of England told me an interesting theory: he believes Ginsburg has a legal mind vastly superior to either Kagan’s or Sotomayor’s, and could not bear to see her seat taken by another of Obama’s hacks. Perhaps she’s counting on Hillary winning in 2016.
Published in Law
Yeah, that’s how I see it too. Reagan did give us Scalia. You just can’t tell, and apparently not discernable from the President’s perspective either. I have to say Alito has been great.
I like and respect Alito, but I’m surprised there isn’t more love for Thomas on this thread. His understanding and adherence to the Founding is extraordinary.
For the record, I used Alito in the headline because he was the last solid conservative to slip in under the portcullis, but I regard Thomas as the only justice whose votes and ideas I find completely simpatico.
The Republicans should go full cage match on any Supreme Court nominee. The Left will try to replace Scalia, Alito, and Thomas with another Ginsberg, Kagan, and Sotomayor. Why not fight to replace Ginsberg with an Alito?
Never happen b/c the Republican senators don’t have the stomach for a fight, besides they’re all allrightniks. Their lives and lifestyles won’t be affected.
This is why we need an Article V Convention of States. Otherwise it’s a continued descent into tyranny, or civil unrest/secession.
I always found Thomas’s opinions most convincing and most tethered to the text of the Constitution.
Well everyone here seems to know that liberals will play scorched earth hard ball and fear that Republicans are afraid to, or don’t know how, or don’t really want to. So we know what to work on, what kinds of folks to choose at all levels of government.
Except, they won’t. They could, if they held 51 Senate seats and the White House, appoint as conservative a Justice as they could find.
But they won’t.
In my ideal Supreme Court, there’d be five clones of Clarence Thomas, three of Scalia, and one of John Marshall.
Oh I love Thomas and I suspect we all do. I assume many of us have expressed our appreciation of Thomas elsewhere. Alito is the new kid on the block and while I won’t speak for anyone else I think we all wanted to show our appreciation. By the way Thomas’ memoir, My Grandfather’s Son is a great read and at places had me in tears. Highly recommend it.
I read My Grandfather’s Son shortly after reading Dreams From My Father. You could teach an interesting course just using those two books. It’s rare to see such a revealing portrait from a current public political figure as Thomas’ book.
@Mark,
Wow! Did you end up with a bad case of ideological whiplash?
What’s interesting is that both were radically left during their college years. And Thomas was a very angry guy at that time but seems at peace with himself now. I read Obama as a someone who does not often exhibit anger but is still an angry guy underneath it all.
And both men lacked a father’s presence when they were growing up. Thomas had it tough dealing with racism as he grew up while Obama yearned to have a hard time dealing with it to give him authenticity.