Justice Kennedy Retires

[∞∞∞]

Are you triggered? Too scared to take heat for what you believe in?

I love America. I love its people. I love its institutions. I love what it stands for. This nation is genuinely the greatest, most successful experiment in the entirety of human history. It represents progress, science, adventure, innovation, and justice. But most importantly, America represents hope.

I hate that it's been degraded to nothing by complicit people like yourself.

You sound confused:

It's the greatest most successful experiment of the century and represents progress, adventure, innovation and justice yet we're being passed up and left behind by multiple other countries?

You love its institutions yet you want to throw out the one document on which the entire basis of the country was built?

Which is it? You sound confused...

Of course I would. I may love something, but if it's not working, I don't stick with it. I love the Constitution; it's an amazing document written by philosophical geniuses. But it's also a product of the late 1700s and no longer accurately represents the populace of this nation.

And yes, America is being passed. It's still the greatest society on Earth, but not if things continue on this road. You know which nation and group of nations I'm talking about; the list isn't long.

[AZGrizFan]

You sound confused:

It's the greatest most successful experiment of the century and represents progress, adventure, innovation and justice yet we're being passed up and left behind by multiple other countries?

You love its institutions yet you want to throw out the one document on which the entire basis of the country was built?

Which is it? You sound confused...

Of course I would. I may love something, but if it's not working, I don't stick with it. I love the Constitution; it's an amazing document written by philosophical geniuses. But it's also a product of the late 1700s and no longer accurately represents the populace of this nation.

And yes, America is being passed. It's still the greatest society on Earth, but not if things continue on this road. You know which nation and group of nations I'm talking about; the list isn't long.

No, I don't know which nations. And again, How can it be "the greatest society on earth", which at the same time "IS being passed". WHO, specifically, is passing us, and in what ways?

[Ivytalk]

You sound confused:

It's the greatest most successful experiment of the century and represents progress, adventure, innovation and justice yet we're being passed up and left behind by multiple other countries?

You love its institutions yet you want to throw out the one document on which the entire basis of the country was built?

Which is it? You sound confused...

Of course I would. I may love something, but if it's not working, I don't stick with it. I love the Constitution; it's an amazing document written by philosophical geniuses. But it's also a product of the late 1700s and no longer accurately represents the populace of this nation.

And yes, America is being passed. It's still the greatest society on Earth, but not if things continue on this road. You know which nation and group of nations I'm talking about; the list isn't long.

You love the Constitution, but you want to toss it into the wastebin because it hasn’t been construed the way you prefer. It’s hard to keep track of where you really stand on our wonderful institutions that you purport to “love.” Do you want a Constitutional convention? If you think we’re polarized now, wait until something like that happens.

[JohnStOnge]

The Constitution is working exactly like it was designed. Blithering idiots....

Puhleeaaaaaase.

It's now going to a full three branch control. And 51 votes in the Senate gets anything through, including judicial nominations. The GOP has worn down checks and balances so much that it's essentially non-existent. And a progressive generation will have to deal with a regressive court long after you're dead.

The system is broken; it's time to throw it out.

I was thinking about that. We now have complete control by a Party that represents the minority of the People. Not by all that much but the minority. Polls pretty consistently show that there are more Democrats than Republicans. There are a lot of independents. But if you ask which way independents lean more of them lean Democrat. You can look at Pew Research stuff reporting on the situation at the end of 2017 at http://www.people-press.org/2018/03/20/ ... ification/ and it was this:

Most independents lean toward one of the major parties; when their partisan leanings are taken into account, 50% of registered voters identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 42% identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP.

You can also look at the Gallup Party affiliation polling at https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/part ... ation.aspx. If you scroll down to the data that include leans you see ups and downs in the gap that are consistent with random sampling error but the average over the past 12 months is Democrat or Lean Democrat 47% vs. Republican or Lean Republican 41%.

I think that there is better than a 50% chance that Democrats will get more total votes in both the 2018 Senate elections and in the 2018 House elections. The Democrat got more total votes during the 2016 Presidential election.

Yet it's possible that the Republicans will maintain total control.

[Ibanez]

There goes a centrist. Too bad we won't get someone like him as a replacement.

Are you kidding me? Kennedy was a good, conservative jurist.

I'm guessing his role in upholding Roe v Wade and allowing the gays to marry doesn't sit well with you.

