Posted on 07/06/2010 4:59:31 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued
President Obama may get liberal Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court, but conservative swing-voter Anthony Kennedy says he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Justice Kennedy, who turns 74 this month, has told relatives and friends he plans to stay on the high court for at least three more years - through the end of Obama's first term, sources said.
That means Kennedy will be around to provide a fifth vote for the court's conservative bloc through the 2012 presidential election. If Obama loses, Kennedy could retire and expect a Republican President to choose a conservative justice.
Kennedy, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, has been on the court 22 years. He has become a bit of a political nemesis at the White House for his increasing tendency to side with the court's four rock-ribbed conservative justices.
Without naming Kennedy, Obama was unusually critical of his majority opinion in the Citizens United case, handed down last January. That 5-4 decision struck down limits on contributions to political campaigns as an abridgement of free speech.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Thank you.
Best news so far, this post-July 4th.
:)
I thought Kennedy was the swing voter, with Alito, Scalia, Roberts and Thomas remaining the conservative core?
As long as Obama is in office, this is good news.
Does age bring wisdom? In some cases.
Prayers for those who may protect us from this tyrannical federal government.
Praying for his continued good health—as well as Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito!
Sounds like 2012 is getting even more important. Join or Die!
Some good news from California native Anthony Kennedy.
You're right, but to the media a moderate is a far right winger.
Indeed.
I admit, I haven’t had coffee yet and I’m a bit fuzzy. But is Kennedy the one who approved the use of “imminent domain” to kick home owners out of their homes, so that a town could allow some developers to build a hotel and other buildings that would bring in higher tax revenue?”
Kennedy, the “conservative” justice?
Of course, this news story is supposed to make patriotic constitutionalists stop worrying about another COMMUNIST being seated on the USSC.
I pray every day that Justice Kennedy has the wherewithal, the guts and the wisdom to side with the conservatives on the bench than the liberals.
Liberal reasoning is half-baked and half-assed anyway. Generally liberal thinking is not based on fact or reality.
I hope Justice Kennedy remembers that and sides accordingly.
Newsflash. Kennedy is no Conservative.
Barak Hussein in proving to be very good at alienating people; let’s hope he keeps it up through November 2012.
Why, thank you!
;)
Kennedy remembers when California was actually a good place to live, before the nuts took over!
all the conservative judges need to get personal security details immediately.
because the only thing standing in 0bama’s way to pass his ultra-liberal bs is one conservative judge... and an unfortunate accident anytime in the next 2 years.
then it’s bye-bye Constitution (by that i mean, they would probably just burn it directly instead of ignoring it)
Was he there when Reagan was Gov?
That all presumes we are wise enough to pick a conservative President in 2012 instead of Romney or a Romney clone. If we do, we will get a consensus judge who will gradually drift left.
Nope, he’s not a Conservative, but he isn’t a wacko liberal either.
I really think looking at his last few decisions he understands what an important role he plays, but also I think it’s finally setting in that siding with someone like Ginsburg is hurting our country to the point of no return.
He’s old enough to remember the good ol’ days and I think the guy sees the way things are going and has been shifting more and more to the right. Of course Obama calling them out like he did in the SoU speech helps us out also, paybacks can be a bitch and I hope it’s Kennedy that hands it to him on a silver platter.
Like the RINO Bush who gave us Roberts and Alito? Admittedly we almost didn't get Alito... except it shows RINOs do listen to conservatives whereas Democrats do not. Do you expect Roberts and Alito to "gradually drift left"?
Yep. He is a California lifer.
My guess is that as he sees TSHTF around here, he thinks about President Reagan more than he used to.
I expect Justice Kennedy to continue swerve rightward, as he has to endure the inmates running the asylum.
Just my two cents....
I guess it’s all relative ~ compared to Obummer’s appointees ~ who seemingly go to the high court with out much opposition.
What are the odds that the next president will have such an easy time getting their nominees through?
It took Bush 8 years to get 2 nominees.
The One got 2 in less than 2 years. The liberal judges were holding out for such a man. I only hope the moderate and conservative judges do the same and that the next president has the balls to pick judges who believe in the constitution instead of just playing lip service to it.
Yea, but the guy has placed himself squarely in the crosshairs of the Usurper Onada. Kennedy better be watching his back. Forming a Marxist majority Supreme Court is an absolute must for the angry commies going into the coming mid-terms and then presidential election.
IMHO we’re gonna be seeing some fairly amazing and brazen political stuff coming from the Marxists in the coming months. Hold on to your hats and Be Prepared!!!
Glad to hear that.
It’s an interesting observation. Usually we see the justices “go DC” and slide to the left, Souter being the prime example. I’m still having a hard time coming to grip with a guy who was nominated by H.W. Bush and then waited until G. W. Bush was out of office to resign.
