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Brando's avatar

I think the nomination dynamics also depend on a lot of what the replacement level would be--that is, it'd have been easier for Obama to replace RBG with a liberal (a one for one exchange) than it would have been for him to replace Scalia with even a moderate. Notice how even a conservative like Mitt Romney voted for KJB because she was a liberal replacement for another liberal (Breyer). I doubt that would have happened if she was replacing Thomas. So while yes there's a risk Sotomayor's replacement could be blocked by Republicans plus Manchinema, I suspect it'd be the same dynamic as replacing Breyer simply because it wouldn't be a net loss for conservatives. Plus, if her replacement is also Hispanic, a lot of moderates and even some conservatives may not like the optics of blocking them. And, if there really is a risk of blocking, she could make her retirement contingent on a replacement being voted on.

Fernandez's comments are absurd, and she should be embarrassed to make them. We do not OWE our justices or politicians anything, it is they who owe the people they serve. If Sotomayor was really a "wise" Latina, she'd notice that the Senate map isn't great for liberals, 15 years on the bench is a pretty solid career already, and her biggest legacy will be who gets to replace her. Either Biden will do it with a Dem Senate, or...someone else will. Does she want her legacy to be Aileen Cannon (don't say it couldn't happen!)? Where the swing justice is no longer Kegs, but Gorsuch?

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Mike Adamson's avatar

Mmmm, day drinking and movie matinees. Good article.

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