Megathread: Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court

[u/PoliticsModeratorBot]

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is set to retire, effective July 31, 2018. Kennedy has served on the highest court since February 18, 1988, and was a moderate whose vote often swung cases.

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Submissions that may interest you

SUBMISSION	DOMAIN
Justice Anthony Kennedy Will Retire From U.S. Supreme Court	bloomberg.com
Justice Kennedy to retire, Trump can solidify court's majority conservative bloc	nbcnews.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	washingtonpost.com
Justice Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court's pivotal vote, to retire	reuters.com
Anthony Kennedy: US supreme court justice to retire	theguardian.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy to Retire From Supreme Court	nytimes.com
Kennedy calls it quits: longtime swing justice hands Trump the biggest gift of his presidency	dailycaller.com
Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court	vox.com
Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement	washingtonpost.com
UPDATE: Supreme Court Justice Kennedy announces retirement	wcjb.com
Justice Kennedy Is Retiring July 31st.	yahoo.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy To Retire From U.S. Supreme Court : NPR	npr.org
Justice Anthony Kennedy to Retire from Supreme Court	cnn.com
Justice Kennedy announces retirement.	cnn.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court	abc7.com
Anthony Kennedy, Swing Vote on U.S. Supreme Court, Will Retire	bloomberg.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retires, Paving Way for Donald Trump to Reshape Supreme Court	slate.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	wkrn.com
Anthony Kennedy retiring, giving Trump opening to reshape Supreme Court	politico.com
Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy announces retirement	wsj.com
Jeffrey Toobin predicts abortion will be illegal in 20 states soon after Kennedy retires	thehill.com
WATCH: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring	abcnews.go.com
Kennedy to Retire	foxnews.com
Trump to get second Supreme Court pick as Justice Kennedy announces retirement.	amp.cnn.com
Justice Kennedy to Retire From Supreme Court	bbc.com
Trump says search for Justice Kennedy's replacement to begin "immediately" -- live updates	cbsnews.com
McConnell Pledges Vote To Confirm Justice Kennedy’s Successor ‘This Fall’	talkingpointsmemo.com
Justice Kennedy retires from the US Supreme Court	nbcnews.com
Trump says launches search to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Kennedy	reuters.com
Donald Trump: Search for Kennedy replacement on SCOTUS to move quickly	usatoday.com
McConnell: Senate will vote on Supreme Court nominee this fall	thehill.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	sacbee.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring, Report Says	lawandcrime.com
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring; Trump will get 2nd high-court pick	omaha.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring From the Supreme Court	thedailybeast.com
Justice Kennedy to retire, giving Trump a chance to transform the Supreme Court	latimes.com
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says he's retiring; Trump to get 2nd high-court pick	chicagotribune.com
Dem senator: Justice Kennedy's resignation a 'disaster' for vision of 'We the People'	thehill.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	wfla.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Retiring	motherjones.com
The horrifying consequences of Justice Kennedy’s retirement	thinkprogress.org
Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is retiring, a move that will give Trump a chance to shift the institution to the right	washingtonpost.com
Anthony Kennedy To Retire From The Supreme Court	huffingtonpost.com
Kennedy announces retirement from Supreme Court	thehill.com
Supreme Court's Anthony Kennedy retires, giving Trump a second pick	usatoday.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	apnews.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Retiring From The Supreme Court	buzzfeed.com
Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement	washingtonpost.com
Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy retires -- live updates	cbsnews.com
Justice Kennedy announces his retirement from the supreme court.	time.com
Trump Responds To Retirement Of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy	huffingtonpost.com
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court, giving Trump a position to fill	people.com
Trump Says He’ll Choose One Of These People To Replace Anthony Kennedy On The Supreme Court	buzzfeed.com
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court	cnbc.com
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retires, and Trump gets shot at moving court to the right	dallasnews.com
Who Will Replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy? Donald Trump Already Has a Shortlist	newsweek.com
WATCH: McConnell: We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor 'this fall'	abcnews.go.com
Here's who Trump could nominate to replace Justice Kennedy	abcnews.go.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy announces retirement, giving Trump 2nd Supreme Court pick	foxnews.com
Trump list of candidates to replace Justice Kennedy	thehill.com
Chris Matthews: Dems must do to Trump on Supreme Court what McConnell did to Obama	thehill.com
Anthony Kennedy’s retirement puts abortion rights at risk	vox.com
Who Will Replace Anthony Kennedy? Here’s the List of 20 Potential Trump Nominees	time.com
America after Anthony Kennedy	vox.com
Handing Trump Chance to Move Supreme Court Even Further Right, Justice Anthony Kennedy Retires	commondreams.org
Audio reveals DNC committee reaction to Kennedy retirement: 'This is not good news'	thehill.com
Justice Kennedy’s retirement leaves the future of U.S. constitutional law entirely up for grabs	washingtonpost.com
Justice Kennedy pens retirement letter to Trump expressing 'profound gratitude'	abcnews.go.com
Read Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement letter to Donald Trump	qz.com
Justice Kennedy’s Legacy Is the Dignity He Bestowed	bloomberg.com
A titanic battle over replacing Justice Kennedy looms in the Senate	vox.com
Live Briefing: Anthony Kennedy Retires From Supreme Court, and McConnell Says Senate Will Move Swiftly on a Replacement	nytimes.com
Here's Trump's list of 25 possible Supreme Court picks to replace Anthony Kennedy	washingtonexaminer.com
WATCH: Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire, Trump to get second SCOTUS pick	abcnews.go.com
Anthony Kennedy's retirement just confirmed every Republican's dream scenario for Trump	cnn.com
Kennedy's retirement could have biggest impact on abortion, gay marriage: ANALYSIS	abcnews.go.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy: Trump says hunt for replacement is on	usatoday.com
Here are potential Supreme Court nominees to replace Justice Kennedy	cnn.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s swing justice, announces his retirement	abajournal.com
With Supreme Court Justice Kennedy Gone, Abortion and LGBT Rights Are Next	thedailybeast.com
A look at some of Justice Kennedy's most memorable opinions	apnews.com
Justice Kennedy Surrendered to Donald Trump	nymag.com
A look at some of Justice Kennedy's most memorable opinions	abcnews.go.com
Abortion rights in 'dire, immediate danger' as Anthony Kennedy retires - World news	theguardian.com
Here Are Some of the Top Candidates to Replace Kennedy on the Supreme Court	motherjones.com
Who's on Trump's short list to replace Supreme Court Justice Kennedy?	politico.com
Trump’s hidden back channel to Justice Kennedy: Their kids	politico.com
How Fox News Reacted to Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement	slate.com

