Suddenly Sonia Times Two

ABC News is reporting that the White House is preparing to handle not one, but two possible retirements from the Supreme Court over the next few months.

Court watchers believe two of the more liberal members of the court, justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, could decide to step aside for reasons of age and health. That would give the president his second and third chance to shape his legacy on the Supreme Court.

Last week, when Obama took the nearly unprecedented step of criticizing the court's opinion in a major campaign finance case during his State of the Union speech, some believed he was showcasing for the American people that presidential elections, and Supreme Court nominations count.

"With all due deference to separation of powers," the president said, " last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections. I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities."

Doug Kendall, of the progressive Constitutional Accountability Center, said the president's message was clear: "President Obama's spirited reaction to Citizens United at the State of the Union indicates he fully understands the importance of the federal judiciary and the ability of the Supreme Court to stand in the way of his administration's agenda."

Kendall hopes Obama's dressing down of the majority will translate into greater attention to the judicial nomination and confirmation process.

Although five of the six justices who attended the speech sat poker faced when Obama made his comments, Justice Samuel Alito, who voted with the majority, reacted by shaking his head in irritation.

If a justice from the conservative block like Alito were to would retire, there could be a seismic shift on the court, likely giving Obama the chance to reverse the court's majority voting bloc. But speculation has centered on the liberal end of the bench.

And therein lies the problem.  As HuffPo's Sam Stein pointed out last year, at least one Senate Republican has to vote to allow any nominee to pass the Judiciary Committee, and it would take 60 votes in the overall Senate to beat that block.  The Republicans could in fact completely filibuster any pick.  They didn't on Sonia Sotomayor.  But 2009 wasn't an election year either, and Arlen Specter's party swap gave the Dems 60 votes.  That's no longer the case now.

It's entirely possible that the GOP will demand conservative Alito/Roberts style justices or they will simply filibuster the proceedings for months or longer.  They don't care.  Why not simply force a 7-person court (and get 4-3 rulings on everything with the Roberts/Alito/Thomas/Scalia bloc) until the GOP gets a President in to replace Ginsberg and Stevens with even more conservatives?  Why would the GOP not want to shut down the Judiciary at this point to continue their Tyranny of the Minority?

I'm no parliamentarian or legal expert, but it seems to be I've been right when I've said time and time again that the GOP has no shame and will see this government burn before giving Barack Obama any victories.  By making sure government can't work and blaming the people in charge, the Republicans gain power.  Since the Democrats still treat the Republicans as rational actors, the GOP wins again and again.

So somebody tell me why won't this turn into another GOP victory?  The Teabaggers are talking about bringing back literacy tests and other voting requirements to disenfranchise millions.  The GOP leader in the House says there's no difference between the GOP and the Teabaggers.  They are insane and will demand wholeheartedly that the GOP prevent anyone even remotely sane from reaching the bench.

You think Joe Biden will fix the filibuster rules?  Forget about it.  The Dems will fold again and again on this.  Have they passed health care reform?  Repealed DADT?  Reined in the banks that cost us trillions?  They've done a lot, but on the really important stuff they've dropped the ball.  And none of it will get done until the Dems agree that the Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to govern and would rather destroy America and its people than to allow a Democrat to improve anything for anyone.

This will be no different.  Watch.