Thursday, June 28, 2018

Supreme Court Justice Kennedy Quits

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Some are saying Supreme Court Justice Kennedy has just handed President Trump the biggest gift of his presidency.

In announcing his retirement yesterday, Kennedy---who will turn 82 July 31--- also sets the stage for a generational political fight over the future of the US Supreme Court.

The president said yesterday he will be picking his replacement from "The List" he promised the American people.

Be Informed.


The Daily Caller said yesterday, "Kennedy's retirement will prompt the most ferocious confirmation battle of recent memory, as his departure under a Republican president places the right's long-eluded Supreme Court majority within reach."

Many conservatives and evangelicals voted for Trump solely on the basis of Supreme Court nominees.

This will be number 2.

Will the president remember his promise and "The List?"


President Trump said yesterday, "We have a very excellent list of great, talented, highly educated, highly intelligent, hopefully tremendous people. I think the list is very outstanding."

The president made it clear he intends to continue keeping his promises to those who voted for him.

You will recall the list of 25 potential candidates was given to the public when Trump was a candidate. In November 2017, the list was updated to include 5 additional potential candidates.

The White House also released a statement yesterday in reaction to the news of Kennedy's retirement:

Today, we thank Justice Anthony M. Kennedy for his thirty years of distinguished service on the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1987, President Reagan nominated him to the Court, and he was swiftly confirmed without opposition. A Californian—like the President who appointed him—Justice Kennedy is a true man of letters. During his tenure on the Court, he authored landmark opinions in every significant area of constitutional law, most notably on equal protection under the law, the separation of powers, and the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and religion. Justice Kennedy has been a tireless voice for individual rights and the Founders’ enduring vision of limited government. His words have left an indelible mark not only on this generation, but on the fabric of American history.

Kennedy has often been seen as a "swing" or "pivot" vote on the Court. Although he was appointed by President Reagan, he has not been consistently conservative in his opinions. In fact, the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia famously critiqued Kennedy's decision which essentially helped legalize so-called same-sex marriage. Scalia referred to his thinking on the matter as "the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Chief Justice John Roberts, commenting on the same case (Obergfell v. Hodges) in his dissent, said Kennedy's opinion on Obergefell was "difficult to follow." No question, whomever the president nominates will experience the full wrath of the Left.

Life Site News noted yesterday that, "Kennedy sometimes sided with pro-life advocates on upholding key pro-life limits on abortion but he continually upheld Roe v. Wade and its allowance for virtually unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy.

"His Retirement," the pro-life site says, "will set in motion a massive battle to replace him with a Justice who would uphold the rule of law and potentially pave the way for reversing the most horrific Supreme Court decision in history."

I agree. The battle will be "massive"---not unlike the battle to destroy the candidacy of Clarence Thomas, and most notably Robert Bork.

The Weekly Standard, in a story several years ago, reminisced of the time when Senator Joe Biden destroyed the candidacy of Robert Bork:

But under Biden’s leadership, the Bork confirmation hearings were a circus of unprecedented and unjustified personal attacks. They succeeded in keeping Bork’s powerful legal mind off the Court, hugely consequential to conservatives and liberals both. As a practical political matter, it didn’t affect the immediate balance of power on the Court. Similar tactics failed to derail the next conservative nominee, Clarence Thomas. But Biden’s legacy is such that even liberals now use the term “borking” as a pejorative. It’s not a stretch to accuse him of wrecking the judicial nomination process—Biden is the reason once-routine judicial appointments now bring Congress to a halt.

The upcoming Supreme Court nomination will be a tipping point on the highest court in the land.

And it will bring out the worst and lowest of the far Left, so-called progressives.

Pray for the president. Pray for America. Much hangs in the balance.

Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.