Kennedy to retire.

[LittleRaven]

Katie bar the door.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, giving President Trump and Senate Republicans an opportunity to create a solidly conservative court that could last for decades.

Kennedy's long-rumored decision to step down July 31 will touch off a titanic battle between conservatives and liberals in the nation's capital, on the airwaves, and in states represented by key senators whose votes will be needed to confirm his successor.

Kennedy, 81, has held the most important seat on the court for more than a decade: He is the swing vote on issues ranging from abortion and affirmative action to gay rights and capital punishment, often siding with the court’s more liberal justices.

Life's about to get...interesting.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Pants to be darkened

[Darth Wedgius]

I read the title and thought this referred to the president of Lucasfilm. I probably need to spend more time reading news that normal people read.

[LittleRaven]

I read the title and thought this referred to the president of Lucasfilm. I probably need to spend more time reading news that normal people read.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I read the title and thought this referred to the president of Lucasfilm. I probably need to spend more time reading news that normal people read.

Don't. It's horrible for your blood pressure and mental health.

[cilantro]

Katie bar the door.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, giving President Trump and Senate Republicans an opportunity to create a solidly conservative court that could last for decades.

Kennedy's long-rumored decision to step down July 31 will touch off a titanic battle between conservatives and liberals in the nation's capital, on the airwaves, and in states represented by key senators whose votes will be needed to confirm his successor.

Kennedy, 81, has held the most important seat on the court for more than a decade: He is the swing vote on issues ranging from abortion and affirmative action to gay rights and capital punishment, often siding with the court’s more liberal justices.

Life's about to get...interesting.

Will probably see these things go away in my lifetime thanks to this:

- Roe v Wade

- the Civil Rights Act

- Legal Gay marriage

- anti-gerrymandering laws

- Women's rights

- Workers rights

- Unions

etc....

This is literally dark times my friends.

[LittleRaven]

Will probably see these things go away in my lifetime thanks to this:

Let's not overstate the case. Kennedy is often held up as 'the swing vote,' but he's a Reagan appointee who is in general quite conservative. We don't know who Trump is going to appoint yet. If it's Pryor, well, then maybe its time get worried.

It's conceivable, although in my opinion not terribly likely, that things like Roe vs. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges could be reversed. That's the danger of using the court to change the law of land as opposed to the legislature. But there's no way that the court strips away things like the Civil Rights Act or Women's Rights. That will take congressional action, and if there's one thing the GOP congress has REALLY struggled with, it's action. They could barely pass a series of tax cuts, for God's sake.

Unions are almost certainly going the way of the dodo, but that has more to do with a changing economy than a changing court. For better or worse, unions are simply going to have a harder time giving workers returns in a globalized, highly automated world. Robots don't unionize.

But yes, elections have consequences. And this one will be with us for a while.

[cilantro]

Will probably see these things go away in my lifetime thanks to this:

Let's not overstate the case. Kennedy is often held up as 'the swing vote,' but he's a Reagan appointee who is in general quite conservative. We don't know who Trump is going to appoint yet. If it's Pryor, well, then maybe its time get worried.

It's conceivable, although in my opinion not terribly likely, that things like Roe vs. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges could be reversed. That's the danger of using the court to change the law of land as opposed to the legislature. But there's no way that the court strips away things like the Civil Rights Act or Women's Rights. That will take congressional action, and if there's one thing the GOP congress has REALLY struggled with, it's action. They could barely pass a series of tax cuts, for God's sake.

Unions are almost certainly going the way of the dodo, but that has more to do with a changing economy than a changing court. For better or worse, unions are simply going to have a harder time giving workers returns in a globalized, highly automated world. Robots don't unionize.

But yes, elections have consequences. And this one will be with us for a while.

Yeah, maybe once America was great but Republicans have decided to politicized the courts so they can get away with unconstitutional acts while at the same time put down any attempts for Democrats and/or liberals to have any wins in the policial and judicial branches. This court has decided to uphold racial gerrymandering in Texas as legal and now have decided to allow public sector unions to die because that was the last great place they thrive in. Whoever Trump will appoint will not be a moderate by any standard and we will get crazier far righter judges who will be young and will be on the Bench for decades to come. Not only that but you have Bush's picks that have allowed things like Citizen United to be legal and look at the mess where we are thanks to that ruling. Maybe it's time to just pack up and leave the US? The Constitution is dead, there is no rule of the people ( evident that someone is the president who lost the popular vote by millions- and this is literally the second time that this has happened within the last 20 years) and now laws are determined to be Constitutional only base on whose political team is going to be the most benefited and not whether or not what is legally allowed.

Even if Democrats control both branches of Congress (and I am sure that the Democrats will fuck up somehow) Trump can probably pardon himself and get away with it thanks to the Supreme Court that is only now for the Republicans.

Edit:

Also, the Republicans are vilifying the media, educational system, any cops that dare to investigate their illegal behavior and/or wants to investigate their stooges behavior, etc...

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Will probably see these things go away in my lifetime thanks to this:

Let's not overstate the case. Kennedy is often held up as 'the swing vote,' but he's a Reagan appointee who is in general quite conservative. We don't know who Trump is going to appoint yet. If it's Pryor, well, then maybe its time get worried.

It's conceivable, although in my opinion not terribly likely, that things like Roe vs. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges could be reversed. That's the danger of using the court to change the law of land as opposed to the legislature. But there's no way that the court strips away things like the Civil Rights Act or Women's Rights. That will take congressional action, and if there's one thing the GOP congress has REALLY struggled with, it's action. They could barely pass a series of tax cuts, for God's sake.

Unions are almost certainly going the way of the dodo, but that has more to do with a changing economy than a changing court. For better or worse, unions are simply going to have a harder time giving workers returns in a globalized, highly automated world. Robots don't unionize.

But yes, elections have consequences. And this one will be with us for a while.

I know, based on based evidence and character study, that whoever 45 nominates will be WORSE. Much, much worse.

The time to get worried is now. Anyone this person nominates must blocked and stonewalled by any means possible, hook or crook, whether or not it fits the limits of political civility. Obama's supreme court nomination was blocked soley because Obama was nominating them. Let's do the same.

Or it will get a LOT worse for us, and some more than others, and it will be a long, long time before any of the damage this man does can be repaired. Keep an eye on the numbers of LGBT teen suicide attempts.

I personally can't describe how upset I am with Justice Kennedy for his neglect of duty without using some legally indefensible language.

[LittleRaven]

The time to get worried is now. Anyone this person nominates must blocked and stonewalled by any means possible, hook or crook, whether or not it fits the limits of political civility. Obama's supreme court nomination was blocked soley because Obama was nominating them. Let's do the same.

We can't. Republicans could stonewall Obama's nominees because they controlled the Senate. The Democrats do not. They can't even filibuster...McConnell changed the rules on that before Gorsuch was confirmed. Democrats need to WIN SOME ELECTIONS before they can actually make policy. We haven't been very good about that lately.

So Trump gets this pick. And yes, there will be consequences...there always are. But let's not go proclaiming the end of America. We've had conservative courts before...remember when Reagan and Bush together appointed a complete majority of the court? We survived that...hell, they didn't even overturn Roe v. Wade. We'll survive this.