Reason’s Damon Root on the Kennedy retirement:
That influence came with a certain price. Over the years, Kennedy has been denounced by every major faction in American politics. In conservative circles, for example, he has been keelhauled as a reckless judicial activist who “invented” a right to gay marriage. Liberals, meanwhile, have burned him in effigy as the unwitting mouthpiece for corporate oligarchs thanks to his majority opinion in the Citizens United case. And among libertarians, Kennedy has been damned as the fair-weather federalist who torpedoed the rights of local medical marijuana users in favor of a federal drug control scheme. Libertarians will also point out that Kennedy joined the majority opinion that unleashed the forces of eminent domain abuse in Kelo v. City of New London (2005).
To say the least, Kennedy’s jurisprudence defies easy categorization. Legal scholars will be arguing about it for a long time to come….In short, thanks to Kennedy’s retirement, all hell is about to break loose.
And the media is already counting the receipts.
I dunno, it sounds like the MPR/NPR defense: “We are not leftists because we get it from both sides. Why just yesterday, a Stalinist was accusing us of Trotskyism.”
As someone who is a core libertarian I will enjoy seeing him replaced by someone who wont legislate from the bench.
seriously outside of Mitch does anyone to the right of Ellison listen to National peoples radio?
Will we be able to discern that in today’s political/media environment? How do you go past 11?
FWIW, I liked Kennedy’s instincts, but he was pretty mercurial in his rulings and reasoning. But at least the man supported the Bill of Rights fairly well, unlike the monolithic left of the court.
seriously outside of Mitch does anyone to the right of Ellison listen to National peoples radio?
My Dad (who is as conservative as I am) does….but that’s only because he lives out in the middle of nowhere. He lives “in” a town with a population of 300, but it takes almost 10 minutes to drive into town from his place. The local public radio station is the only talk station he receives. There is no oldies (American Graffiti era) radio station or else he would listen exclusively to that.
Internet? He recently switched to a new satellite offering with slow DSL speeds, after 9 years with RF from Verizon with 1.5Mbs and a 12gig per month data cap. Needless to say, visiting him entails REALLY dialing back on my internet consumption for the duration of the trip.
Well, Chris “Tingles” Matthews went bat shit crazy over it last night, even yelling at another colleague. When he was told to remember that Harry Reid going nuclear a couple of years ago, so there was little to nothing that the Dems in Congress or the Senate can do to stop it, I thought his head was going to explode.
Right here.
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kyle-drennen/2018/06/27/matthews-meltdown-dems-must-reap-vengeance-against-trump-court-pick
Nerdbert: I hear the latest gear has knobs that go all the way to 12, since 11 wasn’t enough.
From Boss’s link:
(Chris Matthews)
“They shouldn’t have a meeting with any of his nominees. They shouldn’t have any hearings, they shouldn’t show up for any hearings.”
I say, go with that, cupcake. Just ignore the whole process.
“And right now, this is the time for the Democratic base to roar up and say no more of this crap! It’s not gonna happen.”
Trump: “Hold my beer”.
“I tell you, the Democratic base is wired now for a revolt, this will be the trigger for it, if they allow this.”
STFU and get on the helicopter, sweetheart.
Also, has anyone seen Matthews and Rachel Maddow in the same place at the same time? I’m thinking Matthews is Maddow’s attempt at being butch.
Chances are good that the Republicans will pick up Senate seats in the midterm elections. Thus, the best strategy could be to put forward a conservative judge and if not confirmed just continue past the election and submit another conservative.
Where the Republicans are more vulnerable is in the House, but I think they will still have a majority. Right now, 51% of Americans approve of Trump’s economic policies. Which is a good sign for the midterms.
In conservative circles the hope is that a true constitutionalist will be appointed and drive a stake into the heart of the “Living Constitution” fallacy.
In progressive circles they’re curled up on the floor in a pool of their own urine, cursing Dirty Harry Reid over the “Nuclear Option”.
I’m thinking there’ll be those that’ll want to see Brewer and Ginsberg embalmed and propped up in their chairs before they’ll let them retire or expire.
This has been a long time in coming, brings balance where there hasn’t been any for a long while. The goal should be a court which upholds the law, rather than writing new law.