Please, please, please, Justice Kennedy! You’re only 81. Can’t you wait just three more years before retiring? RBG is 85 and hanging in there. If she can, so can you. We need you. American women need you to make sure their privacy and choice is protected. The court needs your thoughtful moderate position to keep it balanced.
For what it’s worth, your resignation is the most depressing news I’ve heard since November 8, 2016, when Donald Trump was elected, and since then it’s all been depressing. The future of the Supreme Court was the single most important reason to vote against him. And now your action is ensuring his influence will be felt for decades to come.
Mr. Justice, I had actual nightmares last night about the implications of your resignation. Please reconsider.
At least wait until the mid-terms are done.
Nope, he has to stay until after the next presidential election. We don’t want to give Trump any more opportunities. Can’t count on the mid-terms, although I certainly have my fingers crossed.
D’oh. Now that I think about it, with midterms only a few months away, his retiring now looks like a move to help ensure Trump gets to appoint his successor. I’m a little slow sometimes.
A blow to fairness and democracy…
For better or worse, that’s the way our system works. At 81, Kennedy is certainly entitled to retire. I don’t see it as a blow to fairness and democracy, but as a blow to moderation in politics. Gorsuch’s appointment was the blow to fairness and democracy.
This is all the more reason that they should be appointed for a fixed term at the very least, Or else a mandatory retiring age of say 70 -or 75.Is it not possible to make it so?
I agree, a position for life is irrational. I would favor both an age limit and a maximum term limit, say a generation (20 years?).
All that makes sense. And rotating terms, so that no one president gets to appoint enough judges to seriously unbalance the court. Of course, they could always retire at strategic moments, but maybe there could be a rule that the vacancy of a retiring justice could only be filled by the next president. Or make it possible for Congress to appoint judges. Letting the president alone do it has its perils.
and perhaps a minimum age, of say 45, and of neutral, political, opinion and affiliation!
That’d work!
Minimum age is a good idea too. As for neutral politics and opinions, that would be difficult to prove and to find. And these days neither major party would want to appoint a “neutral” judge. I dunno, ours is such a crazy, imperfect system and yet we’re still here.
Yes; But for how long?
We shall see.
I just hope the next Justice can understand and accept the constitution as it is written, or realize and recommend that i needs to be constitutionally amended. Redefining the meaning of words should be grounds for impeachment.
You’d think learned individuals could look at the Constitution and agree on what it says, what it allows and disallows, what it protects and what it prohibits. And yet …
The Kennedy resignation is even more dastardly than I realized. This is from a searing critique in the Daily Beast that spells it out:
Good lord, I never thought of that. Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse …
Mom used to scowl, “Don’t cry before you’re hurt.” All the “what ifs” are adding to the hysteria (and the media loves that little dahling.)
More and more I’m in a sit back and see position.
Over 75% support right to choose. It is possible to not want an abortion yourself but believe others should have the choice if they decide to.
Trump is an outsider. There are candidates that are strong individuals and outside political pressures, too – and ones who strive to be support diversity/recognition of thoughts and to be fair (although that is getting rare since schools have eliminated competition in sports and classrooms in favor of everyone’s a winner – even if nobody wins like that)
Actually I think that along with term limits, there should be age limits for elected office in Congress – and for Supreme Court appointees. Over 80 yrs has hazards more than health: the world an 80 year old grew up in no longer exists – people, attitudes, geography, commerce – it all changes.)
All I can say is the next few years are going to be rough unless people re-learn how to respect others, be civil, learn to debate without name calling and learn to negotiate…you know, grow up act like adults not temper tantruming children without long term views and try to work together.
What will happen will happen. Sigh.
Excellent point about how the world will have changed for an 80-year-old. I’m 75, can see infinite changes, and believe me, if I could vote against some of them now, I would.
As long as Trump is provocateur-in-chief, I hold little hope for a return to civility, moderation, rational thought, compromise for the good of all, etc. Tantrums are and will remain the order of the day.
How fortunate that unlike Supreme Court, there’s avenue for office change every 4 years.
(And who will they drag up this time to run…as you say, little hope)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump thinks he can run and win again. And who dares to oppose an incumbent who wants to run again?
Tie shoe laces together? Never know what’ll trip people up. HAHA We’ll see. It’s all I can do to take one day at a time and see how to salvage/try to inch civilization forward…inspired by small streams finding ways around rocks, mosquitoes, and ants HAHA
With luck he’ll tie his own shoelaces together. Tell him that’s what Putin does.
Trouble with all those little streams is they only run downhill.
Is it any wonder I play so many video games these days?
No kidding. Watch out for those run off floods – wild fires and what the heck is that heat wave doing up there? Like you’re under siege from every direction.
Stay cool and have a great 4th
Yes, I object strenuously to 105 degrees in Denver. In June! We broke all kind of records with that one. And fires are making the air dirty everywhere. A week of cloud cover and gentle rain would be much appreciated. (At least we don’t have your humidity to boot.)