Members MsAnn Posted June 27, 2018 Members Posted June 27, 2018 https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/justice-kennedy-retiring-trump-gets-2nd-supreme-court-180417906--politics.html Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday, giving President Donald Trump the chance to cement conservative control of the high court. The 81-year-old Kennedy said in a statement he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, he has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights. Kennedy said he has informed his colleagues and Trump of his plans, and that his retirement will take effect at the end of July. Without him, the court will be split between four liberal justices who were appointed by Democratic presidents and four conservatives who were named by Republicans. Trump's nominee is likely to give the conservatives a solid majority and will face a Senate process in which Republicans hold the slimmest majority, but Democrats can't delay confirmation. Trump's first high court nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, was confirmed in April 2017. If past practice is any indication, Trump will name a nominee within weeks, setting in motion a process that could allow confirmation of a new justice by early August. Trump already has a list of 25 candidates — 24 judges and Utah Sen. Mike Lee — from which the White House has previously said he would choose a nominee. Prominent on that list are Judges Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania and William Pryor of Alabama, seriously considered for the seat eventually filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who serves on the federal appeals court in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh is a longtime Washington insider, having served as a law clerk to Kennedy and then as a key member of independent counsel Kenneth Starr's team that produced the report that served as the basis for President Bill Clinton's impeachment. In October, Kavanaugh dissented when his court ruled that an undocumented teen in federal custody should be able to obtain an abortion immediately. Abortion is likely to be one of the flash points in the nomination fight. Kennedy has mainly supported abortion rights in his time on the court, and Trump has made clear he would try to choose justices who want to overturn the landmark abortion rights case of Roe v. Wade. Such a dramatic step may not be immediately likely, but a more conservative court might be more willing to sustain abortion restrictions. Interest groups across the political spectrum are expected to mobilize to support and fight the nomination because it is so likely to push the court to the right. Republicans currently hold a bare 51-49 majority in the Senate, although that includes the ailing Sen. John McCain of Arizona. If Democrats stand united in opposition to Trump's choice, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky can lose no more than one vote. If the Senate divides 50-50, Vice President Mike Pence could break a tie to confirm the nominee. Regardless of who replaces him, Kennedy's departure will be a massive change for the high court, where he has been the crucial swing vote for more than a decade. He has sided with the liberal justices on gay rights and abortion rights, as well as some cases involving race, the death penalty and the rights of people detained without charges at the Guantanamo Bay naval base. He has written all the court's major gay-rights decisions, including the 2015 ruling that declared same-sex marriage is a constitutional right nationwide. He also has been a key vote when conservatives have won major rulings on the outcome of the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush, gun rights, limiting regulation of campaign money and gutting a key provision of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act. There were no outward signs that Kennedy was getting ready to retire. He had hired his allotment of four law clerks for the term that begins in October and he is planning to spend part of the summer as he typically does, teaching a law school class in Salzburg, Austria. But several former law clerks said that Kennedy, a nominee of President Ronald Reagan, prefers to be replaced by a Republican. Control of the Senate is at stake in the November elections, and if Democrats capture the majority, Trump could find it difficult to get his choice confirmed. Few obstacles seem to stand in the way of confirming Kennedy's replacement before the court reconvenes in October. Republicans changed the rules during Gorsuch's confirmation to wipe out the main delaying tactic for Supreme Court nominees, the filibuster, and the need for 60 votes to defeat it. The other two older justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, and Stephen Breyer, 79, are Democratic appointees who would not appear to be going anywhere during a Trump administration if they can help it. Quote
Members Bucknaway1614502762 Posted June 27, 2018 Members Posted June 27, 2018 And trumps only on his 2nd year with 6 more to go. Ruth is already hunched over, I don't know if she can last that long. Quote
Members tassojunior Posted June 27, 2018 Members Posted June 27, 2018 and Dem leadership is too gentlemanly to filibuster MsAnn and AdamSmith 1 1 Quote
Guest Larstrup Posted June 27, 2018 Posted June 27, 2018 44 minutes ago, tassojunior said: and Dem leadership is too gentlemanly to filibuster Republicans voted to lower the threshold for advancing Supreme Court nominations from 60 votes to a simple majority to circumvent the Democrats blockage of Neil Gorsuch. In deploying this so-called nuclear option, lawmakers fundamentally altered the way the Senate handles one of its most significant duties, further limiting the minority’s power in a chamber that was designed to be a slower and more deliberative body than the House. Republicans only need 51 votes now for passage of the new nominee. kennedy was always the Justice whom attorneys framed their arguments to sway opinions. As MsAnn states, this is a devastating retirement. This is going to be one brutal summer. The filibuster is on Trump’s hit list and is twisting arms as we speak to destroy it. (Still need 60 votes for this - which they don’t have ) Quote
