January 26, 2022

Breyer will retire!

Big news! 

I'm reading the report in the NYT:

Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the senior member of the Supreme Court’s three-member liberal wing, will retire, two people familiar with the decision said, providing President Biden a chance to make good on his pledge to name a Black woman to the court.

Oh, so there's a "pledge" and he'll need to "make good" on it. 

ADDED: We've already got affirmative action on the Supreme Court's agenda this year as we move toward the elections, and if Biden fulfills this pledge, it will intensify the political theater. He already fulfilled a black-woman pledge in selecting his Vice President, and there's a fair amount of disappointment in her. (She's got worse poll numbers than he does.) But that doesn't mean he should violate his pledge. (I'm assuming it is, indeed, a pledge.) He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge, so that the political theater is highly supportive of this kind of selection process, and the resonance with the pending cases helps the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people. 

ALSO: At WaPo, Neal Katyal, the former Solicitor General and a former law clerk to Breyer, has an op-ed that was all ready to go: "Breyer’s act of listening will pave the way to a healthier democracy." I thought the "act of listening" was going to be the act of listening to people who were telling him he needed to retire to give Biden a chance to nominate somebody before Republicans took back the Senate, but no, it's about judging cases:

A deep part of his listening practice was to pay attention to experts in the field. He often said federal judges are not experts on national security, or the environment, or the economy, and that a deep part of wisdom was deference to expertise. Breyer’s path was to triple check his personal impulses, and particularly so if they conflicted with the views of true experts on the question before him.

That's pretty sober and lofty, but here's how Katyal brings it in for a landing:

Consider just how different that is from the political debates today, where extremist ideology has attacked things that should be noncontroversial, from wearing masks to taking vaccines, from addressing global warming to protecting voting rights.

America stands at a crossroads. On one path is more toxic extremism, the culmination of which we witnessed on Jan. 6. Despite that armed insurrection, the path remains just as seductive as ever to many.

Armed insurrection?

The other path is quieter and more difficult to practice. It is a path forged by Breyer: respect for others, reverence for the law, and most of all, a commitment to listening to and learning from one another.

You know, if you want to be quieter and reverent and committed to listening to and learning from one another, you wouldn't have written "armed insurrection." Or "toxic extremism." This gets my "civility bullshit" tag.

And why shouldn't we be able to debate wearing masks and the best way to protect voting rights and whether we're getting accurate reports of the science about vaccines and global warming? We are not deciding cases and dictating what other people must do, the way the Court does. We're exchanging opinion in the public forum, debating and expressing ourselves! 

That's not "toxic extremism." It's toxic extremism to say that it is!

AND: From right before the 1980 election: "Reagan Pledges He Would Name a Woman to the Supreme Court" (WaPo). In June 1981, Potter Stewart announced his retirement, and Reagan got his slot to fill. I had just graduated from law school, and I remember telling my father that I was excited about the first woman on the Supreme Court. My father scoffed and said he didn't expect Reagan to make good on his pledge. He confidently asserted that the nominee would be William French Smith.

173 comments:

rhhardin said...

Biden promised a black woman.

Real American said...

they finally got to him.

Dave Begley said...

My first thought is this is how Biden gets rid of Kamala Harris. Put her on the Supreme Court.

Now some may say she isn't qualified. She failed the CA Bar exam on her first attempt. I doubt she's ever tried a case or argued an appeal. But who cares? Diversity uber alles!

And as Nebraska Senator Roman Hruska once said, the Supreme Court needs mediocre people on the bench to represent the majority.

Seriously, Biden will make a diversity pick. Or maybe Merrick Garland.

BarrySanders20 said...

This is how he gets rid of Kamala

wendybar said...

How about Joy Reid or Whoopie Goldberg. That is what we will get with whomever he chooses for their color, not their qualifications.
Case in Point...Kamala Harris.

Gahrie said...

It's going to be fun watching the Democrats try to replace him before the November elections.

john said...

A real coup: Biden will nominate Harris for the position!

Thus killing two birds with one stone with this (figuratively, of course.)

Narayanan said...

stacy abrams can now be Governor and Justice [thwarted??!!]

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"two people familiar with the decision said"

Which means there's a 60% chance it's total bullshit

Wait until Breyer makes an announcement

Owen said...

I second David Begley's thought. Kamala would be just awesome.

Imagine that cackle during oral argument!

God of the Sea People said...

This won’t shift the balance of power very much, but whomever Biden nominates will certainly be less moderate than Breyer was.

cubanbob said...

Now it's the time for McConnel to earn his keep as Senate majority leader and tank any nomination by Biden. If he doesn't and the Republicans pick up enough seats in November he likely won't be Senate majority leader in 2024.

John henry said...

Hilarity will ensue. I need to stop at cost y for popcorn.

Our president emeritus is rested and ready. I doubt he is interested or would be nominated if he were.

What about Harris?

John LGBTQBNY Henry

SGT Ted said...

Picking people for jobs based on skin color and sex is what bigots do.

Mr Wibble said...

I'm not sure how this will play out. Any other year it would be pretty obvious that the GOP would roll over and at least four or five would vote with the Dems to confirm. However, this year Biden is about as popular as a jalapeno enema, and the progressives will be pushing hard for a fire-breathing radical such that there may be almost no blowback to the GOP for standing united. On the other hand, a Dem senator or two probably doesn't want a vote for a radical on their record going into a tough election.

Of course, being 2022, we might very well see Bernie Sanders or Pat Leahy drop dead the day after Biden announces his nominee.

MadTownGuy said...

Condi Rice.

Amadeus 48 said...

It has to be Sunny Hostin. Who is running this place, anyway?

RideSpaceMountain said...

@Dave Begley

Bingo. God help us.

Kay said...

Whenever I hear his name I think about ice cream.

Mike Sylwester said...

A Justice Kamala Harris would not be any worse than Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

TreeJoe said...

Bidens team will pick whatever identity best supports their mid term election interests. The end.

Andrew said...

Honestly, for the good of the country, I hope it's Harris. Since Biden is going to choose a left-wing hack, as well as an affirmative action hire, I'd rather it be someone too stupid to have any real influence. Her clerks can write her briefs for her. This gives Biden a chance to move Harris off the stage without offending anyone. He can pick a vice-president who at least has a mind, and doesn't embody the downfall of the republic. Then Biden can retire for health reasons. I don't want a Democrat to be president, but the world situation requires us to have a president who is not a complete embarrassment, and who can actually project some authority.

