4 ms·

Anthony Kennedy was a swing vote and he retired in 2018, so no - it was not "majority conservative". Kennedy voted in the affirmative for both Planned Parentho

Anthony Kennedy was a swing vote and he retired in 2018, so no - it was not "majority conservative". Kennedy voted in the affirmative for both Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Obergefell v. Hodges, both of which both being particularly egregious examples of legislation from the bench. I am both pro gay marriage and pro-choice - but neither of these things exist in the Constitution. Not one word. Either amend the Constitution or allow states to create their own legislation. If both Roe/Casey and Obergefell disappeared overnight - do you think abortion and gay marriage would all of a sudden become illegal in New York and California? If the Democrats don't see the judicial branch as an extension of the legislative, then why would they be threatening to pack the court with justices that will vote for their causes?

Schiendelman 6y ago
If you think those hot button issues define liberal vs conservative, you may be farther to the right than you think.
Retric 6y ago
I think you will find the overwhelming majority of things decided by the Supreme Court are ‘not in the constitution’. That’s simply not how or why it was setup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_cases_by_the_Roberts_Court https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_... First case: Attorney General did not permissibly construe Controlled Substances Act to prohibit the distribution of drugs for physician-assisted suicide 3rd: Habeas corpus relief may not be granted on the basis of debatable inferences used to overturn the trial court's finding vis-á-vis peremptory challenges 5th: Arbitrator must decide legality of contract unless arbitration clause is itself being challenged 10th: States may constitutionally limit the evidence of innocence a defendant convicted of a capital offense may present at his sentencing hearing to the evidence already presented at his trial.
cj 6y ago
Wasn't Anthony Kennedy nominated by a Republican president? > pack the court with justices Without taking a side myself, I think the problem is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_nomination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_... And more specifically: > He [Mitch McConnell] said the next Supreme Court justice should be chosen by the next president—to be elected later that year.[1][2][3] Senate Democrats criticized the move as being unprecedented, and responded saying that there was sufficient time to vote on a nominee before the election.[4] Democrats are not happy with the double standard set by Republicans of blocking a nominee when a justice dies during an election year when it's a liberal one, and not blocking (instead, quickly accelerating) a nominee when it's a conservative one.
- rubyist5eva 6y ago
  Republican presidents have been notoriously bad at nominating justices that interpret the law as written, instead of projecting their own personal views and agenda onto them. Anthony Kennedy and David Souter both being particular bad appointees, John Roberts is also pretty bad. Merrick Garland did not have the votes to be confirmed. Let's not pretend that the democrats would not ram through a justice to replace RBG in the exact same scenario where they have the White House and the Senate.
tzs 6y ago
> I am both pro gay marriage and pro-choice - but neither of these things exist in the Constitution. Not one word. Neither does straight marriage.
- rubyist5eva 6y ago
  Because marriage was supposed to be managed by _the states_ which is what the constitution says. Both Obergfell and Roe/Casey created constitutional "rights" out of thin air.

Schiendelman 6y ago

If you think those hot button issues define liberal vs conservative, you may be farther to the right than you think.

Retric 6y ago

I think you will find the overwhelming majority of things decided by the Supreme Court are ‘not in the constitution’. That’s simply not how or why it was setup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_cases_by_the_Roberts_Court https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_... First case: Attorney General did not permissibly construe Controlled Substances Act to prohibit the distribution of drugs for physician-assisted suicide 3rd: Habeas corpus relief may not be granted on the basis of debatable inferences used to overturn the trial court's finding vis-á-vis peremptory challenges 5th: Arbitrator must decide legality of contract unless arbitration clause is itself being challenged 10th: States may constitutionally limit the evidence of innocence a defendant convicted of a capital offense may present at his sentencing hearing to the evidence already presented at his trial.

cj 6y ago

Wasn't Anthony Kennedy nominated by a Republican president? > pack the court with justices Without taking a side myself, I think the problem is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_nomination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_... And more specifically: > He [Mitch McConnell] said the next Supreme Court justice should be chosen by the next president—to be elected later that year.[1][2][3] Senate Democrats criticized the move as being unprecedented, and responded saying that there was sufficient time to vote on a nominee before the election.[4] Democrats are not happy with the double standard set by Republicans of blocking a nominee when a justice dies during an election year when it's a liberal one, and not blocking (instead, quickly accelerating) a nominee when it's a conservative one.

rubyist5eva 6y ago
Republican presidents have been notoriously bad at nominating justices that interpret the law as written, instead of projecting their own personal views and agenda onto them. Anthony Kennedy and David Souter both being particular bad appointees, John Roberts is also pretty bad. Merrick Garland did not have the votes to be confirmed. Let's not pretend that the democrats would not ram through a justice to replace RBG in the exact same scenario where they have the White House and the Senate.

tzs 6y ago

> I am both pro gay marriage and pro-choice - but neither of these things exist in the Constitution. Not one word. Neither does straight marriage.

rubyist5eva 6y ago
Because marriage was supposed to be managed by _the states_ which is what the constitution says. Both Obergfell and Roe/Casey created constitutional "rights" out of thin air.