Anthony Kennedy is like John McCain. We all had to suck up to him not because we particularly admired him, but because he held a unique power of there being no one else. He was actually as far right as Roberts on nearly every issue.
Honestly, my last pretense of respect for Kennedy died with the knowledge that he is willing to leave now.
He's not an idiot. He knows all of the potential ramifications of bailing out at this juncture.
He's not an idiot. He knows all of the potential ramifications of bailing out at this juncture.
He knows a SCOTUS vacancy at this time will throw the court into political turmoil.
He knows the president is under investigation and could try to appoint judges that will overturn Nixon-era precedents protecting presidential investigations.
He knows the president is under investigation and could try to appoint judges that will overturn Nixon-era precedents protecting presidential investigations.
Here's the hard truth. The GOP was ten steps ahead of us on judges the whole time.
They spent the last three years setting the stage to persuade Kennedy — who is a Republican himself, remember — to hand over the court to them. And we never even noticed.
They spent the last three years setting the stage to persuade Kennedy — who is a Republican himself, remember — to hand over the court to them. And we never even noticed.
Right-wing legal activists much smarter than Trump used him to do this.
They built a friendship between Trump and Kennedy, through their children. Then they got Trump to put one of Kennedy's old clerks in Scalia's seat, which they stole in the first place so Trump could fill.
They built a friendship between Trump and Kennedy, through their children. Then they got Trump to put one of Kennedy's old clerks in Scalia's seat, which they stole in the first place so Trump could fill.
It was all 4D chess to get Kennedy to feel like his fellow Republicans would keep the Court in good hands if he left.
And it worked. Because deep down, Kennedy has partisan sentiments like everyone else, that let him ignore the glaring risks of letting Trump fill the courts.
And it worked. Because deep down, Kennedy has partisan sentiments like everyone else, that let him ignore the glaring risks of letting Trump fill the courts.
What do we do?
I leave it to Senate Dems to find ways to block or slow the dismantling of the judiciary into a rubber stamp for GOP activism. Maybe they can, maybe not. They're the minority, but the Senate is a body built for obstruction. I don't pretend to know the best answer.
I leave it to Senate Dems to find ways to block or slow the dismantling of the judiciary into a rubber stamp for GOP activism. Maybe they can, maybe not. They're the minority, but the Senate is a body built for obstruction. I don't pretend to know the best answer.
And in the meantime everyone with Republican senators should melt the phone lines.
It's not Senate Democrats who got us in this mess. We could have gotten a Democratic Senate in 2016 and didn't. Whether we can wedge a few blue state Republicans is a long shot but we have to try.
It's not Senate Democrats who got us in this mess. We could have gotten a Democratic Senate in 2016 and didn't. Whether we can wedge a few blue state Republicans is a long shot but we have to try.
But here's the one point I want everyone on the left to walk away with. A lesson every Republican voter has instinctually known since 1970.
Courts, in our system, are political bodies. You can capture them. We need to elect people who help us do that.
Courts, in our system, are political bodies. You can capture them. We need to elect people who help us do that.
Republicans can flood the bench with conservative lawyers when they have the WH and Senate because they've spent millions on a political machine that does the lifting for them.
I think most people truly don't get how well-built the right wing law-school-to-bench pipeline is.
I think most people truly don't get how well-built the right wing law-school-to-bench pipeline is.
They have the Federalist Society, which is for all intents and purposes a labor union for right-wing judges.
They have the Heritage Foundation, where their chosen legal scholars bang out far-right propaganda for judges to insert as needed into their opinions.
They have the Heritage Foundation, where their chosen legal scholars bang out far-right propaganda for judges to insert as needed into their opinions.
They have the Judicial Crisis Network, which is kind of like the NRA for judicial appointments — they have TV ads and mailing lists to reach out to GOP voters to call Congress whenever they need to block a liberal judge or push through a conservative one.
Hell, the Koch brothers have even funded legal seminars where they fly out sitting federal and state judges to lavish retreats and tell them how the energy industry wants them to decide various cases.
So here's my question: when are Dems going to start having stuff like that?
So here's my question: when are Dems going to start having stuff like that?
Look, even if by a miracle we manage to stall the SCOTUS vote until 2019, AND win the Senate, AND leverage that to force Trump to appoint a Republican who is, like Kennedy, a 9 on the awful scale instead of a 10, Republicans will still dominate the courts for 30 or 40 years.
But that is all the more reason why we should be huddling up and strategizing how to build a Democratic law lobby that will give us the tools to claw back the courts.
We need to start yesterday.
We need to start yesterday.
And I cannot stress this point enough. Don't feel hopeless. Feel angry.
Your democracy is on the line. Use it. Turn up and vote out every person who supported this horrible party that destroyed the courts and your freedoms.
A Democratic Congress will break the fall.
Your democracy is on the line. Use it. Turn up and vote out every person who supported this horrible party that destroyed the courts and your freedoms.
A Democratic Congress will break the fall.
