O'Connor Retires

[Nadine]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4642059.stm

Does anyone have any thoughts or concerns about her retirement from the Supreme Court? She's played an important role in the most divisive cases, so it's likely that any successor appointed by Bush would dramatically shift the course of the court's decisions...

[implode]

i'm terrified that his nominee will pander to an agenda that will completely undermine my own, but in the same breath, i'd never consider myself wise enough to serve on the supreme court, either. so all i can do is hope that he'll make his decision based on who he feels is best equipped to seperate themselves from partisonship and make the best individual decision based on the facts presented, rather than nominate a puppet that will carry out his will in the one branch of government he doesn't hold absolute power over.

...

and if i close my eyes, i can hope harder.

[BreadObama69]

all this crap in the news about confirmation hearings for regular widdle judges is going to pale in comparison to the controversy that's gonna arise over bush's choice for this soon to be vacant position. whoever it is, the democrats ain't gonna be happy with it.

the whole affair is goin to be uggggggly.

[Ravenous Monkey]

I'm optimistic (or naive).

Either the President will choose someone not overly partisan or if he chooses someone that seems so, he or she will become a moderate over the years, which hopefully means economically conservative and socially moderate.


I don't believe Roe will be overturned, it just seems silly to defuse a successful mobilization topic by solving it.

[töm]

I'm rather surprised and kinda bummed to see her go. She was one of my favorite Supreme Court Justices... I know a few were about to pack up and leave town, but her? And now?

Also, I'm <i>kinda</i> scared about this. The Supreme Court holds an unduly amount of power, and Bush is not really the man or woman that I'd want to have the power to introduce new faces here. Especially with the prospect that one or even two more vacancies will be probable during his administration.

It's kinda. You know. Unnerving? I know he's not <i>stupid</i>, though, so hopefully he'll make a popular move that most people will like. Nothing scary or ideological plz.

[implode]

Also, I'm kinda scared about this. The Supreme Court holds an unduly amount of power, and Bush is not really the man or woman that I'd want to have the power to introduce new faces here. Especially with the prospect that one or even two more vacancies will be probable during his administration. that was the driving force behind why i voted for kerry, actually. yeah, if given the chance, you're damned right i'm going to pick the longtime senator instead of the longtime crazy oil prospector/CEO to make a decision as invaluable as appointees to the supreme court. the war in iraq? bleh. the war in iraq is happening and that is that. kerry did not have access to a time machine, despite what his commercials may have claimed. but the most important decisions that we as a society need to agree to conform to are being written day to day, and having <i>george w. bush</i> ghostwrite them is a far more terrifying and relavent prospect, imho...

[MST3Kakalina]

so i come back to america and the first thing i find out is that O'Connor retired.

well FUCK.

the worst thing is that my dad listens to talk radio, so i got to hear conservative blowhards go on and on about it on a fuzzy am station on the drive home from Newark. based on what they said, here's what i think:

i think, like everything else in this country, it's a disgusting "my team is better than your team!" game. the conservative guys all had this condescending tone of "oh, those darn liberals! when will they realize stop whining and realize that WE run the country! they lost the election, but they still want to have a say in what goes in politics? silly!" in the same breath they would talk about the President picking someone who was competent and a fair reader of the constitution (which i agree should happen)...and who would also happen strong conservative ideals and uphold traditional American values, etc etc.

i think Bush WILL nominate someone who is a bad choice. i think he will pick someone with a history of radically conservative decisions, with rather questionable connections to Bush himself (in other words, someone calling in a favour). i think any attempt to object to his nomination will be written off as "liberal mudslinging," which is a shame because i really do think that the nomination will be VERY objectionable.

supposedly, O'Connor once said somewhere that she would retire under a Republican as a favour to Reagan, but i think that's silly. i DO wish she would stick this presidency out, because i think she realizes she's a lot more moderate than anyone who's going to fill her shoes. yes i know, husband with alzheimer's, blah blah, but we're talking the future of a nation for the next fifty, sixty years.

in conclusion, thank God i don't have to get an abortion anytime soon.

[exemplary citizen]

Speaking of that husband with alzheimer's issue, here's another one of those things that's probably going to suffer mightily with O'Connor gone; stem cell research.

America: We love fetuses, but we hate living children and people.

[tater]

Ami, why don't you have your own political party yet? You'd do the best smear campagain ever. EVER.

<small>I totally misspelled that, but I am way too lazy to go back and fix it.</small>

I'm worried about the replacement process. It's either going to get done quickly and sneakily or it's going to be so politicized that it takes forever and becomes another of the many splitting points in the political spectrum. Neither thrills me. I have lost faith in the President's ability to do anything responsibly. He is too mired in his texas boy image to show any sign of intelligence or reason. I am counting on our senators and other elected officials to do what they know is best for the country. Only time will tell.

[ln_e_is_1]

Horray for the loss of moderation on the supreme court:( I fear and expect Bush to put the most conservative evangelical justice he can pass thru congress to put on the Surpreme Court. And the other justice from my state is on his way out too...