Well, make up your mind. You were probably right the 1st time. He may have been a centrist, but was no conservative, originalist would have voted for Roe v Wade or to force gay marriage on states.

Also was the 5th vote on overturning the death penalty for minors, even if were they were a day short of 18, no matter how heinous the crimes. And there have been alot of horrific crimes comitted by 17 year olds who have now escaped the death penalty..

He was right of center, how about that?

But he was spot on with Roe and Gay marriage. It comes down to personal freedom and equality - I thought you Republicans were for personal freedoms and gov't staying out your lives.

[JohnStOnge]

Time to throw out the Constitution. It certainly isn't working anymore for the majority of Americans.

The nation continues to progress while the government is regressing. And in the meanwhile, the world continues to leave us behind socially, environmentally, and economically.

I don't think there is a need to throw out the Constitution. It can be Amended. I think it should be Amended to eliminate the Electoral College and say the President is selected through direct popular vote. Also, we might try to do something about gerrymandering.

And I do think it is potentially possible to develop sufficient support for Amending the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College. Heck, you could even invoke the fact that it's very likely that Texas is going to evolve into a Blue State. If and when that happens it will be over for the Republicans in Presidential elections if we stick with the Electoral College because if California, New York, and Texas are all blue States there is virtually no chance.

[Ibanez]

Socialism isn't taboo anymore. It's not a scary word for me, or many young people.

When you say "it's socialism," none of us cringe.

It doesn't matter if you cringe or not. What's that have to do with anything? Ask the current socialist countries how socialism is working?

[Ibanez]

Harry Reid's in the GOP? He was warned about killing the filibuster...

I didn't know that Harry Reid declared the nuclear option for SCOTUS nominations; or that Conservatives don't have the option to restore past wrongs if they felt so principled about it.

Trip...damnit. I can't respond to all your posts one at a time. There's just so much wrong and one-sided. I can see both sides of an issue but you are just being ignorant of the political history and realities.

[Ibanez]

Puhleeaaaaaase.

It's now going to a full three branch control. And 51 votes in the Senate gets anything through, including judicial nominations. The GOP has worn down checks and balances so much that it's essentially non-existent. And a progressive generation will have to deal with a regressive court long after you're dead.

The system is broken; it's time to throw it out.

I was thinking about that. We now have complete control by a Party that represents the minority of the People. Not by all that much but the minority. Polls pretty consistently show that there are more Democrats than Republicans. There are a lot of independents. But if you ask which way independents lean more of them lean Democrat. You can look at Pew Research stuff reporting on the situation at the end of 2017 at http://www.people-press.org/2018/03/20/ ... ification/ and it was this:

Most independents lean toward one of the major parties; when their partisan leanings are taken into account, 50% of registered voters identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 42% identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP.

You can also look at the Gallup Party affiliation polling at https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/part ... ation.aspx. If you scroll down to the data that include leans you see ups and downs in the gap that are consistent with random sampling error but the average over the past 12 months is Democrat or Lean Democrat 47% vs. Republican or Lean Republican 41%.

I think that there is better than a 50% chance that Democrats will get more total votes in both the 2018 Senate elections and in the 2018 House elections. The Democrat got more total votes during the 2016 Presidential election.

Yet it's possible that the Republicans will maintain total control.

How the FUCK can a minority have complete control? By definition that isn't possible. John - have you suffered a stroke recently? You aren't making sense.

[Ivytalk]

Time to throw out the Constitution. It certainly isn't working anymore for the majority of Americans.

The nation continues to progress while the government is regressing. And in the meanwhile, the world continues to leave us behind socially, environmentally, and economically.

I don't think there is a need to throw out the Constitution. It can be Amended. I think it should be Amended to eliminate the Electoral College and say the President is selected through direct popular vote. Also, we might try to do something about gerrymandering.

And I do think it is potentially possible to develop sufficient support for Amending the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College. Heck, you could even invoke the fact that it's very likely that Texas is going to evolve into a Blue State. If and when that happens it will be over for the Republicans in Presidential elections if we stick with the Electoral College because if California, New York, and Texas are all blue States there is virtually no chance.

You do realize what it takes to amend the Constitution, don’t you? Have at it, big guy!

[Ibanez]

Btw, i'm waiting for the Democrats to now suggest that Presidential appointments and congressional approvals are archaic, that Supreme Court Justices need to be popularly elected by the people.

