It seems that everyone on the left started to panic at the beginning of week when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement. I am not kidding, people were saying things like “this is the end of the United States” or “the fall of democracy.” Yikes. Seems pretty extreme. I also saw people saying that it was horrible since Kennedy was the swing vote and he was the moderate judge on the court.
And this is why I want people to stop panicking. Kennedy was not moderate. He was the swing vote on like two major cases (at least that everyone cites): gay marriage and abortion. I feel like in regards to gay rights, Kennedy was one of those conservatives who probably leans more to the personal liberty aspect of conservatism. And from what I can tell about abortion (and I am definitely not a lawyer), Kennedy could not find legal precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade (yep, I just summed it all up in like two sentences).
So before everyone starts acting like some moderate/progress saint just retired from the bench, remember that he was a conservative. I believe I read somewhere that his last thirteen rulings were all conservative leaning. He ruled in favor of Citizens United. He has ruled on the liberal side about five times.
Why am I saying not to panic?
For one thing, another conservative keeps the court pretty much where it was (5-4). Maybe this judge is more conservative and never rules on the liberal side at all, but was Kennedy truly that reliable?
Secondly, I do not believe that President Trump will pick the best people for this job. He keeps saying he will nominate someone super young, but every name I have seen floated out there has been more old men. I think the youngest was like 60. I know that may not make it better, but it at least puts things into some perspective.
Instead of freaking out, this is what I suggest liberals/democrats do:
-Start digging. Find out everything about any of the possible nominees. Trump and his team are not very good at vetting people. Dig deep into these people and find the skeletons in their closet. Trust me, they have them. Bring that shit out during those Senate Confirmation Hearings.
-Contact senators. Remember the health care vote? When people flooded their representatives with “do not vote for this…”, guess what? It worked. People listened. I can think of a few senators who would definitely feel the pressure if enough of their constituents called/emailed to say that they would not support them in the next election. If enough of the nominees fall, then perhaps we can make it to November and hopefully the dems will have control of Congress (could they flip both, probably not, but a boy can dream).
-Stop whining about Merrick Garland! Yes it sucks that the Republicans stole a nominee from Obama, but bringing him up as “eh, we should have had a progressive judge in there!” does not help. Instead, do what Republicans do: they focus on those singular issues. How many people voted for Trump solely because of the Supreme Court? And yet, there were Democrats out there who would not vote for HRC because they were mad about Bernie or they just did not like her…blah blah blah. Well guess what? Republicans do not have that problem. They know the importance of the courts and they knew Trump was their best chance. Also, Republicans vote in midterms. And off years. Democrats vote every four years. Stop that shit! Get out there and vote. Take control of Congress, that way you do not have to worry about another Garland episode. Take control of those state legislatures so that your party can gerrymander districts to stay in power.
Seriously, do not panic. There are things we can do. They are not easy, but fighting for what is right and what you believe is not always easy. Oh and make sure to find ways to keep Ruth Bader Ginsburg alive for a few more years…because if she goes down, then it may be time to panic!
