The thing I can't stop thinking about is this: I'm 48, and in my adult lifetime there has been one Republican who won the popular vote. But I will probably spend the rest of my life under the authority of a Supreme Court dominated by hard right conservatives. How is that democracy?
Umm…no. That would also require the Democrats to control the Senate, and no conservative judges, let alone 2, will just not retire while Democrats control both the White House and the Senate.
Again, these people are going to hold onto those seats until they physically can’t (dead) or there’s a GOP President/Senate. Banking on “well they are pretty old” is more of a Hail Mary than a sure thing. I could see it maybe being 5-4 conservative but not both Alito and Thomas leaving.
If you need me to prove democrats did good things every year they have majority in both house and senate, I can.
I’d argue, historically, holding congress is more important.
They might die or they might not 🤷♂️
Oliver Wendell Holmes stayed until he was 90
Jack B. Weinstein kept a full docket on E.D.N.Y. until he died in 2021 at 99
When Obama took the bench in 2009 there was still one Eisenhower appointee left with a full docket
FYI of the 15 justices appointed since Kennedy, not including the current court, only one (Fortas) died before the age of 80; Scalia, at 80, was the second-youngest to die, followed by Rehnquist (81) and Goldberg (82). The remaining 11/15 lived to the age of 85, and at least four made it to 90
With modern medicine what it is, the likelihood that two men in their 70s drop dead without some type of protracted battle with a terminal illness are almost 0. Much more likely one of them survives into their 90s to witness with glee what havoc their SCOTUS tenure has reaped on the US.
And strategically timed retirements have taken over the appellate bench. SCOTUS is that much more significant, and Alito & Thomas are die-hard idealogues who understand the power they wield
They could be replaced with Dem appointees but it'd requite a stroke of good fortune
bsky.app/profile/saba...
Under Biden's presidency, of 41 appointees to the US Circuit Courts of Appeals (5 await confirmation), only 4 are GOP to Dem flips, of which 2 are due to deaths and 2 due to retirements (there are 179 seats total)
Biden also elevated a Trump appointee following retirement of a G.W. Bush appointee
No, that would arguably be an unofficial act.
He'd have to order Seal Team 6 to rendition them to an undisclosed location for enhanced interrogation to be immune from prosecution.
Both Thomas and Alito have mothers who made it into their 90s. I'd say the odds of them getting to be 80 are good.
I don't know. I can sort of see one of them resigning, but the second one will hang on for dear life to maintain the court (im)balance.