Lance said...

Condi Rice! She's a woman and she's Black!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Wow he really learned nothing from making the same stupid pledge about his VP choice. Hey Joe how's that working out for you?

OTOH I hear news musers speculating that Kamala could in fact be that black lady he needs again, although I think they are looking past the Senate vote. If she is promoted out of VP into the SCOTUS then Joe has no 51st vote, and in fact likely lacks the votes to even confirm Kamala unless she votes for herself. How gauche!

Jeff Vader said...

As his promise of a nominating a black woman for VP has worked so well might as well keep it going

Curious George said...

"He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge, so that the political theater is highly supportive of this kind of selection process, and the resonance with the pending cases helps the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people."

Wow.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Now I'll speculate. Why now? Maybe because Biden is seriously ill and/or worried about finishing his term, which would as previously noted, put Kamala in the position of not having that 51st vote in the Senate should she ascend to POTUS. So if Breyer kicks it in the next three years the court would stay vacant until the next president. We all know how that turned out in 2016 when we waited for the winner of the presidential election to appoint the next SC justice.

Thank you, again, Cocaine Mitch, for the few but very crucial things you do to help your party.

Rabel said...

How would making a decision based entirely on the race and sex of the nominee help the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people?

I think it will do just the opposite.

Such a decision will be openly racist and sexist and will tend to disgust those of us who still believe that the government should not discriminate on the basis of race or sex.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

And as Nebraska Senator Roman Hruska once said, the Supreme Court needs mediocre people on the bench to represent the majority.

LOL nice! And so true. We were hoping Biden would at least be mediocre, but he was sub-mediocre.

Michael said...

He's gonna name Oprah!

Aggie said...

I have an idea: Let's dredge up the list of questions that Joe Biden asked Clarence Thomas and get them revised as appropriate for the putative candidate. Nobody would object - right?

Ms. Althouse: What is the purpose of your ADDED comment? "He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge, so that the political theater is highly supportive of this kind of selection process, and the resonance with the pending cases helps the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people."

Really? You think expanding and amplifying the phoniness of affirmative action is a good thing and it will drive acceptance? Interesting. Turn the volume up past '11' and you'll learn to love the music.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

"He can pick a vice-president..."

Yeah and then what?

Yancey Ward said...

Justice Harris wouldn't be any worse than Justice Breyer himself.

Amadeus 48 said...

It will be interesting to see how McConnell plays this. The Dems will be stuck with whomever Biden picks.

Because Joe has never done many things right, I assume that his pick will quickly prove to be an embarrassment. The hearing will be rife with the candidate's prior elucidations of "CRT" topics. Middle Americans will be appalled.

Michael said...

And just like that Manchin and Sinema become even more powerful

dreams said...

I predict Breyer will live to 93 or 95, maybe more. He succumbed to liberal pressure.

Real American said...

His VP pick shows that making diversity hires is a bad idea and does the country harm. Biden looked around and didn't have many options and took what he could get, which was not the best available person, but a cackling, ignorant harlot. Not that politics don't come into play with these nominations, but qualifications and temperament should come first, not race or sex. That's how you end up with a "wise Latina" who is a dunce who can't comprehend that her job function isn't legislative.

His pledge is also bad politics because the racists who believe in that DEI nonsense were going to vote for him anyway and number of qualified candidates is rather small. He's appointed 4 black women to the court of appeals this year, but whether they're actually qualified for the higher court is questionable at this point given their lack of history as judges, though I'm sure all of them are ardent leftists. Not sure what state courts look like but it's hard to think there's many good options for him if he wants to keep this idiotic and bigoted promise.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Maybe I should explicitly posit that Republicans have zero incentive to confirm a replacement VP should Harris ascend to the court or the oval office. Why would Republicans help Schumer secure a 51st vote when we can just watch him fail until its our turn to run the Senate again?

Mr Wibble said...

Althouse for SCOTUS!

Leland said...

Remind me, how long did Justice Thomas go without asking questions? Asking for a listener.

Blair said...

I am strangely okay with the idea of moving Harris onto the court. It avoids the bigger disaster than the President we already have, and, while she's dumber than a sack of hammers and completely unqualified, she can get her clerks to write her opinions for her. And of course Elena Kagan can tell her what to think like she currently does for the other Leftist brainiac Sotomayor.

I see no great downside here at all.

Ceciliahere said...

Nominate Kamala Harris. I think that should solve two problems.

Maynard said...

Uncle Joe will nominate Anita Hill. They are old friends.

After Lindsay Graham shepherds her nomination through the Senate, she will demand that Clarence Thomas be impeached for rejecting her for a conservative White woman.

gilbar said...

Oh, so there's a "pledge" and he'll need to "make good" on it.

Well,
he hasn't made good on any (ANY!) of his other pledges (except his pledge to screw american oil).
So he needs to start Somewhere

Readering said...

RBG died 9/18. ACB picked 9/26 and confirmed 10/31. Can this vacancy be filled quicker? I suppose no hurry since seat not acrually vacant until end of June.

Achilles said...

Consider just how different that is from the political debates today, where extremist ideology has attacked things that should be noncontroversial, from wearing masks to taking vaccines, from addressing global warming to protecting voting rights.

That is some good old fashioned scientific debate right there.

These people just need to be culled both for their stupidity and for their imposition on individual freedom.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

It's too perfect. Dump Kamala on the Supreme Court and get a twofer. There has to be a Democrat out there who will poll better as VP. In fact, any random pick would.
Better hurry though, because Democrats won't be holding a Senate majority forever.

John henry said...

Hilarity will ensue. I need to stop at cost y for popcorn.

Our president emeritus is rested and ready. I doubt he is interested or would be nominated if he were.

What about Harris?

John LGBTQBNY Henry

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

If they stick that toxic creep Merrick in there - Lord help us.

Achilles said...

providing President Biden a chance to make good on his pledge to name a Black woman to the court.

Democrats believe in these three things:

Racism yesterday.

Racism today.

Racism forever.

Iman said...

May I suggest Janice Rogers Brown?

William said...

