Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Stopped Clock Is Right Alert

Today's contestant: Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, at a South Carolina barbecue.

Something I want you all to think about is that the next president of the United States, whoever that individual may be, could choose up to three, maybe even four members of the Supreme Court,” he said. “Now this isn't about who's going to be the president of the United States for just the next four years. This could be about individuals who have an impact on you, your children, and even our grandchildren. That's the weight of what this election is really about.” 
“That, I will suggest to you, is the real question we need to be asking ourselves,” he continued. “What would those justices look like if, let's be theoretical here and say, if it were Hillary Clinton versus Rick Perry? And if that won't make you go work, if I do decide to get into the race, then I don't know what will.”

Yes.  Rick Perry was 100% right about something actually important.  Steve Benen explains:

To appreciate why, consider a chart.
 
If we assume that the current court does not change for the remainder of the Obama presidency – and really, no one can even say that for sure – three justices will be at least 80 by Inauguration Day 2017. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be 83. (In the chart, blue lines refer to justices appointed by Democratic presidents; red lines refer to justices appointed by Republican presidents.) 
The significance of these statistics is important: as the Bloomberg Politics piece added, “The average retirement age for a U.S. Supreme Court justice is 78.7, a 2006 study in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy found.”

Imagine what the Court would look like with Scalia and Kennedy replaced by Hillary Clinton picks.

Now imagine what the Court would look like with Ginsberg and Breyer replaced by Jeb Bush's nominees.

Still think there's no difference between the two parties, and no reason to vote for Hillary Clinton if she's the nominee?

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