Justice Stephen Breyer may or may not have decided to retire. CNN is reporting that Justice Breyer will resign, but we have heard NOTHING directly from him. There has also been no announcement by the Supreme Court. This is highly unusual. It may be true, it probably is true, but the timing is really suspicious. One suspects that Justice Breyer has told someone that he is going to retire, and they leaked that information. But it seems unusual for a Justice to make this announcement at this time. Justice Kenney announced he would retire in on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. Supreme Court sessions start on the first Monday in October and continue until late June or early July. It would make more sense for a Justice to hold off any announcement until the end of the current term.
Regardless of how this happened, it is definitely based on politics. Immediately we are reminded that President Biden has promised to appoint a Black female to the Supreme Court. One recalls that he also promised to give us a Black female Vice President, and we got Kamala Harris. How’d that work out? If he nominates a Black female, at least some people will assume this was based solely on race and gender, rather than experience and performance. Actually, he has already admitted that. This does not mean the candidate will not be qualified, it just means race and gender were the first criteria. Perhaps this is just me, but this seems rather insulting to Black female judges. I certainly would be insulted if someone said they chose me for a position because they needed an older white male. In fact, I would almost certainly reject such an offer.
This certainly has changed the news cycle from possible war with Russia over Ukraine, a collapsing economy and an administration stumbling toward the bottom. Perhaps someone thought it would help to change the subject. But this could easily backfire. Most people, other than Democrats in Congress and reporters on CNN want a judge to make decisions based on the law, not political correctness. Every poll shows that. So, at a time when people are already sick and tired of this congress and this new issue is likely to energize Republicans even more. In addition, nothing will change regarding Supreme Court decisions. There will still be a six conservative Justices to three liberal Justices. Replacing Breyer with another liberal will not affect balance in the court and is unlikely to have an impact on any Supreme Court decisions. He already votes the straight hard left position on every case.
This may change something else. It may change the attitude of Justice Breyer. Because of this unfortunate leak, all the attention will be on Breyer’s replacement and not on him. That is highly likely to make him incredibly angry. Rather than leaving with his head held high, praised by both parties, this sure looks like Democrats kicking him on the way out.
There has been some speculation, mostly in jest by Fox News, that Biden will nominate Kamala Harris to the Supreme Court. This would, in theory, get rid of a Vice President who is tanking in the polls, and allow Biden to choose a new Vice President. Then, the theory goes, the cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment, remove Joe and put in someone actually capable. This is nonsense and very unlikely to happen. It would be the worst conceivable way to choose a Supreme Court Justice. The absolute insanity of doing this is the only reason someone like Joe Biden might consider it.
If this was leaked, to change the news cycle, it is beyond desperate and extremely unlikely to work. If Russia invades Ukraine, which seems increasingly possible, few will focus on a coming Supreme Court nomination. In addition, people will be more focused on the prohibitive cost of gas, the gross mismanagement of COVID, rising crime, rising inflation, higher taxes, and empty shelves. Here is California, someone came up with the brilliant idea of taxing solar panels, since only rich people bought them using money they saved on taxes. They are also proposing taxing electric cars, for the same reason, at the same time they are pressing people to buy more electric cars. This is what happens when you put people only capable of circular reasoning in power.
In the meantime, while the Supreme Court will be deciding on some of the most important cases in decades, Democrats will be promoting a Breyers Market showcasing the Black female most likely to be his replacement, angering the only man in a position to influence at least some of these cases. Nice!
TDM