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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsElie Mystal: "Sotomayor will be allowed to continue in her post"
This phrasing really bothers me. Allowed by whom?
https://archive.is/rgKVO
As the oldest of the three liberal justices, Sotomayor should retire now, and Biden and the Democrats should ram through a replacement before they leave office, and that replacement should essentially be a 20-year-old recent law graduate who can be counted on to outlive the coming darkness of one-party Republican rule.
Of course, thats not going to happen. Sotomayor will not retire, and Democrats will not push through a replacement. The reasons for this are simple: Democrats continue to refuse to use their power maximally when it comes to the federal judiciary. The party is, in a word, weak, and lacks the strength of will to do what is necessary. Sotomayor will be allowed to continue in her post, leaving all of us to hope she outlives a Trump administration or a Vance administration or a Senate controlled by Republicans.

Sundance1220
(285 posts)isn't the point. Using words like "she will be allowed" is ridiculous. The decision is hers alone.
madaboutharry
(41,626 posts)There is no reason for this nonsense.
Homoudont
(100 posts)70 years old with Type 1 Diabetes. Average age for a female with Type 1 Diabetes is 68. Coupled with her father dying in his 40's it might be a recipe for disaster. On the upbeat note her mother lived into her 90's. Let's hope Sotomayer can make it into her 90's too.
Ocelot II
(122,967 posts)viva la
(3,931 posts)That's how he stopped Obama's pick in 2016.
doc03
(37,421 posts)Captain Stern
(2,224 posts)McConnell is not the Senate's majority now, like he was back in 2016.
viva la
(3,931 posts)He has dozens of ways to slow things down. Remember when Tuberville put a stop to the approval of all the army general officers? Schumer was majority leader then too, and couldn't stop him.
McConnell probably told Tubby how to do that.
They just have to stop it for 2 months. Then suddenly, after Jan 21, they'll have a lightning quick hearing and vote for, you know, Justice Aileen Cannon, or Alina Habba.
BlueTsunami2018
(4,154 posts)Chuck Shumer is.
But were not a united party, we have assholes like Manchin and Sinema who certainly wont help us ram through a new Justice the way Republicans did.
I hate to agree with the assessment but its true, this is a weak party that refuses to wield power ruthlessly to maximum effect because of how it might look.
Which is why we are where we currently are. The GOP just wanted it more.
Sympthsical
(10,411 posts)And the reality is that Manchin and Sinema wouldn't go for it in a lame duck session. Simple as that. And now that they're retiring, they have extra incentive to just not care outside of whatever financial interests are beckoning them beyond the Senate.
Agree with OP. The verbiage is weird. Didn't realize Sotomayor needed anyone's permission to do anything at all.
This isn't really an RBG situation, because RBG was very ill for a long time. It was known. It was pretended over (I will never ever forget videos of those "work out" routines. It was a bizarre break from reality that fascinates me to this day).
Sotomayor seems to be chillin. She's a great justice. I'm cool with her chillin if that's what she so chooses.
MichMan
(14,127 posts)Passages
(1,849 posts)It is unrealistic for it not to be. No matter how many want to hold the voters responsible, they are the only way out of this disaster.
Celebrities please go home too.
Voltaire2
(15,226 posts)I don't understand the confusion over this utterly bullshit suggestion. If Sotomayor resigned she would not be replaced by this session. She would instead be replaced by the next session, by Trump. It is, have I mentioned this?, an utterly bullshit suggestion.