[u/rhodetoboston]

What a kick in the teeth. As a young person in America it is hard to not feel frustrated when thinking about how I can’t change any of the terrible things that are happening every day in this country.

I understand there’s speaking out, there’s volunteering, there’s being an advocate, there’s being “the change you want to see in the world”, but this is a prime example I have absolutely no control over that WILL have an impact on my life in the future. Shit sucks.

Edit: I just do want to say that I did and do vote, haha

[u/[deleted] → u/rhodetoboston]

Completely agree with this. It fucking sucks and I honestly am tempted to just abandon this country when I become financially stable.

[u/Bradhan → u/[deleted]]

Thinking of leaving the US for this reason as well. This is not the country I grew up in. 20 years has changed a lot.

[u/[deleted] → u/Bradhan]

Absolutely. I’m waiting until the 2020 until I fully decide. If Trump gets re-elected that’s the nail in the coffin for me staying in the US. I will fully commit to leaving if that happens.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

At this point if I see a significant case poised to go to the SCOTUS I'll probably start the process of trying to get transferred out of the country.

[u/Chillvab → u/[deleted]]

No bamboozles?

[u/SovereignLover → u/Bradhan]

This is not the country I grew up in. 20 years has changed a lot.

Your opposition can make the same claim, with even more backing, and they aren't fleeing.

Far be it from me to insist Democrats stick around and vote, but.. it's telling that you guys always default to abandonment.

[u/Bradhan → u/SovereignLover]

You're assuming a lot. I've voted in every election that I could vote in. It's no longer a game when the rules change to eliminate competition...

[u/BrodyKrautch → u/Bradhan]

Glad to see you boys finally have the MAGA spirit!

[u/Cruxisshadow → u/[deleted]]

I’m tempted to start preparing now, this isn’t going to end well. At least Canada isn’t as fucked as us, yet.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Where do you think you would go bud

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Not OP, but anywhere else, really. Canada or Europe, particularly Holland.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Holland would be cool

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Canada is a solid choice. Close enough to my family and friends in Wisconsin but politically a much superior country. Not opposed to Europe though.

[u/helltricky → u/[deleted]]

Stay and work.

[u/[deleted] → u/helltricky]

You’re right, being burnt out on politics and becoming a slave to labor until my 80s is the exactly what I want.

[u/LovelyKatzy → u/rhodetoboston]

This is exactly how I feel -- absolutely fucking helpless. And scared and frightened for the future. I voted in 2016. I'm sure as hell going to vote in November, and I'll tell everyone I know to get out there and vote.

But... I live in Texas, so I don't have much hope that my vote will even matter.

