With this shocking Supreme Court decision on campaign financing by corporations last week, it becomes very clear of the need for the Supreme Court to have an overhaul while the Democrats still have 59 members of the Senate!
With the likelihood that the Democrats will lose some seats in the Senate in the midterm 2010 elections, it becomes essential to have the two oldest members of the Court retire this coming June, allowing President Obama to fill both appointments BEFORE the midterm elections!
It is not that there is a guarantee that all of the Democrats will support whoever Obama might choose, but since GOP support is hard to gauge, it is best to replace these Court Justices now while the amount of support is likely to be greater among Democrats.
The two Justices referred to, of course, are Justice John Paul Stevens and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Stevens is reaching 90 this April, has been on the Court for 35 years and is two years away from a Court record on age and longevity, but there are hints that he might retire this summer. Ginsberg, in her high 70s, has been on the Court for 17 years, but has had serious bouts with colon and pancreatic cancer, and cannot be expected to remain on the Court much longer.
These two liberals need to do the right thing, and give President Obama the opportunity to add two choices to what would be a younger and refreshed Court, even though neither choice would change the ideological balance of the Court. But just imagine the ultimate scenario if, god forbid, the GOP somehow took over the Senate, which would mean Obama could not pick liberal choices for the Court as he would be likely to have a long drawn out battle to gain any new members’ confirmations.
Therefore, Justice Stevens and Justice Ginsberg, please do the right thing and retire at the end of this June, 2010, with the appreciation of the nation and congratulations on a job well done! 🙂