Members MsAnn Posted June 27, 2018 Author Members Posted June 27, 2018 3 minutes ago, Larstrup said: Republicans only need 51 votes now for passage of the new nominee. There is Collins and Murkowski, although McConnell is a pitbull, and in the end, I think he'll hold his conference together. "If the Democratic Leadership allows this to happen, if they don't fight with everything they have, then I think it will be the end of the Democratic Leadership as we know it. The base will never forgive them. They are already angry and feel like this leadership has not fought hard enough against this administration" Chris Matthews AdamSmith 1 Quote
Guest Larstrup Posted June 27, 2018 Posted June 27, 2018 This tweet from McConnell in 2016 will be hard for him to defend this time around. Blocking this nomination until after the November elections will require a Democratic Party we have rarely seen before. Quote
Members RA1 Posted June 27, 2018 Members Posted June 27, 2018 Both sides feel exactly as the various posters herein. Amazing. Best regards, RA1 Quote
Guest Larstrup Posted June 27, 2018 Posted June 27, 2018 26 minutes ago, RA1 said: Both sides feel exactly as the various posters herein. Amazing. Best regards, RA1 Surely you see the McConnell hypocrisy here. No? Quote
Members MsAnn Posted June 27, 2018 Author Members Posted June 27, 2018 Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough speaking truth to power... AdamSmith 1 Quote
Members Bucknaway1614502762 Posted June 27, 2018 Members Posted June 27, 2018 Will the liberal's ever get a chance to get some sleep? They marched with "Nasty Woman" signs. They marched with "Not My President Sign" They marched for Russia. They marched for the Travel ban They marched for the boarder wall They marched so much and for so long they created the "Stay woke" slogan cause the marchers want to go home and get some sleep. The country has seen the liberals shout, march and threaten and act-up for everything the president says or does. This protest will just look like all the others and the only ones who will care will be the protesters. Quote
Members RA1 Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 2 hours ago, Larstrup said: Surely you see the McConnell hypocrisy here. No? I am no fan of McConnell. If you mean delaying Obama's nominee until Trump was elected and then suggesting Trump's new nominee will be voted on before the Fall election, I view that as "normal" politics today (unfortunately). Best regards, RA1 Quote
AdamSmith Posted June 28, 2018 Posted June 28, 2018 5 hours ago, tassojunior said: and Dem leadership is too gentlemanly to filibuster This is the only positive. A new Dem generation with fire in the belly will launch forth. Too late to save the Court. But maybe, after one or two more election cycles, with enough spine to put the Legislative branch back into the controlling position the Founders intended it to occupy. We shall see. Maybe we have simply fallen off the edge, as so many empires have before. If so, then we earned our fate. But I think the next election cycle after this upcoming one will see a climate-change event. Think "Species extinction." MsAnn 1 Quote
Members Suckrates Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 27 minutes ago, AdamSmith said: This is the only positive. A new Dem generation with fire in the belly will launch forth. Too late to save the Court. But maybe, after one or two more election cycles, with enough spine to put the Legislative branch back into the controlling position the Founders intended it to occupy. We shall see. Maybe we have simply fallen off the edge, as so many empires have before. If so, then we earned our fate. But I think the next election cycle after this upcoming one will see a climate-change event. Think "Species extinction." WHAT species is Trump & Co ? Quote
AdamSmith Posted June 28, 2018 Posted June 28, 2018 14 minutes ago, Suckrates said: WHAT species is Trump & Co ? http://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2017/09/20/assignment-asking-students-to-role-play-as-kkk-sparks-anger MsAnn and TotallyOz 2 Quote
Members Bucknaway1614502762 Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 Trump keeps winning..... Quote
Members Suckrates Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 1 hour ago, Bucknaway1614502762 said: Trump keeps winning..... What goes Up MUST come down ! Sadly, you BLACK folk havent won anything yet ! AdamSmith 1 Quote
Members Bucknaway1614502762 Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 Us black folk win when the country wins. As the presidents corrects the direction of the country we all will enjoy the ride. Quote
Members Suckrates Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 3 minutes ago, Bucknaway1614502762 said: Us black folk win when the country wins. As the presidents corrects the direction of the country we all will enjoy the ride. Well, it may be a long wait for you cause he's going in the WRONG direction......? A country DIVIDED will NEVER win ! Quote
Members Bucknaway1614502762 Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 We will see. The left have been on full tilt hate before he took office and they are getting more and more deranged. I think the conservatives are the sleeping lion and the libs are going to wake it up soon. Quote
Members Suckrates Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 8 minutes ago, Bucknaway1614502762 said: We will see. The left have been on full tilt hate before he took office and they are getting more and more deranged. I think the conservatives are the sleeping lion and the libs are going to wake it up soon. DERANGED is an interesting use of word here..... AdamSmith 1 Quote
Members Bucknaway1614502762 Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 After this court pick, trump could step down and let pence finish his term and I'll still consider trump a success Quote
Members Suckrates Posted June 28, 2018 Members Posted June 28, 2018 1 minute ago, Bucknaway1614502762 said: After this court pick, trump could step down and let pence finish his term and I'll still consider trump a success Wow, you even give Trump credit for a justice retiring ? Trump really needs to send you a muffin basket ! AdamSmith 1 Quote