There are cases to be made for affirmative action, late term abortion, early parole for teen serial killers and other such causes dear to liberal hearts. Is there some Black female justice with a history of making brilliant arguments for such causes and adjudicating them in such a way as that everyone is impressed, even those people who disagree with the decision. I'm asking this as a legitimate question. Is there some current Back female justice who has impressed everyone or, at least, the liberals in her immediate vicinity with her judicial temperament and well written decisions. I have a suspicion that if there were such a magnificent mind extant in our court system, we would have heard a lot more about her. If Biden chooses an unworthy nominee it will do more to impugn affirmative action than anything she can do as an advocate for its cause.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Hillary!

I know, I know. He supposedly promised a black woman. But if Hillary's husband can be the first black president, Hillary can be the first black female justice on the SCt!

robother said...

Wow. The Secret Committee in Charge of Everything is moving fast. Kamala (Black, check! Woman, check!) was always the first piece that had to be moved, so this makes sense.

Now, for the interesting middle game, how to keep the Senate majority (requiring the Vice President to be Dem) while approving both Kamala to SCOTUS and her replacement as VP. All while keeping Brandon in the dark that this is all preparatory to his replacement.

MadisonMan said...

A deep part of his listening practice was to pay attention to experts in the field

I wonder who he is listening to. ("Top Men" comes to mind).

It seems like Justice Breyer (agreed about ice cream) learned from Justice RBG.

CJinPA said...

It's safe to say that left-wing black women in the field of politics have never felt more enthralled with themselves and their superpowers to save the world. Here's state Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on MSNBC:

“You know, one of the things that I think we’re really not talking about, and I think you started to touch on it for a quick second, was the role that black women play in democracy. When you think about Georgia, you can’t think about Georgia without thinking about Latasha, and without thinking about Stacey. And when you look at the fact that the one prosecutor that’s going after that family is a black woman in Georgia, when you look at who’s going after that family in New York, it’s a black woman, right?” she remarked on MSNBC.

“And so there’s a bigger story that I think is brewing and that is that black women have consistently fought for our democracy on every single level, whether it was in the streets, whether it was in the halls of capitals, whether their state capitals, or the U.S. Capitol, or even as it relates to being able to prosecute, and I think that black women will continue to fight for our democracy,” the young Democrat stated.

Yes, Biden had no choice but to declare his commitment to appointing a black woman.

jaydub said...

Who would this extraordinarily impressive black female judge be? Can anyone offer names? If this was a campaign promise the principal candidates should be known to the legal community at this point. Who are they?

gspencer said...

"Now this Breyer get to eat all the Breyers I want with my grandkids"

tim in vermont said...

So either the Democrats are certain that they are going to lose the Senate, or they want to front page the SCOTUS for the mid-terms because they secretly know that Roe is going down.

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

There are some very good possibilities out there - much better than Sotomayor was. Both Ketanji Brown Jackson and Leondra Kruger are sharp and reliably liberal. However, I really like J. Michelle Childs - she has an LLM from Duke and was elected to the American Law Institute in 2010; serving as an adviser on the Employment Law Restatement Third. I do also like that she's not from an Ivy. Oh, and she has a Jim Clyburn connection.

BarrySanders20 said...


"And why shouldn't we be able to debate wearing masks and the best way to protect voting rights and whether we're getting accurate reports of the science about vaccines and global warming? We are not deciding cases and dictating what other people must do, the way the Court does. We're exchanging opinion in the public forum, debating and expressing ourselves!" Damn straight!

It's "low deference democracy.” Traditional leaders in politics, media, academia, and culture are being questioned, pushed aside, and ignored by a distrustful public -- a fate that is mostly their own making. They push self-interested policies that have resulted in the largest levels of economic inequality since the Gilded Age and a government that is responsive to the wealthy and to speacial interests, including people claiming to speak for minorities, but not to ordinary citizens.

So fuck Neal Katyal and the electic vehicle he rode in on.

Daniel12 said...

Blogger SGT Ted said...
Picking people for jobs based on skin color and sex is what bigots do.

Must be time for the usual reminder that for the vast, vast majority of this country's history, this was precisely how Supreme Court justices were chosen. The skin color was white and the sex was male. 108 of 114 people who have ever served on the court were white men. The first non-white man was appointed in 1967, the first woman in 1981, and the first non-white woman in 2009 (hey that's half of the sum total on non-white men already!).

Must be easier to compete when you knock out a big chunk of your competitors before the race even starts!

Kevin said...

Left-wing media: Squirrel!

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Yancey Ward said...
Justice Harris wouldn't be any worse than Justice Breyer himself.


You have no idea. This would be a pick on the road to Idiocracy. Even Biden wouldn't be so stupid.

gspencer said...

Biden will choose a person whose name is,

LaShay’Shawndra, Sha’quandra, Shaquandree, Pinyata, Damika, Lashundra, Demarae, LaQuasha, LaQuinna, LaQualla, Chontiera, Chontarria, Ravon, Chontele, Rayquan, Layshell, Kinyarda, Kinyarna, Dayqyuia, Dayqyan, Angharad, Anquanette, Biahnca, Carlandra, Coushatta, Johnecia, Jajuan, Jamaurice, Oatshawn, Shaneedra, TeShounda, Tierra, Valandra, Zakkiyya, Q’Antity, La’Treen, Uhlleejsha, Cray-Ig, Fellisittee, Tay’Sh’awn, and Day’Shawndra, Uneeqqi, Armani-Chanel, Quo’Tatashia, Quanesha, Quanesia, Quansha, Queen-Queisha, Devonterray, Mopreshia, Telaphonia-Sheeray, Shinaqua, A'Quariur, Dasunia, Shaquedra, Omarion, Tayshaun, Deron, Rau’shee, Raynell, Quatrelle, Quontrellis, Deontay, Taraje, Jozy, Kerron, Hyleas, Chaunte, Bershawn, Lashawn, Sanya, Trevell, Sheena, Ogonna, Dremiel,

But if Biden comes up short other names are available.

MikeR said...

I'd suggest Candace Owens. Listen and learn from others, I say!

WA-mom said...

Condoleezza Rice

MikeR said...

@Daniel "Must be time for the usual reminder that for the vast, vast majority of this country's history, this was precisely how Supreme Court justices were chosen." Ah. Good idea, then.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Wait, wait, wait. Appointing a second black to the court would mean that blacks hold 22% of the seats on the court. And they are only about 14% of the population. That's RACIST!!!

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Neal Katyal was on my list of hoped for Dem nominees, once upon a time. However, in the past two to three years he has gone the way of Laurence Tribe (or, on the right, John Eastman).

Kevin said...

