The political story on the horizon for the holidays

or, A December Surprise?

Will the Democratic party be able to work behind the scenes in coming days to convince Justice Sotomayor to ... "step aside", the same way people allege political pressure was applied during the primaries of 2020 to convince the entire Democratic field to cede the nomination to Joe Biden "for the good of the party" and in the same way Joe himself was convinced to "step aside" from the party's nomination as the 2024 candidate, though he was not allegedly too incapacitated to serve out his term?

Some say -- those betting on her health -- that Justice Sotomayor might not be physically able to serve in her job, though she has lifetime tenure, for four more years of the coming Trump administration... and what potentially comes beyond.

For the next two months, Dems control their fate regarding proposing and confirming a new Justice to the Court, should Justice Sotomayor be convinced to retire, early, in the interest of Democratic party politics.

No doubt the more strategic minds in the party have already gamed this scenario out, in the advent of a Harris-Walz loss, and considering the Republicans flipped the Senate.  I don't know if Justice Sotomayor has had time to sit with her decision, but if you're the type of person with eyes to the front of your head looking forward in America, this is more of a news story today -- honestly -- than soccer fans behaving badly in Europe... causing destruction and suffering physical violence.

Honestly.

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1. Should Alito and Thomas Be Pushed to Retire? Conservatives Are Divided.

   Coaxing aging Supreme Court justices to give up their power and status during a window of political opportunity can be a delicate endeavor.

   30m ago

   

ADDED:  This is the wrong question because both these Justices are seen as "conservative". The incoming Republican president and Senate will have no trouble replacing either with an ideologically compatible legal mind.  There is no lack of scholars on either side of the divide...

No reason really to rush.

Strategically, the question is not whether Justice Thomas or Justice Alito will face pressure: they likely won't after the recent election.  It's the Democratic party, who have only two months left in leadership power, who would be pressuring Sotomayor to resign*, though you'll likely not get many political sources in Washington DC today going on record admitting as much...

Wait and see what happens:  it might be distasteful, but you know if the Democratic party was prepared for losses of the magnitude seen this week, the wiser younger strategic minds in the diverse party they've assembled today surely saw this situation coming...

It's Sotomayor's choice now.  Rightly her decision to make.

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* behind the scenes, of course.  Publicly, it's all about the blame game right now, and the finger pointing, and the physical jousting to change positions, redefine, get in with the "winning" crowd...  That's all wasted energy, of course.

Liz Cheney, begone!

Look ahead, dear Democratic friends, look ahead.  Don't false for false global issues designed to distract.  We know right from wrong.  We know #Change is coming, systemic change, which means addressing the underlying issues, not just tinkering on the facade making aesthetic changes while the structures rot underneath.  #YesWeCan