This doesn't happen all that often, but I think I'm going to have to disagree with Digby on this one:
My personal feeling is that this court is going to practice a form of radical right wing judicial activism that will transform our country over the next generation. (Remember, everything the right accuses the left of doing is what they actually are doing.) Democrats will spend a major amount of time when they are in power trying to find legislative and executive remedies for the dramatic judicial tilt toward big business, fundamentalist religion and racist, discriminatory outcomes --- which will have been made in service to the Republican party and its donors. (After Bush vs. Gore I think we can finally dispense with any notion that the justices are non-partisan.)But we knew that didn't we, when the gang of 14 decided they needed to keep their powder dry for a rainy day?
I fully expect the next few years to be absolutely brutal. But beyond that, I'm not convinced. Here's why:
Justice Scalia is 71.
Justice Kennedy is 70.
Justice Ginsburg is 74.
Justice Stevens is 87.
The point here isn't that the Court is going to move left or right because of replacements. That will depend entirely on who has control of the White House and Congress. The point is that over the next decade or so, 4 of the 9 seats on the court are almost certain to change hands.
Unless you're willing to assume that internal dynamics play no role in the decisions the court hands down - and frankly, you'd be crazy to make that assumption - it's very difficult to say much about the direction of the court beyond the next few years.
Elections have consequences. So yes, its time to run the table for awhile.
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