Comments on: O’Connor Announces Her Retirement From The Supreme Court

By: FrankJ

FrankJ — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 14:47:00 +0000

I believe that Sandra Day O’Conner retired for the exact reason she said. Her husband, and life partner, whom she has been married to since law school, is dying of Alzheimers disease. Perhaps he has a year left, perhaps a month; but whatever it is his beloved wife wants to spend his final days by his side. Is that so hard for people to believe? Have we become so cynical and devoid of our humanity that we can’t simply accept her reasoning without thinking she has some sinister alterior motive?

My best wishes go out to the O’Conner family. I believe that she is truly a great woman, who stands as an example to all of us (men & women alike). I heard her say a few words yesterday on CNN, and she stated that if women take nothing else from my tenior on the Court, I hope they understand that political power or judicial power is not exclusively a male domain anymore. It’s refreshing to hear someone who believes, while I’m sure she acknowledges we’re not at any sort of nirvana state of perfection yet (a place I’m not sure exists), that we have accomplished a lot of great things in the area of equality; and let’s take an occassional moment to celebrate those gains.

I am sure, however, that Bush will not bow to political pressure from the other side of isle. After all, this is the first chance in decades for conservatives to significantly alter the balance of the Court; and I do not believe Bush will squander it. After all, he has a Republican majority in congress who has already shown their willingness to utilize the “nuclear” option. So he could even get a Bork nominated at this point….don’t be surprised if he goes for it. If anything can be said about Bush it is that he is going to do what he believes is right regardless of what anyone thinks!

By: Ampersand

Ampersand — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 04:58:12 +0000

You’re right, Casey was 5-4.

But one of the 4 “anti” votes was Justice White, who was replaced by either Breyer or Ginsberg (I don’t remember which). The point is, when White retired, he was replaced by a pro-choice vote, making the count in favor of Casey 6-3.

It’s possible that Kennedy will switch sides, but barring that, if O’Connor gets replaced with someone who’s pro-life (and it’s pretty certain that she will be, unfortunately), the count in favor of Casey will then be 5-4.

By: bitchphd

bitchphd — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 02:44:00 +0000

Roe has a 6-3 lead, but Casey–which upheld Roe–was 5-4, and yes, O’Connor was one of the 5.

By: Mark in Mexico

Mark in Mexico — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 02:36:48 +0000

Empty seat at SCOTUS - O’Conner retires

And the war is joined. Two immensely powerful forces meet in the political equivalent of toe to toe nuclear combat to fill the seat. What great entertainment this will be. Warning: Don’t misunderestimate the Chimpster, again.

By: ScottM

ScottM — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 20:35:40 +0000

Nice roundup– I’ve been looking around myself, and didn’t see much of this variety. Thanks.

By: alsis39

alsis39 — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:00:47 +0000

From Yahoo news:

“…Seven Democrats and seven Republicans have signed a pact pledging not to filibuster judicial nominees except in extraordinary circumstances. At the same time, they agreed to oppose attempts by GOP leaders to change filibuster procedures.”

Can you say, “My supposed champions have painted themselves into a corner ?” I knew you could !

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050701/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_senate

By: Kim (basement variety!)

Kim (basement variety!) — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 16:56:48 +0000

Whoops, seems I double posted. We overlapped when writing them.