He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge, so that the political theater is highly supportive of this kind of selection process, and the resonance with the pending cases helps the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people.

Most, if not all, of us read that sentence without any idea who that might be.

Isn't it interesting that the conservatives had ongoing discussions about who should be the next pick for the Court, while out of the progressive side we've heard nothing?

No list of candidates. No arguing plusses and minuses. No betting odds or handicapping.

I suspect there will just be smoke from the White House chimney and the media will rush to parrot the ensuing talking points regarding the chosen nominee.

CJinPA said...

"Breyer to Retire but Thomas Keeps his Promise" [not to].

Ignorance is Bliss said...

He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge, so that the political theater is highly supportive of this kind of selection process, and the resonance with the pending cases helps the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people.

In other words, admit that affirmative action is straight-out racial discrimination against whites, rather than a little nudge in cases where all else is equal.

Václav Patrik Šulik said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kevin said...

Biden can score a three-fer if he nominates a Latino male who identifies as a black woman.

As a bonus, this person immediately becomes the wisest Latina on the Court.

Lance said...

Okay I'll bite. Harris on SCOTUS is a HORRIBLE idea. Imagine what her written opinions and dissents will look like! I can't imagine a better way to undermine confidence in the courts.

Achilles said...

WA-mom said...

Condoleezza Rice

She is the most "qualified" if you want to call it that.

But I have 3 names that make up the short list:

Michelle Obama
Susan Rice

and ...

Throatus.

They have to get rid of her somehow and soon.

Joe ShitsHisPants is not going to be in office much longer one way or the other.

Achilles said...

Lance said...

Okay I'll bite. Harris on SCOTUS is a HORRIBLE idea. Imagine what her written opinions and dissents will look like! I can't imagine a better way to undermine confidence in the courts.

Could she be any more limited and embarrasing than Sotomayor?

Browndog said...

The anti-Consitution bloc all vote in unison, so nothing will change outside the longevity of the voting bloc.

By the time that becomes relevant the Supreme Court itself will become irrelevant; it's opinions no longer law set in stone.

Took a while, but this is the inevitable outcome of Marbury v Madison.

tim maguire said...

He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge

Not going to happen. He will elevate a hack approved by the most radical elements of the Democratic Party.

Achilles said...

They have to get rid of Kamala and Joe while they still have the power to name the Speaker of the House.

That means they have to ease Pelosi out soon as well.

tim in vermont said...

"Joe ShitsHisPants is not going to be in office much longer one way or the other."

This is the reign of "Shits" and "Giggles." The show runners of the simulation had a good laugh over that one.

Michael K said...

Janice Rogers Brown is too old. Too bad.

wendybar said...

I saw this on twitter, and I'm stealing it.....Winsome Sears!!!

tim in vermont said...

"I can't imagine a better way to undermine confidence in the courts."

Oh, there are better ways, and they have used a lot of them up already.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Achilles said...

Michelle Obama

This crossed my mind, too. But would she have to resign from the court when she runs for president? Might cut short Joe's legacy.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I think black woman falls short on the intersectionality bingo card.

Can't we find a trans black woman undocumented immigrant left-handed ginger dwarf?

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

tim in vermont said...

This is the reign of "Shits" and "Giggles." The show runners of the simulation had a good laugh over that one.

LOL

Drago said...

Maynard: "Uncle Joe will nominate Anita Hill. They are old friends.

After Lindsay Graham shepherds her nomination through the Senate, she will demand that Clarence Thomas be impeached for rejecting her for a conservative White woman."

Thread winner, on 3 or 4 different levels. Particularly the Graham part. Our Lindsay 1.0 (did you really think he was a permanent Lindsay 2.0?) is quite the lefty judge sherpa, no?

PM said...

Pelosi's slot machine mind lands on Gavin for Prez and Barbara Lee on the Supremes.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Judge [Ketanji] Brown Jackson is married to Paul Ryan's twin brother.

Thank goodness she didn't add "Ryan" as a 4th name. Amirite?

Small correction: Wiki says she's married to the twin brother of Paul Ryan's brother-in-law.

William said...

Vaclav Patrik Sulik above throws out some names. I never heard of them, but apparently people in the know know of them. Well and good. Perhaps there are some qualified women. I just don't know. I do know that whatever person Biden chooses will be embraced by the media as an awakened Solomona and any objection anyone has to her seating will be dismissed as racism. If she turns out to be a clunker, you'll never hear of it. I've heard vague stories that Justice Douglas was senile and incontinent, but they never made a movie of his brave struggle against dementia in his last years on the bench. Congrats to Breyer for choosing to retire. His exit wasn't quite as graceful as Souter's, but he did make the choice. I think it works a severe imposition on the fellow judges and cleaning staff when an incontinent judge chooses to remain seated.

Conrad said...

"Must be time for the usual reminder that for the vast, vast majority of this country's history, this was precisely how Supreme Court justices were chosen. The skin color was white and the sex was male. 108 of 114 people who have ever served on the court were white men."

And for much of that history, American sports were dominated by white men. However, would you want your favorite teams to announce that, because of that history, they're only going to draft and sign black players (or women!)?

Drago said...

Democraticals will replace the 100% lefty with another 100% lefty, to go along with the other 2 100% lefties, and they will continue to team up with 85% lefty Roberts, 50% lefty (and growing) Kavanaugh, 35% lefty (and likely growing Emergency Powers of the State fangirl) Barrett, and the 15% lefty Gorsuch.

98% conservative Alito and 100% Thomas stand apart.

rcocean said...

Just as long as the nominee is not Jewish. Good lord, 3 Jews on the SCOTUS when they make up 2% of the USA was insulting to the Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics that make up the bulk of the Democrat Party.

BTW, every liberal/Leftist judge is the same in terms of voting. They vote as a bloc. They vote their politics. And they agree 90% of the time.

Why the Republicans can't do the same is beyond me.

Josephbleau said...

"It's going to be fun watching the Democrats try to replace him before the November elections."

They can wait til next January, but what this will do is use up a lot of the Senate schedule so it will damage the Democrat's legislative agenda. It will give Schumer and Durbin the Dick the opportunity to walk fast and look worried in public on the floor to appear useful.

I suspect Bryer did not want to be treated like Manchin. I still doubt it would be Kamala, The Democrats would want both the SC and the new VP to be confirmed before the Republican takeover in January, so they would need her vote to break the tie on the new vp. But I don't know if you can confirm a new vp before the old one leaves office and the vacancy is open. In that case the Dems would no longer have a majority in the Senate.

rcocean said...