Kennedy better watch himself.
With Zero becoming ever more desperate, Arkancide is a real possibility.
I hope he has a food & beverage taster.
Can you imagine how much better we would all sleep at night if the justices appointed by Republican presidents (over the years) actually had ruled all this time in a Republican way?
meh
Miss Grundy aka Ruth Bader has to be the next to retire.
I think ensuring a conservative pick by the next potential GOP president will depend on how strong a hand the GOP has in the Senate at the time. If we manage to elect the ghost of Reagan himself, he's going to have a hard time putting up a conservative justice if he has a weak hand in the Senate to back it up.
Current Supreme Court Ages:
Conservatives:
Scalia (74), Kennedy (73), Thomas (62), Alito (60), Roberts (55)
Communists:
Ginsberg (77), Breyer (71), Satomayor (56)
He’s not consevative, particularly on social issues. Wrote the Planned Parenthood v Casey opinion, reaffirming Roe v Wade, and while its outcome was positive Casey has disturbing language.
I believe he also authored the Lawrence v Texas opinion.
I heard Chuck Colson call him the most dangerous man in America.
I agree however that it is probably a good thing that he stays on while Obama is Pres. Two unmarried middle aged women with extremist views are enough.
sw
“I expect Justice Kennedy to continue swerve rightward, as he has to endure the inmates running the asylum.”
I think two things have influenced Kennedy to vote more now with the 4 other conservative judges. One is moral peer pressure. There are now 4 conservative CATHOLIC judges on the court. Kennedy is a Catholic. I believe he feels a kinship with his fellow Catholics on the court, and will, by nature, be more inclined to listen to their viewpoints and arguments before passing judgment. Not because of Catholicism alone as much as by common cultural backgrounds and moral upbringings.
The second factor is Kennedy was there when he and the other Supreme Court judges that attended the President’s State of the Union speech before Congress were surrounded by cheering, out of control Dems hovering directly over them and physicially surrounding them as if at a Hitler rally stacked with brownshirts; with Obama badmouthing and berating the Supremes for one of their decisions that he didn’t like (campaign finance reform bill basically shot down).
Those judges got a taste of things to come if Obama and his henchmen were to go unchecked in the future. I think Kennedy knows what the American people are dealing with having Obama as their “leader”. I expect Kennedy will side frequently with the 4 other conservative judges. He’s had a good dose of the Obama regime, and I doubt he likes what he sees in the crystal ball.
Only because Kagan had yet to be nominated at the time.
Dear Lord, please do NOT permit pres__ent 0bama the opportunity to appoint even one more Justice to the Supreme Court Of The United States.
Kennedy joined with Stevens who wrote for the majority. The other justices were the liberal ones; Breyer, Ginsberg, Souter,
Kennedy sided with the liberal fringe. It was the 2005 Kelo decision and it needs to be overturned.
Fortunately, many states adopted specific detailed lists of what constitutes ‘emminent domain’ in order to prevent a Kelo incident.
The ‘economic benefit’ that underscored the development for which the homes that were taken in Kelo, that benefit was never realized as the plans for development were abandoned. So the outcome is a tragedy for all concerned.
We are going to need the Swiftboaters, the Tea Partiers and the Minutemen more than ever before in the upcoming midterms.
Not only that, but Ginsburg isn’t getting any younger.
Only God knows whom Obama is eyeing for that slot. Prolly some 35 year old nutjob that will be on the court for 50 years!
President Obama WILL get liberal Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court . . . .
Thanks for nothing, spineless 'Pubbies. Amwerica will be stuck with Sotomayor and this horrid person for DECADES to come, delivering godawful rulings that will affect tens of millions of Americans for generations!!!
States rights vs the power size and scope of the federal government is going to play a huge role in the upcoming midterms.
The thought of Kagan on the court is not nice to think about!
I couldn’t agree more with your cogent post. Every word of it.
I would also like to add the following:
Social issues are not at the fore, right now. Obama is too timid to tackle those. But he is not shy about attacking freedom/economic rights...this is part of his entire social justice thing. I don’t believe he cares about gay rights, abortion rights, or any of that. But I DO believe Obama is obsessed with his own version of some sort of economic social justice. I think he has private property rights in his crosshairs, as well.
While I am unhappy with his vote on Kelo, I doubt he makes the identical ruling under this current regime. I choose to humor myself and think that the year he spent at the London School of Economics will count for something. Hard for me to believe he’d hand over such liberties with a dictator wannabe in office, such as we have now.
*fingers crossed*
If I were in Congress, I would filibuster Kagan’s appointment and would not stop ever.
Reagan gave us Kennedy, O’Connor, ....
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