Breaking: Supreme Court John Paul Stevens to retire

[EmptyMan]

Boutons, please quit being racist. (srs)

[boutons_deux]

EM, please GFY

[LnGrrrR]

Who cares. Obama will put another dem in. Nothing changes.

IIRC, Stevens was put there by Reagan. I know at least one of the liberal judges was installed by a Republican. So it's not quite a slam dunk.

Then again, to expect Obama to put someone on the bench that isn't a liberal is stupid. He'd be committing political suicide if he tried nominating a Republican; stacking the SC court is a very strong privilege of the President, and I fully expect him to use it.

[Winehole23]

I thought Stevens was appointed by Ford.

[ploto]

I thought Stevens was appointed by Ford.

True

[scottspurs]

Your right he was appointed by Ford. I always thought John Paul Stevens was one of the better judges.

[FromWayDowntown]

Judicial restraint is the new euphamism for judicial activism, which was the old euphamism for "a judge who decides cases the way that I want them decided."

and I remember President Bush working hard to consider "democratic" nominees to the Court.

[doobs]

I thought Stevens was appointed by Ford.

Yes, and Souter was appointed by George H. W. Bush. Hugo Black was appointed by FDR. Eisenhower appointed Harlan and Brennan and Warren (for Chief Justice).

It doesn't always work out as planned!

[LnGrrrR]

and I remember President Bush hardly working to consider "democratic" nominees to the Court.

fify

[Bartleby]

I'm rooting for Solicitor General Elena Kagen.

I'm betting it will be either her or Jennifer Granholm.

[Winehole23]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aKkGcLT5tGVI

[FromWayDowntown]

I think it would be politically expedient in many ways for President Obama to moderate on this choice for a variety of reasons. Obviously, with the mid-terms looming and a significant amount of dissatisfaction in the electorate, going with a moderate is a safe selection. I think going with a moderate also tends to best replace Justice Stevens, who has tended to the left, but is hardly a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. Appointing someone who is a relative moderate (as that term is seen within the viewing public) would tend to maintain some ideological continuity on the Court.

As importantly, it also seems fairly obvious that this will not be his last appointment. If he feels the need to entrench the left of the Court, he's going to have other opportunities to do that.

[boutons_deux]

"going with a moderate is a safe selection"

no. The spineless, kumbaya Dems need to face down the obstructionist, shameless Repugs with an in-your-ugly-face progressive nomination, and ram it through.

Damn the Torpedoes and damn the REpugs.

And raise SCOTUS to 11 judges,and put in two more progressives to neuter the 5 SCOTUS radical fringe conservatives.