You can expact that Lisa Murkey, Mittens, Susan Collins, etc. who all couldn't decide whether Kavaunaugh or ACB was "mainstream" enough, will vote for any Lefty Biden puts on the Bench.

Jersey Fled said...

If he can get that swimmer from Penn to self-indentfy as Black, he might be able to score a trifecta.

Achilles said...

This Person said...

Achilles said...

Michelle Obama

This crossed my mind, too. But would she have to resign from the court when she runs for president? Might cut short Joe's legacy.

Michelle Obama has all of the political limitations that Kamala Harris has without the somewhat attractive countenance. She also probably has a gag reflex.

She has a mediocre intellect just like her husband and is some what of a caricature who has been carried her entire life. She was born rich and has never known a moment of difficulty or challenge in her life.

This becomes apparent whenever she speaks even in friendly settings.

She has been given everything in her life because she doesn't have the ability to earn it in a competitive environment.

narciso said...

walter matthau phoned in a performance as a ersatz douglas, along with jill clayburgh

Mike Sylwester said...

Iman at 12:14 PM
May I suggest Janice Rogers Brown?

She is 72 years old.

Achilles said...

Daniel12 said...

Must be time for the usual reminder that for the vast, vast majority of this country's history, this was precisely how Supreme Court justices were chosen. The skin color was white and the sex was male. 108 of 114 people who have ever served on the court were white men. The first non-white man was appointed in 1967, the first woman in 1981, and the first non-white woman in 2009 (hey that's half of the sum total on non-white men already!).

Must be easier to compete when you knock out a big chunk of your competitors before the race even starts!



I know you are too stupid to understand historical context.

This has been how every country in history everywhere in the world chose almost all of their leaders for anything.

The only deviation from this pattern in the United States.

And the only reason it deviated from this pattern was because of White Men.

TreeJoe said...

"extremist ideology has attacked things that should be noncontroversial, from wearing masks to taking vaccines,"

I'll express an extremist ideology: The stance that all masks significantly reduce/restrict covid transmission and have zero downsides and should be used obsessively even in virtually-zero risk environments. And we should require young children to wear them and have difficulty speaking/enunciating in a classroom setting while also struggling to hear and understand and interpret their teacher.

Or that vaccine mandates and passports were ever appropriate at a time the prevalent strains changed and vaccine efficacy was dropping like a rock after 3-6 months.

Those are extremist views considered mainstream...

Readering said...

If Biden follows the Kennedy-Kavanaugh precedent he'll pick Breyer clerk Jackson. Kruger clerked for Stevens. One HLS, one YLS.

Had a case before Jackson as USDJ. Very impressive, even if she dismissed our case. Have heard Kruger speak to bar group. Also very impressive. Cal Sup Ct unusually collegial. Lots of agreement between R and D appointees. Imagine 4 women on USSC together.

wendybar said...

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Judge [Ketanji] Brown Jackson is married to Paul Ryan's twin brother.

He is the twin brother of Paul Ryans BROTHER IN LAW.

"Kentanji Brown Jackson is blissfully married to her husband Patrick G. Jackson, who is a surgeon by profession.


The duo is also blessed with two lovely children, daughters. Interestingly, Jackson is related by marriage to former US House Speaker Paul Ryan as her spouse is the twin brother of Ryan’s brother-in-law." https://wiki.projecttopics.org/349884-ketanji-brown-jackson-husband-and-family-judicial-nominee-for-district-of-columbia/index.html

narciso said...

yes they are very good at demotivating, none of the proffered candidates believe in the Constitution full stop, 'it's over a 100 years old' after all

Achilles said...

Drago said...

Democraticals will replace the 100% lefty with another 100% lefty, to go along with the other 2 100% lefties, and they will continue to team up with 85% lefty Roberts, 50% lefty (and growing) Kavanaugh, 35% lefty (and likely growing Emergency Powers of the State fangirl) Barrett, and the 15% lefty Gorsuch.

98% conservative Alito and 100% Thomas stand apart.


This isn't a right - left thing.

This is 3 people Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas being actual judges who read the constitution and interpret the actual words.

The other 6 act like Pharisees who just find whatever bullshit they need to get the answers they want.

MikeD said...

Reminds me of when AA was just getting started in the 70. HR asked for qualification for new hires and I told them a "black female veteran with a Spanish(Hispanic now) surname".

Another old lawyer said...

As if there's some uniform agreement on what factors should be used to determine whether any judge is "extraordinarily impressive."

Add "black" and "female" and those factors would be subject to even more disagreement.

I consider Justice Thomas to be an extraordinarily impressive black male Justice. No way that opinion is shared by Biden, anyone within his inner circle or cabinet, or whoever it is who will make the decision on who to nominate.

Mike Sylwester said...

Judge Brown Jackson is married to Paul Ryan's twin brother.

.... to the twin brother of Ryan's brother-in-law

Leland said...

Name Kamala Harristo replace Breyer
Have her step down during confirmation
Name Hillary Clinton to replace Kamala as VP
Kamala won’t get confirmed
Hillary will get confirmed
Biden doesn’t kill himself
Hillary becomes President
Names whomever she wants because no pledge was made

Readering said...

William French Smith! I believe he was the Reagan family trusts and estates lawyer at Gibson Dunn going back to the sixties.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Achilles said...

Michelle Obama has all of the political limitations that Kamala Harris has without the somewhat attractive countenance.

Talk about a race to the (big) bottom.

Peter Spieker said...

The AP mentions Leondra Kruger, 45, a justice on the California Supreme Court as one possible replacement. Her mother is Jamaican. I wonder if that would be seen as drawback, given the family backgrounds of Obama and Harris.

Temujin said...

This is the moment when Stacey Abrams, the most full-time self promoter in our country, rethinks her move to run for Governor of Georgia. There is a job for life- with perks- coming open.

I see her working the back channels now.

Ceciliahere said...

I suggest Diana Ross, a qualified Supreme.

Breezy said...

Seeing the same names over and over here. It’s a shame that Biden boxed himself into a pick demographic with such a small group to choose from. I guess it’s also sad that the group is so small. It needs a role model to entice bright black women. But bright black women in theory wouldn’t need such a role model, or be nominated based on their gender and race first, and not their accomplishments. That’s tragic.

Big Mike said...

