“Good Old Conservative Days Fading?”: Regardless of Republican Obstruction, The Supreme Court Is Already Changing
If Republicans have their way, it might be a long time before another Supreme Court Justice joins the bench. But Dahlia Lithwick documents all the ways the Court is already changing in the short time since Antonin Scalia’s death in an article titled: The Conservative Era is Over.
* As she wrote previously, the women took over during oral arguments on an abortion case.
* A unanimous order affirming the right of same-sex partners to adopt children and the tossing of a death penalty conviction in Louisiana.
* “Friday’s unsigned order allowing several abortion clinics in Louisiana to reopen their doors, following an emergency decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that would have shuttered all but one clinic in that state.”
* Embattled Justices Thomas and Alito have formed an alliance of two as a bulwark against “the path set out by their six colleagues.”
* There’s also “a growing sense among conservative interest groups and litigation shops that the good times and rich bounty of the old Roberts court are no longer on offer and that it may be better to cut and run than stick around and lose.” That includes a recent settlement by Dow Chemical in their major anti-trust appeal and the fact that a key gun rights group opted to drop its challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act.
Lithwick draws this conclusion from what she’s seen so far:
Expect a lot more weirdness and subtle signaling from the court as the term rolls on. An institution that never wished to be an election issue has become one. What might have once been routine orders have now turned into a complex game of reputation management. Whether it’s the chief justice trying to appear apolitical, the conservative justices trying to fly the flag of ideology, or the liberals making hay while the sun briefly shines, nothing at the court these days is exactly what it appears to be, and it appears it will be that way for a while.
As public pressure on Republican Senators ramps up against their obstruction strategy and the prospect of Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee portends the potential loss of their Senate majority, it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to justify their position. If the trends Lithwick identified continue, you can add to that the specter of an increasingly liberalized Supreme Court.
By: Nancy LeTourneau, Political Animal Blog, The Washington Monthly, March 9, 2016
Related
March 10, 2016 - Posted by raemd95 | Conservatives, GOP Obstructionism, U. S. Supreme Court | Death Penalty, Dow Chemical, Pro-Gun Groups, Republicans, Same Sex Adoptions, Senate, U. S. Supreme Court Vacancy, Women's Health
1 Comment »
Share your comment Cancel reply
Pages
Share This Blog
mykeystrokes.com
- “The Unrelenting Hostility Of Washington’s Courtier Press”: The Media’s Crusade Of Scandals Against Hillary Clinton July 28, 2016
- “Endorsing This Philistine”: The Christian Right Has Surrendered To Trump July 24, 2016
- “Cop Killers Serve No Cause”: It’s Getting To The Point Where No Lives Matter July 24, 2016
Top Posts
- "Unwrapping Falwell’s Trump Endorsement": Trump "Reminds Me So Much Of My Father"
- "Endorsing This Philistine": The Christian Right Has Surrendered To Trump
- "The Two Corinthians Footsoldiers": Trump Pledges To Make God Great Again
- "The G.O.P.’s Holy War": Righteousness Is A Tricky Business, It Has A Way Of Coming Back To Bite You
- "An Ethical Philistine": Why Trump Leads Among Evangelical Voters — Even Though He’s A Religious Illiterate
- "The Christian Candidate": The Republican Formula To Snag Christian Votes Is Unraveling
-
Affordable Care Act African Americans Bain Capital Citizens United Congress Conservatives Contraception Corporations Debt Ceiling Democracy Democrats Donald Trump Economic inequality Economy Foreign Policy Fox News George W. Bush GOP GOP Presidential Candidates Government Shutdown Gun Control Gun Violence Health Exchanges Health Insurance Hillary Clinton House Republicans Immigration Immigration Reform Iraq War ISIS Jeb Bush Jobs John Boehner John McCain Koch Brothers Lindsey Graham Marco Rubio media Medicaid Medicare Middle Class Middle East Minorities Mitch McConnell Mitt Romney National Security Newt Gingrich NRA ObamaCare Paul Ryan Politics Poor and Low Income Poverty Progressives Racism Rand Paul Republicans Rick Santorum Right Wing Ronald Reagan Rush Limbaugh Scott Walker SCOTUS Senate Spending Cuts Tax cuts Taxes Tea-party Teaparty Ted Cruz Terrorism uninsured Voter Suppression Wall Street Wealthy
Categories
Archives
Blogroll
Twitter Timeline
- RT @glennkirschner2: The Democrats should show Mitch McConnell all the respect and deference he showed them in recent years.----------- 1 minute ago
- RT @CoriBush: It’s not divisive to call out white supremacy. What’s divisive is to not work to eliminate it.----------- 43 minutes ago
- RT @SecondGentleman: I am honored to be the first male spouse of an American President or Vice President. But I'll always remember generati…----------- 10 hours ago
- Looks like she is in an underground drug smuggling tunnel. Par for the GOP. twitter.com/TheDailyShow/s…----------- 12 hours ago
- RT @brianschatz: McConnell is threatening to filibuster the Organizing Resolution which allows Democrats to assume the committee Chair posi…----------- 20 hours ago
Blog Stats
- 265,946 hits
Plus, there is the prospect of Trump harming the GOP senate majority or, if he won, the uncertainty over who he would nominate as he is not as much of a Republican to begin with.
LikeLike