[JohnStOnge]

I was thinking about that. We now have complete control by a Party that represents the minority of the People. Not by all that much but the minority. Polls pretty consistently show that there are more Democrats than Republicans. There are a lot of independents. But if you ask which way independents lean more of them lean Democrat. You can look at Pew Research stuff reporting on the situation at the end of 2017 at http://www.people-press.org/2018/03/20/ ... ification/ and it was this:



You can also look at the Gallup Party affiliation polling at https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/part ... ation.aspx. If you scroll down to the data that include leans you see ups and downs in the gap that are consistent with random sampling error but the average over the past 12 months is Democrat or Lean Democrat 47% vs. Republican or Lean Republican 41%.

I think that there is better than a 50% chance that Democrats will get more total votes in both the 2018 Senate elections and in the 2018 House elections. The Democrat got more total votes during the 2016 Presidential election.

Yet it's possible that the Republicans will maintain total control.

How the **** can a minority have complete control? By definition that isn't possible. John - have you suffered a stroke recently? You aren't making sense.

Read the post and check the data. It is happening. It's not impossible "by definition" at all. The how? I don't know for sure. I do think that historically people who are Republican or lean Republican are more likely to vote.

But it's pretty well established that more people in this country are Democrat or lean Democrat yet the President, the Senate, and the House are all controlled by the Republicans. It is what it is. Also, it's pretty well established that a minority of the people in the country are Republican or lean Republican.

I don't see how you can suggest that a minority can't be in control when we have a President that got 46% of the vote.

[JohnStOnge]

During the 2016 election more people voted for the Democrat candidate than voted for the Republican candidate in the Presidential election. More people voted for Democrats in the Senate elections than voted for Republicans. More people did vote for Republicans in the House races.

But the Republicans are in charge of all three branches. It's OBVIOUS that the majority of the people who vote can vote one way and have control be in the other way. You can say that's good and you can say that's bad. But it obviously can happen. And there's a very realistic possibility that the Democrats could get more votes in the House races and more votes in the Senate races overall and end up with the Republicans in control of both Houses of Congress. If that happens that will put us into a situation where more people voted for Democrats in the last House race, more people voted for Democrats in the last Senate race, and more people voted for the Democrat in the last Presidential race yet we will have a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican President.

[Ivytalk]

During the 2016 election more people voted for the Democrat candidate than voted for the Republican candidate in the Presidential election. More people voted for Democrats in the Senate elections than voted for Republicans. More people did vote for Republicans in the House races.

But the Republicans are in charge of all three branches. It's OBVIOUS that the majority of the people who vote can vote one way and have control be in the other way. You can say that's good and you can say that's bad. But it obviously can happen. And there's a very realistic possibility that the Democrats could get more votes in the House races and more votes in the Senate races overall and end up with the Republicans in control of both Houses of Congress. If that happens that will put us into a situation where more people voted for Democrats in the last House race, more people voted for Democrats in the last Senate race, and more people voted for the Democrat in the last Presidential race yet we will have a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican President.

Sucks to be you!

[JohnStOnge]

I don't think there is a need to throw out the Constitution. It can be Amended. I think it should be Amended to eliminate the Electoral College and say the President is selected through direct popular vote. Also, we might try to do something about gerrymandering.

And I do think it is potentially possible to develop sufficient support for Amending the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College. Heck, you could even invoke the fact that it's very likely that Texas is going to evolve into a Blue State. If and when that happens it will be over for the Republicans in Presidential elections if we stick with the Electoral College because if California, New York, and Texas are all blue States there is virtually no chance.

You do realize what it takes to amend the Constitution, don’t you? Have at it, big guy!

Yes, I do. But I do think there is potential to develop sufficient support for going to direct popular vote in Presidential elections.

[JohnStOnge]

During the 2016 election more people voted for the Democrat candidate than voted for the Republican candidate in the Presidential election. More people voted for Democrats in the Senate elections than voted for Republicans. More people did vote for Republicans in the House races.

But the Republicans are in charge of all three branches. It's OBVIOUS that the majority of the people who vote can vote one way and have control be in the other way. You can say that's good and you can say that's bad. But it obviously can happen. And there's a very realistic possibility that the Democrats could get more votes in the House races and more votes in the Senate races overall and end up with the Republicans in control of both Houses of Congress. If that happens that will put us into a situation where more people voted for Democrats in the last House race, more people voted for Democrats in the last Senate race, and more people voted for the Democrat in the last Presidential race yet we will have a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican President.