A Justice Kamala Harris would not be any worse than Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

@Mike Sylwester, one Sonia Sotomayor is already too many. She cannot possibly have three digits in her IQ. Harris either, as far as I can tell.

Big Mike said...

Fox is on right now. They are going with a story that the announcement (which originated from the White House) took Breyer himself by surprise, and that he’s upset at having his hand forced.

Saint Croix said...

So I jumped on this to say "he should nominate Kamala" and everybody and their horse beat me to it.

He already fulfilled a black-woman pledge in selecting his Vice President, and there's a fair amount of disappointment in her. (She's got worse poll numbers than he does.)

That's irrelevant. Affirmative action is all about race theater and optics. The whole point of affirmative action is that it doesn't matter which black woman you put on the Court, as long as she's a black woman, you've fulfilled your duty.

I'm not convinced that liberals believe the shit they say. Elizabeth Warren loves affirmative action in public. In secret she pretends to be a racial minority in order to advance ahead of other white people.

Affirmative action, as put in practice, helps upper middle class black people go from Kansas or Wisconsin to Yale or Harvard. It helps upper middle class black people get richer and richer. It does nothing to help the underclass.

That's why most black people didn't give a shit about Kamala Harris and had no interest in voting for her. Obviously the election of Barack Obama was hugely symbolic, and incredibly important. She's the first black vice-president in the history of the United States and nobody gives a shit. She's the first female vice president in the U.S. and nobody gives a shit.

Did you know that Calvin Coolidge had the first person of color to serve as vice-president? Charles Curtis was a member of the Kaw nation. To make a big deal about this you'd have to point out that Republicans did it first.

When Sarah Palin was a vice presidential nominee, the left hated her, and the level of sexism was unbelievable.

It's all horseshit, and you ought to have an "affirmative action horseshit" tag to flag this hypocrisy and dishonesty.

If Kamala's the nominee, she's likely to be confirmed, maybe by huge numbers. That's because almost nobody wants her to be president, and maybe Biden can actually field a stronger veep in case he gets worse over the next two years.

She might surprise to the upside as a Justice. I don't see how she could be worse than Sotomayor. My view is that any judge nominated by the Biden administration is going to be horrible. Breyer, for instance, is incredibly intelligent, but he thinks killing a baby in the middle of birth is a constitutional right. You can have a high IQ, but if your ideas are awful then you're just a more dangerous person.

I think the Republicans will give her softball questions, because nobody in the Senate wants to give the impression that all the smart people are in the Supreme Court, and the other two branches are filled with dummies. So "qualified for vice presidency" and "qualified for Supreme Court" is the theme of the day. Of course Kamala is really a lightweight. But so is Biden, for that matter.

Anyway, if Biden wants a moderate as veep, this is the perfect opportunity for him. He could nominate Kamala, she sails through in her confirmation hearing. And everybody takes a victory lap. (That would actually be Biden's first success as a president, so he needs this).

Once she's confirmed on the Supreme Court, then Biden nominates a moderate veep (who has to be confirmed by the Senate). That would be a smooth move if he wants to swing moderate. (And who the heck knows what that crabby old man actually wants at this point).

Joe Smith said...

So another racist judge retires.

Good.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

"Imagine 4 women on USSC together."

We don't have to imagine. We already have Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh and Barrett...

Iman said...

Baby, baby… where did our justice go?

Jim at said...

Whomever he names, I'm pretty sure I got drunk with her back in high school at a friend's house.

I'll be contacting my senator.

Iman said...

Abrams could become a heavyweight… no, wait… Stacy Abrams would tilt the balance of the USSC just by appearing on stage…

Unknown said...

Whoever Biden picked sexually molested me in high school.

Browndog said...

Having affirmative action Supreme Court Justices decide if affirmative action is now the law of the land....

rcocean said...

Reagan's appoint of Sandra Day O'Connor was one of the worst things he ever did. No one voted for Reagan in 1980 because he promised to put a woman on the court. And I doubt he got one vote in 1984 because he kept his promise.

Frankly, I think Reagan made the promise and kept it because he saw it as a way to put a moderate on the SCOTUS and not Bork or another solid conservative.

Kathryn51 said...

dreams said...
I predict Breyer will live to 93 or 95, maybe more. He succumbed to liberal pressure.

He knows that he will be in the minority on the SC for many years, so like many other dems, he is exiting while the going is good. He stays on the plus side of libs so can look forward to many years of cushy jobs (example: professor emritus - teach one hour a week in one quarter and get paid several hundred thousand), million dollar advance on a book deal, etc. etc.

If he stayed until GOP takes over, he would kiss all of that good-bye.

Iman said...

“She [Janice Rogers Brown] is 72 years old.”

What’s your point, Mike? She’ll be able to serve several, useful years and then that future president can select a replacement. Can’t look to far out into the future these days. Wouldn’t be prudent.

Iman said...

Big bottoms, big bottoms
Talk about mud flaps
Democrats got ‘em

Conrad said...

Kimberley Budd is Chief Justice in Mass. Mid-50s.

Readering said...

Reagan had a much smaller group to choose from and his pick from intermediate appeals court in medium sized state worked out fine.

GHWB also had a small group and went with head of minor federal agency. Hmmm.

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

I deleted the earlier post, mistakenly mis-identifying the relationship of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's husband. Thank you for the corrections.

Saint Croix said...

What would motivate this retirement?

1. Old age (he's 83)

2. It's possible the Supreme Court is going to overrule Roe v. Wade. Aside from all the infanticides, the Supreme Court has to have noticed that the confirmation process has become seriously poisoned. The Thomas confirmation was ugly, and the Kavanaugh nomination was beyond ugly, with an innocent man charged with a crime. (That nobody has any interest in prosecuting). The level of damage done to the Court by that opinion is significant. I know that Ginsburg, by her statements, thought the accusations against Kavanaugh were completely phony. (Certainly Kavanaugh thought so)! I don't know if Thomas and Kavanaugh realize that it was Roe v. Wade that caused the attacks on them. It's the judicial opinion that everybody knows, the one that's spilled out into the public discourse, the opinion that causes a huge march on the Court every year on January 22. If the Court overturns Roe, Breyer might not want to be around for the blowback.

