Is It Now Safe For Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Retire?

[javero]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 7:30am

Now that the election is a thing of the past I can return to reading the tea leaves. I have a sneaking suspicion that the play is to move Hillary Clinton into that spot finally. Justice Clinton has a nice ring to it.

Could she get thru the Senate confirmation process though?

Would the Libya attack work against her in that context?

What say u?

[Playbilly]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 7:35am

That would some hearing! All those old, crazy haters unleashed!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 7:51am

They don't hate her so much anymore.

Posted: 11/7/12 at 9:53am

Wow- that would be great but I'm not sure she'd want it. I think Republicans would have a hard time rejecting a former senator and Secretary of State's nomination.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 9:56am

How can she be the next president and be on the supreme court?

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 11:01am

Hillary would be easily confirmed. The Supreme Court was the number one reason to vote for Obama!

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:00pm

As much as I love her, Hillary would be a terrible Supreme Court nominee. She has no judicial experience - yes I know other nominees haven't like Kagan but they did actually work in the court system. Sure, she studied law but honestly I don't think she herself would say she's qualified.

Besides, that would ruin her chances of ever running for elected office again. Something she and I likely don't want.

To answer the original question, yes Ginsburg will retire. Breyer could theoretically retire towards the end of his term as well.

More importantly though, Kennedy and Scalia (!!!) are getting up there.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:05pm

That old f*** Scalia won't retire while a Democrat is in office.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:07pm

Let's hope Scalia gets "there" fast and That two others follow. Then let's hope Obama can get some sane 35 year olds in those seats!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:12pm

I would be very surprised if Clinton doesn't run in 2016.

Ginsburg could have retired safely and been replaced by Obama before. I believe she wants to work as long as she can, otherwise she would not have taken the risk of him losing this election before announcing her retirement. Now she can stay on as long as she feels able because it appears likely we will have twelve more years of Democrats in the White House, Obama followed by 8 of Clinton.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:28pm

That old f*** Scalia won't retire while a Democrat is in office.

It's hard to control dying...I'm genuinely not wishing that anything horrible happens to him but he is getting old.

Now she can stay on as long as she feels able because it appears likely we will have twelve more years of Democrats in the White House, Obama followed by 8 of Clinton.

That seems a bit premature. There's still a great possibility she won't run or she could not win. The Republican party of 2016, I can only assume, will be very different than the party we just saw unravel last night. Things are a mess and they will never win a presidential election with the same platform as the map continues to favor the current Democratic platform (demographic shifts in terms of more minorities, immigration, etc. especially in swing states.) For example, Arizona could easily be a toss up if both parties stuck with the same platform in 2016.

That said, some Republican strategists will wise up to this and my guess is they'll compromise like crazy on immigration (I'm predicting Dream Act passed within the next year in its entirety and they'll say it was their idea from the beginning blah, blah, blah) and then appeal to Latinos with religious rhetoric, etc. and count on short-term memory loss.

I'm not suggesting that's a winning strategy by any means (and I don't think people are so stupid to buy what will ultimately have to be a grand change) but let's not call the 2016 election now!

[Plum]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:38pm

I think Clinton's perfectly qualified - Sandra Day O'Connor had only 6 years of state-level judicial experience when she was nominated for the Supreme Court, for instance. Clinton's chief disqualification (apart from how difficult it would be to get her confirmed) is age. With the Court becoming more overtly political, every sitting President wants their legacy on there to last as long as possible, which is why they're appointing relatively young justices.

Posted: 11/7/12 at 1:39pm

" The Republican party of 2016, I can only assume, will be very different than the party we just saw unravel last night."

What in the world makes you think that? There has not been a single sign that Republicans are re-evaluating their strategy- indeed, the vast majority of the monday-morning quarterbacking has been that Romney was TOO moderate.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 2:10pm

I met Ginsberg at the SC last year - charming, delightful and tiny! I assume that she will retire in the next three years. She knows the stakes for the future!

[bobs3]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 2:16pm

Look for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to run for President in 2016. She has been slowly and quietly building coalitions across the country with Latinos, Women, Gays, African-Americans, Jews and other demographic groups. Don't let her soft-spoken demeanor fool you, she is a very shrewd and ambitious politician.



Updated On: 11/7/12 at 02:16 PM

[javero]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 2:18pm

"Clinton's chief disqualification (apart from how difficult it would be to get her confirmed) is age."

Plum, I was thinking that her age, currently 65, would place her more at a disadvantage 4 yrs out if she tried to seek her party's nomination for POTUS. Reagan was 70 when he took the oath of office the first time. As you well know a lot can happen in 4 yrs.

At 79, Ginsburg is the oldest Justice so if she has any urge to retire I believe now is the most opportune moment for the sake of continuity. In 4 yrs the nation could be suffering from Democrat-fatigue. And please don't let Jeb Bush throw his hat in the ring.

Updated On: 11/7/12 at 02:18 PM

[dreaming]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 2:39pm

I don't want Hillary to run for President. Frankly, my choices would be either Cuomo or Gillibrand. They are both electable moderates. Hillary's time has come and gone-it's time to let a new generation be heard. And I say this as a longtime admirer of hers.

As far as her being a Supreme Court Justice, I think she's qualified for the job. However, I think her talents are far better suited for an ambassador position.

Ginsberg I thought hinted she might retire if Obama was re-elected. She's very sick and I think might be inclined to retire. Updated On: 11/7/12 at 02:39 PM

[Plum]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 2:46pm

Plum, I was thinking that her age, currently 65, would place her more at a disadvantage 4 yrs out if she tried to seek her party's nomination for POTUS.

I'm not sure how that's relevant? But if we're speculating generally on Clinton's future, I don't think she's going to seek the Presidential nomination, either. If she has another political job, it'll be something less travel-heavy than Secretary of State.

ETA - Would Clinton want to live abroad as an ambassador at this point in her life? Updated On: 11/7/12 at 02:46 PM

Posted: 11/7/12 at 2:55pm

HRC will either retire to write her memoirs or run for president. I cannot imagine her seeking a lesser position after her career. And I think we will know her plans in the next few months.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 3:21pm

Hillary already wrote her memoirs.

Posted: 11/7/12 at 3:27pm

Oops! If she wanted to she could write a book about her four years at State. Personally, I am thinking more and more she'll run for President.

President Obama's first call last night (after he took Mitt's concession) was to thank Bill Clinton.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/7/12 at 10:02pm

If Ginsburg is going to retire, she should probably wait until later in 2013. Obama will probably be trying to spend push through major policy points like taxes and immigration early in the year, and it would be better if he didn't have a SCOTUS nom to distract from his agenda.