Sucks to be you!

Being me is actually pretty good. But the point is that we really do have a system where, with respect to our two major political parties, the moreof the people can favor party A yet the party B can be in control of all three branches. It's kind of self evident right now.

[Ivytalk]

You do realize what it takes to amend the Constitution, don’t you? Have at it, big guy!

Yes, I do. But I do think there is potential to develop sufficient support for going to direct popular vote in Presidential elections.

So, have at it! Two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, and ratification by three-fourths of the states. Piece of cake!

[CitadelGrad]

It looks like the early money is on Brett Kavanaugh.

[dbackjon]

Time to throw out the Constitution. It certainly isn't working anymore for the majority of Americans.

The nation continues to progress while the government is regressing. And in the meanwhile, the world continues to leave us behind socially, environmentally, and economically.

You're screaming progress and yet you're proposing that we return to the 1930's by attempting to pack the court. The Constitution is working exactly like it was designed. Blithering idiots....

if it was working as intended we wouldn't have Gorsuck on the SCOTUS

[Ivytalk]

You're screaming progress and yet you're proposing that we return to the 1930's by attempting to pack the court. The Constitution is working exactly like it was designed. Blithering idiots....

if it was working as intended we wouldn't have Gorsuck on the SCOTUS

Mmmmmmmidol....

[kalm]

Socialism isn't taboo anymore. It's not a scary word for me, or many young people.

When you say "it's socialism," none of us cringe.

Of course, it doesn’t scare you...you plan to use other people’s money to fund your utopia...

Socialism can only work that way...

Except when it's used to build roads, schools, win wars, maintain public lands, and keep the hoi poloi from taking up pitchforks.

Seriously...you guys crack me the fuck up.

Look! A socialist fire fighter just saved a cat! A librarian just checked out a book...for free!

BOO!!!!!!!!

[Rob Iola]

You're screaming progress and yet you're proposing that we return to the 1930's by attempting to pack the court. The Constitution is working exactly like it was designed. Blithering idiots....

if it was working as intended we wouldn't have Gorsuck on the SCOTUS

Hmm, I wonder who the nominee would have been under President Sanders? Shame that we'll never find out...

[kalm]

if it was working as intended we wouldn't have Gorsuck on the SCOTUS

Hmm, I wonder who the nominee would have been under President Sanders? Shame that we'll never find out...

[BDKJMU]

Well, make up your mind. You were probably right the 1st time. He may have been a centrist, but was no conservative, originalist would have voted for Roe v Wade or to force gay marriage on states.

Also was the 5th vote on overturning the death penalty for minors, even if were they were a day short of 18, no matter how heinous the crimes. And there have been alot of horrific crimes comitted by 17 year olds who have now escaped the death penalty..

He was right of center, how about that?

But he was spot on with Roe and Gay marriage. It comes down to personal freedom and equality - I thought you Republicans were for personal freedoms and gov't staying out your lives.

Telling a state govt to take an action (forcing to recognize gay marriage) vs continuing an inaction (not recognizing) isn’t govt staying out of peoples lives- it is the opposite. It actually increases govt involement.
Decreasing govt involvement would be getting out of the marriage business.
And I didnt see it as discrimination- any man could marry any women & vice versa. States’ rights. If its not a power granted to the fed in the Constitution then it should be left up to the states.

As far as Roe, no reason the states’ shouldnt be able to decide for themselves. States’ rights. If its not a power granted to the fed in the Constitution then it should be left up to the states.

Who do you want deciding on issues that arent mentioned in the constitution- your local stae govt, or politicians in DC?

[Col Hogan]

Of course, it doesn’t scare you...you plan to use other people’s money to fund your utopia...

Socialism can only work that way...

Except when it's used to build roads, schools, win wars, maintain public lands, and keep the hoi poloi from taking up pitchforks.

Seriously...you guys crack me the **** up.

Look! A socialist fire fighter just saved a cat! A librarian just checked out a book...for free!

BOO!!!!!!!!

So you equate a Constitutionally mandated service (the military) to being socialist???

Other government services like building roads - socialism???

Interesting perspective...dumb, but interesting...