Breyer’s Resignation Sparks Republican Frenzy
No, It's Not a Plot to Make Hillary President
Following several days of right wing angst over the President calling out a stupid son of bitch for being a stupid son of a bitch, controversy about the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer represents a welcome reprieve for the country.
It’s hard to believe the people who ignored their guy making fun of a reporter with disabilities, attacked the press as enemy of the people, and yanked the press passes of reporters who dared to challenge him, could spend days defending a witless fool like Peter Doocy.
Whatever…
Breyer will remain on the court until the end of this year’s term, and the ideological makeup of the court is unlikely to be changed with a Biden-nominated replacement.
It’s a win for Republicans because the party can unify behind white privilege. Faux anger over repackaging M&M candy’s marketing and disunity about supporting Russia in its threats to Ukraine can be put aside now.
Conservatives went ballistic over the idea of replacing Justice Breyer with a Black woman – something President Biden pledged to do if given the chance. It’s wrong to pick a nominee “based solely on race, gender and identity politics,” went the narrative among conservatives.
President Biden now has his first chance to shape the court, which his predecessor packed with ultra conservatives.
Identity politics? You betcha!
It's only identity politics to them when it involves an identity other than conservatives. Centering their own identity in EVERYTHING is their default to such an extent that I genuinely believe they don't even see the hypocrisy.
President Reagan said he’d put a woman on the Supreme Court and followed through on that promise with the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor. Complaints about filling quotas or identity politics were nowhere to be heard.
It’s a win for Democrats by virtue of the fact that it gives the party faithful a chance to look forward after the losing battles in the U.S. Senate over voting rights and a comprehensive package of programs capable of measurably improving the lives of millions of people.
Here’s Dan Balz at the Washington Post:
Filling the vacancy created by Breyer’s retirement could give the president a chance to shift his focus away from his failure so far to get the Senate to approve the last big piece of his domestic agenda. One Democrat speculated privately that the confirmation process could take attention away from the Build Back Better bill, possibly providing time and quiet for an alternative to emerge that could win the support of Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).
It also could turn the media spotlight away from those two Democratic senators, who have caused heartburn for the president on his domestic agenda but have otherwise supported his judicial nominees, and focus some attention instead on Republican senators such as Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, seen as two potential votes for a Biden nominee.
Biden’s first year has been a reminder that, however careful and strategic an administration tries to be about planning its moves, unexpected events create fresh obstacles that cannot be ignored. A president doesn’t have the luxury to ignore things when they arrive at the White House front door. But in this case, what has arrived is something for which the White House should be well prepared and the kind of issue with which Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is quite familiar.
It’s worth noting here that both Senators who gave the Democrats heartburn over the filibuster have supported the President’s judicial nominations.
Breyer's replacement will be the 6th Democratic nominee since 1968, compared to 21 Republican nominees.
The nominating process also provides an opportunity for a clear victory over Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s scheme to use any advantage gained in the midterm elections to brick up the flow for judicial nominees for any position.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted a statement promising “a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee” for the eventual nominee, and that they would “be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speed.”
Reuters reported that Senate Democrats “intend to confirm a Biden Supreme Court nominee on the same timeframe as the one-month timetable used by Republicans to appoint Justice Barrett.”
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I’d be remiss if I didn’t report on what’s got to be the most hairbrained take on Breyer’s retirement, courtesy of Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield:
"Joe Biden will have a chance to appoint a successor and his spokesperson, Jen Psaki, claims Joe will stand by his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman," Stinchfield said. "For Democrats, there could be no better choice than Kamala Harris. Not because she'd make a great justice -- she wouldn't; she would be a left-wing activist -- but tapping her would give Democrats a chance to rescue themselves for 2024 following Joe Biden's epic failure as president here."
According to Stinchfield, Biden "can't win" and "neither can Kamala in 2024."
"So with [Harris] out of the way and appointed to the Supreme Court, he can tap a potential contender through the Democrat bench, though that's a bench that is very weak," he continued, speculating, "What if he picked Hillary Clinton to be his vice president? Then, what if he picks Hillary Clinton and then decides to resign a short time later? Hillary gets the White House, and then ultimately the chance to run as an incumbent."
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com