Justice Clarence Thomas, a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court, is mulling retirement after the presidential election, according to court watchers.
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His retirement would have a substantial impact on control of the court. The next president is expected to immediately replace the seat opened by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, providing a one-vote edge in the court that is currently divided 4-4.
And, conservatives fear, that could switch to a 7-2 majority if Republican Justice Anthony Kennedy, already a swing vote, retires. He will be 80 next year.
The de-evolution, from Thurgood Marshall to Thomas as the Court’s black Justice (I looked at H.W. Bush replacing Marshall with Thomas as a direct slap in the face, and still do), is, in many ways, symbolic of the rightward move of the country itself. It would be very nice indeed to have some evolution on the Court. Some more evolution.
If Hillary’s record as a liberal just isn’t liberal enough for you, consider the impact that a Democrat picking two, maybe three, if Kennedy retires, Supreme Court justices will have. It could be, within a few years, a 6-3 or even 7-2 liberal court. For decades. Every election is important. Every vote counts. And changing the composition of the Court is a “revolution” that could last twenty-five years.
www.washingtonexaminer.com/...
Sunday, Jun 19, 2016 · 9:18:39 PM +00:00
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Martin Gale
Thomas is a highly intelligent person. Suppose, at least subconsciously, he realizes he has accomplished, not just all he can accomplish, but all he should accomplish — that is, he knows the pendulum has swung as far as it ought to, and it’s now time it swings back in the other direction. Now, his entire life is built around being a conservative. His friends, his wife, livelihood, legacy — they are all tied to conservatism. He isn’t going to change his views to fit in with the move — he can’t, it would shatter his world. So he quits, and lets change happen around him. It’s a copout, but people are generally cowards about such things. I suspect — maybe it’s just wishful thinking — that’s the dynamic at play here, and the same is true for Kennedy, who is even older. This is a changing world, and being on the wrong end of that change, worse, being the roadblock to it, is not a position most people want to be in.