Rachel just dropped a possible nightmare

[rainy]

that Kennedy might retire on Monday😰 If he does I hope we insist that Merrick Garland be placed. The Dems better FIGHT for this one!

[BainsBane]

1. Where is this coming from?

[rainy]

3. Rachael Maddow just said it's a possibility.

Based on a rumor going around. Told us to keep an eye on Monday the last day of SC session.

[furtheradu]

7. Yikes.

Like we don't have ENOUGH to be freakin OUT about, right now!

[BainsBane]

9. She shouldn't be repeating rumors

It's irresponsible.

[still_one]

27. You are right Bains. There is enough anxiety going on among people who may lose their

health insurance, and some think it is amusing to float this rumor about.

Incidentally, this rumor was going around shortly after the election

Hopefully, there is no validity with it, but it should have been obvious that the SC was the most obvious issue at state this election, and some self-identified progressives who refused to vote for the Democratic nominee obviously could care less

[ellie]

10. I have heard this

rumor from several different places.

[DURHAM D]

2. They fought the last one. nt

[Hortensis]

22. Exactly. What about Republican control of congress

and the WH do some not understand? For better and worse, our system stands. This is America's "worse" period.

[nini]

4. Fight how?

Honestly .. we are fucked until 2018 with this kind of crap.

Don't get me wrong.. Rolling over is out of the question but how can we even do that?

[Blue_true]

16. I agree.

What the fuck are we supposed to do, roll into Washington DC is tanks? Our chance as Democrats to prevent this was lost on November 8, 2016 and earlier when many chose to attack Hillary Clinton and say they would not vote for her and that no one else should.

[nini]

19. I cant believe how shortsighted some people are

It's like they dont understand how much is at stake beyond their purity tests - oh wait.

[Hortensis]

23. So, we're supposed to jettison our republic? A putsch?

In extremely basic terms, you owe the fact that you'll be able to go to the grocery store tomorrow without worry of being arrested for being on the streets and find full shelves, that lights will come on when you flick a switch and life-giving water when you open the spigot to the fact that our republic stands. My husband's Jewish in the deep south, but the police will come if we call 911 because our republic stands.

Every two years our republic guarantees us the opportunity to revolt legally without worrying that millions of us will die. Suggest we ALL exercise our brains to keep them in good shape for voting. Although our right is now famous around the planet for its destructive idiocy, failure to understand the magnificence of our republic and need to protect it is not limited to them.

[Blue_true]

33. Great observations.

Sometimes we put gas on ourselves and then wonder why republicans throw a match our way. We need to make a practice of voting.

Times are changing. Me and my brother were riding around yesterday on the way to an appointment. I noticed in seperate cases, two White middle aged men that had young kids with them that looked mixed Black and White. The behavior of the adults seemed just the same as it would be if the kids were White, they held their hands when risk like passing cars was near and seemed to be explaining stuff to the kids. Those men were most likely the fathers or grandfathers of the kids, they were doing what good fathers and grandfathers do. Sometimes life can seem much darker than it is when a person sees only darkness and not some of the simple beauties of life that we witness every day.

[Hortensis]

38. Yes. We need to really look around and realize what

we have and have always had and how giant lies are being used to encourage people to passively accept the dismantling of the great nation our forebears left to our keeping.

[still_one]

28. We stand a better chance of recapturing the House than the Senate in 2018, and either way,

2018 is far from a given

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Just speculation, because Monday is the last day of the Supreme Court's term

until October. His predecessor, Lewis Powell, announced his retirement on the last day of the court's term so she was speculating Kennedy might do the same.

[furtheradu]

6. Why would Kennedy retire? Wtheck?

No cable here, & next to no wifi, so any info, details, are greatly appreciated!
WTH!?!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Just speculation, nobody knows anything.

[furtheradu]

17. Thank YOU.💖

I am SO trying to NOT freak the heck OUT.
OMMMMMMMMM.
My whole real life is SO bizarre..cuz of trump & trumpers.
EEEEEK! & WTHECK!
EEK!

[BainsBane]

11. Yeah, what do you mean by "fight for this one"?

They filibustered the last one and McConnell had to change the Senate rules to get him confirmed. How can they do more than filibuster? The GOP controls the Senate completely.

[tritsofme]

12. This post was written in an alternate reality, with all due respect.

How do you think we could possibly get Garland seated?

Democrats in the minority are powerless to stop whoever Trump nominates to such a vacancy.

The "fight with everything right now" faction already screwed up any sort of strategy to defeat future extreme nominees that could have been defeated by forcing Senate Democrats to blow their one procedural tool in a futile temper tantrum over Gorsuch. Now the future of the Court rests on the shoulders of people like Susan Collins and maybe Dean Heller...we're screwed.

[Lee-Lee]

13. Pretty much this

The nuclear option rule change is still in effect. We are pretty much powerless to stop whoever he nominates.

[demtenjeep]

14. why the fuck would he do this

does he not know how fucked even more we would be

[UTUSN]

15. His sons have ties to Drumpf-Inc; he's been friendly to Ivanka; &

up in Olympus I don't think they care about us.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Jesus. Can he at least wait until after the redistricting decision?

Jeee-zus fuck.

[fallout87]

20. Bullshit

I wouldn't put it past the orange lunatic to nominate Ted Cruz!

[MarcA]

21. If these events continue more people will turn against government

which may be what the Rthugs want anyway. This will open more challenges
and opportunities.

[Demsrule86]

30. I don't believe that.

I see no revolution in our future...despite Sarandon's nonsensical ideas.

[octoberlib]

24. Chris Hayes was the first one who floated

this rumor yesterday on Twitter .Supreme Court reporter Chris Geidner replied that it was bullshit Geidnersaid that he was just at the SC and Kennedy had just hired a bunch of new law clerks for his team. The GOP is putting massive pressure on Kennedy to step down by floating rumors like this.

[rainy]

25. Well this is a relief!

[still_one]

26. Which part of "we are the minority party" do you not understand? Elections have consequences

[Demsrule86]

29. And how exactly do we do that? We have no way to stop them. During the campaign, Hillary supporters

warned everyone that this was a very important election for the courts...people should have listened.

[MineralMan]

31. As a minority party in the Senate, we can't "insist" on anything.

We lost the election in 2016. We are seeing the result of that, as predicted would happen if we lost.

We can't "insist" on Merrick Garland.

Understanding how our system works is fundamental. Too many people don't understand that.

[SCantiGOP]

34. As Reagan said, "There you go again"

Injecting facts into the discussion.

[MineralMan]

35. As much as I dislike doing that, someone has to.

There is so much misunderstanding of the realities we are facing, and that can prevent people from doing things that actually help us. It is very frustrating to see people depending on hopes that are actually hopeless, and can't happen. It's a waste of time and energy. We need to be working on what we CAN do, like making sure Democrats regain majorities in Congress. That will actually accomplish something.

Sometimes, I grow weary of always having to post things like this, but I will persist in doing so.

[Goprox]

32. Any fight would be futile. They can use the nuclear option

And that would be it.

[BainsBane]

36. They already did invoke the nuclear option

over Gorsuch.

[CakeGrrl]

37. They can fight all they want, GOP has majority and will USE it

to every advantage.

For people who didn't bother going to the polls to help prevent total GOP control over the government, this is going to be a long, difficult civics lesson to learn.