Supreme hype
Richard Baehr at Real Clear Politics tells us why all the warmongering over the SCOTUS appointment(s) is simply Supreme Hype.
His main point is that O'Connor is hardly a swing voter and I agree with him. While she and Kennedy have been known to stray occasionally into the liberal camp, they have rarely done it at the same time. Given their propensity to alternate in their swerves to the left, there is always a core of 4 conservative votes for each decision which includes one of them along with Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas. Therefore, replacing O'Connor and Rehnquist with conservatives will not alter the calculus of the court. There will remain in place 4 conservative core votes as before.
As Baehr points out, the real impact replacement will be for Stevens, who is 85, or Ginsburg who is in her seventies and has battled with cancer. If Bush were to get a shot at replacing either of these two, then the make-up of the court would change toward a more conservative advantage.
While it's important to bring in two new justices to cement the 4 core "originalist" votes on the Court, it will not have the impact that the hype would have us believe.
His main point is that O'Connor is hardly a swing voter and I agree with him. While she and Kennedy have been known to stray occasionally into the liberal camp, they have rarely done it at the same time. Given their propensity to alternate in their swerves to the left, there is always a core of 4 conservative votes for each decision which includes one of them along with Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas. Therefore, replacing O'Connor and Rehnquist with conservatives will not alter the calculus of the court. There will remain in place 4 conservative core votes as before.
As Baehr points out, the real impact replacement will be for Stevens, who is 85, or Ginsburg who is in her seventies and has battled with cancer. If Bush were to get a shot at replacing either of these two, then the make-up of the court would change toward a more conservative advantage.
While it's important to bring in two new justices to cement the 4 core "originalist" votes on the Court, it will not have the impact that the hype would have us believe.
posted by Wonderdog | 10:30 AM | Permalink
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3 comments
3 Comments:
it will not have the impact that the hype would have us believe
Maybe not, but it sure upsets the liberals. heh heh
Good point, CIV. Let's have some fun with them, shall we?
Come on, WD. . . you know better than to you 'fun' and 'liberal' in the same sentence. In order to be a liberal, you need to attend indoctrination camp where the first thing they teach you is to take yourself too seriously.
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