Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, but it doesn’t have to play out like Trump is hoping
In what can only be described as a nightmare secenario for those who oppose Donald Trump’s illegimate presidency, moderate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced that he’s retiring. This opens the door for Trump to nominate a corrupt conservative extemist who will protect his agenda and protect him from his crimes. We could be looking at the overturn of Roe v Wade, and the death of civil rights and democracy in general. But it doesn’t have to play out this way. Allow me to explain.
The midterm elections are in roughly four and a half months, and if the Democrats win the majority in the Senate, they’ll block any and all Trump nominations going forward. So the question is how we can stall Trump’s Supreme Court nominee through the midterms. It won’t be easy. Mitch McConnell has made clear that he’s willing to ram nominees through with just 51 votes. And since Pence can be counted on to break any such tie in Trump’s favor, McConnell really only needs 50 votes. There are 51 Republicans in the Senate.
So one option is for the Resistance to find a way to convince two Senate Republicans to delay the vote. None of them, even the comparatively moderate ones, will want to do this. But with Jeff Flake and Bob Corker retiring and therefore never having to answer to Trump’s base again, and the likes of Susan Collins having to answer to a moderate constituency back home, there is the possibility. We must lean on these particular GOP Senators with everything we have – but we can’t count on that alone.
If you fully understand the consequences of handing the Supreme Court to Donald Trump and the far right, then you’ll understand the importance of what I’m about to say: this is worth shutting the country down over. Massive sustained protest rallies that make it impractical for the government to function, general strikes that bring the nation to a halt, are all worthwhile possibilities. There are a number of tricks that the current Democratic Party minority in the Senate can use to stall Trump’s nominee. But much of it will require the Democrats to break every Senate rule and all but dare McConnell to have them physically dragged off the Senate floor – and the Democrats can only win a standoff like that if they’re given cover by massive public action. Be prepared to make this nomination fight your number one priority over the next few months. Everything good in your life depends on it – and that’s no exaggeration.