3. If the Court is overturning Roe, the Senate might be willing to give Biden's nominee a pass, since much of the trauma surrounding Supreme Court nominations has been generated by Roe. Overturning the case removes all of those funding programs ("protect Roe!"). I predict there will be zero energy to ("Bring back Roe!"). Instead all of the fundraising will shift to political votes and what the laws say, not who's sitting on the Supreme Court. So the political drama will remain, but it will shift from the Court to the Congress and the White House. If Roe is overturned, Kamala would sail through. Probably anybody would sail through, except somebody who says "we have to bring Roe back!" Breyer might be going on the high road, and announcing his retirement to help release some of the tension from overruling Roe. Biden can nominate a hell-raiser if he wants to, or he can go for a unity candidate.

4. Breyer probably noticed that Ginsburg really screwed up by hanging on to power until a Republican was in the White House. If Breyer is thinking about his non-Carhart legacy (and he probably is), then you retire while there's still a chance a reliable vote can take your place. Breyer has probably noticed that Democrats are in big trouble right now. So if you're retiring and you want a Democrat judge to replace you, now's a good time.

jaydub said...

Some might say the next supreme should be a wise latina, given we were promised one by Obama and he whiffed badly with Sotomayor.

Saint Croix said...

Harris on SCOTUS is a HORRIBLE idea. Imagine what her written opinions and dissents will look like!

They'll look like her clerks wrote them for her.

gilbar said...

my bleeding heart liberal (and senile) mom thought LAST year that Jo Biden would put Stacey Abrams Tank on the court. Like i said, my mom is NOT all there
However, Stacey's sister is Leslie Abrams Gardner, who...
is a U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

i think She's got a chance... Either her or Moochelle

Saint Croix said...

Would Kamala like to be on the Supreme Court?

Think about it. She would have the opportunity to be a horrible boss, to make her clerks work 16 hours a day or more, while she yells at them, and goes shopping, or whatever the fuck she wants to do, as it's really, really hard to fire a Supreme Court Justice. She's up there for life. Guaranteed employment.

The job is made for her. She'd love it. She can vote for the result she wants, and order her clerks to figure it out.

Her clerks would hate her, and the job, but would suffer for a year or two until you line up that cushy professor job. So unlike now, nobody would resign on her and make her look bad.

She would love the switch. If she's smart she would suggest it to Joe.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

I nominate Ralph Northam. He's already identified himself as Black. He can now identify herself as a woman. It's three-fer: Black, woman and a trans-woman. Who couldn't love that?

Saint Croix said...

Breyer's former clerk Ketanji Jackson might be the pick.

She worked as a federal public defender for a while, and then she was a district judge. She's been on the federal court of appeals for a year. So her public record is slight, actually, in terms of appellate review. That might actually be a plus as people can surprise you. She's 51, which is a pretty good age.

"I don't think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and would be," Jackson told the Senate Judiciary Committee in response to a question from Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. "I'm doing a certain thing when I get my cases. I'm looking at the arguments, the facts and the law. I'm methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views, any other inappropriate considerations, and I would think that race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject into my evaluation of a case."

So way, way better than Sotomayor, who called herself a "wise Latina" at her confirmation hearing.

Jackson was confirmed on the court of appeals with three Republicans voting for her.

gilbar said...

on a more serious note... How wise of Breyer to realize that
a) he won't last forever...
b) neither will a democrat Senate

how different from that old lady that was on the court! You know that one that refused to retire, even though she was a hundred and ninety three years old...
The one whose dried up shell continued to stay on the court, year after year after year
Until when they FINALLY Had to admit that she'd died quite some time earlier...
The democrats no longer held the Senate, and her corpse was replaced by a young conservative

People NEED to realize that they Will Not live for ever

rcocean said...

He is the twin brother of Paul Ryans BROTHER IN LAW.

So, who is Paul Ryan married to? Janna Ryan.

After law school, she got a job as a corporate DC lobbyist for the likes of Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Marathon Oil. Interesting.

And she was a Democrat. Her Uncle was a Democrat Senator from Oklahoma. Her cousin is a Democrat Congressman.

So Ryan has Democrat In-laws. And Ryan later worked as a speechwriter for Kemp,

Saint Croix said...

Leondra Kruger would be an interesting pick. She's Yale law, young (45) and very bright. Taught Con Law at the University of Chicago. The Bush administration hired her in 2007 as an assistant to the solicitor general. Over the next six years, she's argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court.

In 2013, she left the solicitor general's office to take a job with the Office of Legal Counsel (people who provide legal advice to the President). Scalia and Rehnquist both did that, too. She did that job for a year, won 2 awards (for defending the Affordable Care Act and striking down the Defense of Marriage Act).

Jerry Brown nominated her for the California Supreme Court in 2014. You can see her record as a judge here.

Joe Smith said...

'Abrams could become a heavyweight… no, wait… Stacy Abrams would tilt the balance of the USSC just by appearing on stage…'

Her bench would have to be made of reinforced concrete...

tim in vermont said...

"Whomever he names, I'm pretty sure I got drunk with her back in high school at a friend's house."

Join the club man, her and her gang of friends were something else.

Rabel said...

Why announce retirement now when he has said he had no plans to retire?

Let's remember to look at the book deal he gets as soon as he's gone.

Michael K said...

Blogger Iman said...

“She [Janice Rogers Brown] is 72 years old.”

What’s your point, Mike? She’ll be able to serve several, useful years and then that future president can select a replacement. Can’t look to far out into the future these days. Wouldn’t be prudent.


That is the reason the Democrats filibustered her nomination to the DC Circuit by Bush. They did the same with his Hispanic nominee candidate, Estrada. They did not want a black woman nominated by a Republican, nor a Hispanic who was actually wise.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Saint Croix said...
Harris on SCOTUS is a HORRIBLE idea. Imagine what her written opinions and dissents will look like!

They'll look like her clerks wrote them for her.


Why? Sotomayor's don't

And her clerks won't be able to ask her questions for her at oral arguments

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Since I mentioned Laurence Tribe earlier, I'm looking forward to his flip-flop on this.

No hiding behind Pence’s skirt on the Supreme Court nomination
The vice president doesn’t have the power to break a tie on the appointment.

https://t.co/pZbSaKpmYW

rcocean said...

Liberal Male
Liberal Female
Liberal Hispanic
Liberal Jew

Go look at the Democrat SCOTUS votes. There's not a dimes worth of difference.

rcocean said...

Liberal Male
Liberal Female
Liberal Hispanic
Liberal Jew
Liberal young
Liberal Old

Go look at the Democrat SCOTUS votes. There's not a dimes worth of difference.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Why announce retirement now when he has said he had no plans to retire?

Let's remember to look at the book deal he gets as soon as he's gone.


The White House leaked it as a distraction from Dementia Joe's other failures.

dreams said...

"Justice Stephen Breyer, a moderate liberal, worked to protect the reputation of the court even as it shifted right.

The NYTimes, even...

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Since I mentioned Laurence Tribe earlier, I'm looking forward to his flip-flop on this.

No hiding behind Pence’s skirt on the Supreme Court nomination
The vice president doesn’t have the power to break a tie on the appointment.

https://t.co/pZbSaKpmYW


Tribe is a hack.

Narayanan said...

Greg The Class Traitor said...
Saint Croix said...
Harris on SCOTUS is a HORRIBLE idea. Imagine what her written opinions and dissents will look like!

They'll look like her clerks wrote them for her.

Why? Sotomayor's don't

And her clerks won't be able to ask her questions for her at oral arguments
----------
are any USSC Justices expected to cackle wearing robes?

Rabel said...

Great link by Václav at 5:00.

Unfortunately they won't need the VP's vote. They have Romney's.

Narayanan said...

It will be interesting to see how McConnell plays this. The Dems will be stuck with whomever Biden picks.
----------
what kind of play if Biden picks McConnell - shambles in the Senate?

Yancey Ward said...

"You have no idea. This would be a pick on the road to Idiocracy. Even Biden wouldn't be so stupid."

That is silly- Breyer's decisions are almost 100% predictable, so would Harris' be. The only unpredictable justices on the court are Roberts and occasionally Gorsuch, Barrett, and Kavanaugh. The Idiocracy is already here in that the courts have too much power, but that ship sailed 2 centuries ago.

Yancey Ward said...

Appointing Harris has one drawback for whoever is making Biden's decisions- she might not be able to break a tie if the Senate deadlocks on her nomination. Now, I think a deadlock is unlikely- I would much rather have her on the court than in the White House, and I can't be the only conservative who thinks this way.

In any case, it is all moot- the Senate Republicans won't hold as a 50 vote bloc, no matter who Biden selects. No way Murkowski won't vote yes if Biden selected a horse.

Jupiter said...

"I remember telling my father that I was excited about the first woman on the Supreme Court."

No doubt you were. Isn't is about time we had a Wise Lesbian on the Court? Or maybe a transwoman? To that special point of view that only a mutilated psychopath can provide?

Lurker21 said...

Breyer, Breyer
Was not planning to retire

Or at least he wasn't planning to announce his retirement right now. I imagine him as a choleric Walter Matthau, and in the coming week I will be watching the movie with a choleric Walter Matthau playing a Supreme Court justice.

If Breyer was the swing vote there'd be more controversy, but I suspect if Biden's nominee is half-way competent, some Republicans will vote for her, which is kind of to be expected.

Genealogy note: Breyer married into the titled British aristocracy. Although, he's Jewish, his daughter became an Episcopalian priest(ess).

Zev said...

"that should be noncontroversial"

as if there can be no difference of opinion on these things

Paul said...

Like I said in another thread on this SCOTUS opening..

If Biden picks a far left weirdo... Expect Manchin and/or Sinema to vote no.

That is ... a NO VOTE for his pick.

Manchin is in a very RED state and they would not want such a SCOTUS pick. Same for Sinema.

He either picks a somewhat liberal judge or... he does not get a pick before mid-terms.

phantommut said...

"Armed insurrection"?

It's true, most of the protesters there that day had two arms (and two legs.) Actual weapons? Not so much.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

The more interesting vote would be Kelly in AZ. He's up for re-election in Nov.

First he has to make it through the Dem primary (August 2), and I'm pretty sure the AZ Dem voters would be willing to dump him if he voted against any nominee.

OTOH, voting for an idiot leftist (who's going to be hearing cases for a month before the election) isn't going to endear him to the general election voters.

Then there's Massen up in NH, who's up for re-election this year after winning by ~2k votes in 2016. She's been pretty much a straight ticket Dem voters.

I don't think that will be a winning move in 2022. So she may be looking for a chance to establish herself

Saint Croix said...

I'm pulling for Kruger.

Saint Croix said...

You know what's strange?

It's only Republicans who are mentioning Harris as a possible pick.

Althouse says:

He should elevate an extraordinarily impressive black female judge, so that the political theater is highly supportive of this kind of selection process, and the resonance with the pending cases helps the pro-affirmative-action side win favor with the people.

Althouse mentions Harris, but skips over her as a possible nominee. ("There's a fair amount of disappointment in her").

Meanwhile, all the hillbillies are saying "Harris! Harris!" I think it's tongue-in-cheek, really. We want her out of the White House.

But isn't it strange that no Democrats are talking about nominating Harris? Fox news mentions Harris as a possible nominee, and the New York Post picks it up.

But look at the lib reaction!

No, Joe Biden Isn't Nominating Kamala Harris To SCOTUS.

Sorry, fan fiction fans, Kamala Harris almost certainly won't be Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court

I know the vice presidency is the Rodney Dangerfield of political positions, but to not even consider Harris as a viable candidate? Does nobody like her?

Readering said...

No sitting vice president has left office before the end of his term for another position other than the presidency, except for Calhoun following his election to the Senate at the end of his vp term due to different term endings. Bonkers to think Harris would make herself the exception given the president's age.

Daniel12 said...

"I know you are too stupid to understand historical context.

This has been how every country in history everywhere in the world chose almost all of their leaders for anything.

The only deviation from this pattern in the United States.

And the only reason it deviated from this pattern was because of White Men."

I am definitely too stupid to have any clue what this means.

mikee said...

Is Breyer retiring at end of this term, that is, in October of 2022? Because Mitch has already followed Senate precedent once, not to hold a vote on a nominee close to a presidential election, and here's a chance to extend that to not hold a vote so close to midterms where the Senate is likely to flip parties.

Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September.

And February to October is even longer, especially in politics.

readering said...

Term ends before July 4 holiday.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Daniel12 said...
I am definitely too stupid to have any clue what this means.

Then let me simplify it for you:
Are racism and sexism wrong?

If "Yes", then it's wrong to chose a SCOTUS based on her sex and skin color

If "no", then there was nothing wrong with Jim Crow, and I'm strongly in favor of all discrimination that harms people who aren't cis het white males

Because if you're going to do it to me, I', for damn sure going to try to do it to you