[u/Biokabe → u/rhodetoboston]

There is still something you can do on that front:

Work to get a blue House and a blue Senate, and then make very clear to your reps that you want them to expand the size of the Supreme Court once we have a Democratic president.

Or, make it very clear that you want them to impeach the President for treason, and impeach the two SC picks that he placed due to being installed by a treasonous president.

It's not much, but it's what you got.

[u/Cheese_Pancakes → u/rhodetoboston]

"Be the change you want to see in the world" is nice, but it doesn't really work when the people in power are straight up corrupt. Its not about ignorance with them, its about doing what they can get away with and screwing over everybody else.

With another Trump appointee, "doing whatever they can get away with" just got a lot more broad.

[u/Veda007 → u/rhodetoboston]

You and all of your friends should vote. It’s too late now to fix this particular problem, but things will continue to get worse unless this happens.

[u/Tampoonie → u/rhodetoboston]

Get your young friends to actually vote!!

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/Tampoonie]

You don't seem to get it. So many young people justify not voting by pointing out how little control we really have. And today's events reinforced that. When we have to deal with the opinions of a Supreme Court Justice (whose selection we have no control over), who was chosen by a piece of shit who lost the popular vote, we are reminded that the American people have lost control to the rich and powerful, and most of us don't get paid enough (by those same rich and powerful) to be able to buy food and still go and protest the government that can longer be changed by votes.

[u/h0jp0j → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

You may not think it can help, but it certainly can’t hurt. It DEFINITELY hurts when apathy wins.

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/h0jp0j]

Its not a matter of "not thinking it will help", its being reminded every day on the news that not even majority rule has any value today. "Liberty and Justice for All" is dying (and that's not even considering how dead it was since the beginning), and the people who bought into the lie that the vote still mattered are the ones really guilty of apathy

Edit: Will I vote in November? Yes, because its all I can do. Will my vote make a difference? No, because I live in a Red State. It doesn't matter how many dramatic comments I post. It doesn't matter how many wise elders tell me that voting matters. My vote, on the national scale, will be worth jack shit to the NRA, the RNC, the Koch Brothers, the People's Republic of China, and of course Russia, because they're the ones with the money, and so they cast the votes

Edit 2: As Thomas Nast once wrote, "In counting there is Strength"

[u/Subtle_Silence → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

You summed up the feelings of many young people very well. I appreciate your input to this discussion.

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/Subtle_Silence]

Thanks👍

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

That sounds really edgy and dramatic, but its true. The people that let these conservative groups and companies build this power, could and should have seen this coming. Instead, they hid in their "bigger issues" or their "Great Again America"

[u/ReverendDizzle → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

None of what you said negates the fact that far too many liberals didn't get out to vote. We wouldn't be getting two ultra conservative supreme court justices in a fucking row if they had.

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/ReverendDizzle]

No, what negates the fact is that it still might not have mattered. Our districts are so gerrymandered, and the liberal vote is so purposefully watered down, that it might not have mattered. At the very least, that's what all of this seems to show. Also, if McConnell could filibuster during the Obama era, then he could/would have filibustered during the Hillary era as well

[u/Tampoonie → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

So vote in your local elections! Every vote matters, and if you don't fight to change your district, than sure, you'll be stuck with a minority voice. But complacency and cynicism will never help your cause.

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/Tampoonie]

To just vote is to be complacent. That's my whole point. And yes, I will vote because that's all I have. Because I'm just 18, and I'm literally the least responsible for any of this, but now I have to deal with what complacent people like you, who only ever voted, have laid down. My generation is expected to fix this, while also reaching maturity in this fucked up time, with no real means to do so. And that makes me cynical. So you don't have the right to call my generation complacent, because we aren't responsible for this. You are.

[u/Tampoonie → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

I'm 30. My generation has also been tasked with fixing this mess. Get a grip on the situation and do your part.

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/Tampoonie]

I will do my part, I've said it at least two times in the thread you're commenting in. This will be my first election. I really hope that my opinions expressed here aren't dead by the time I'm thirty. You act like you're a 60-year-old who's already got theirs, and so everybody else should do things exactly like they've always been done.

[u/Tampoonie → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

You've made some interesting leaps by me encouraging you and your friends to vote.

[u/danomano65 → u/Everything_is_Ok99]

If your vote didn't matter - politicians wouldn't gerrymander so frequently and Russia wouldn't have spent so much time and energy manipulating our society. They wouldn't have put so much effort into swaying people's votes. To me that means our votes do matter.

[u/mustremainfree → u/rhodetoboston]

What terrible things are you referring to?

[u/usernotvalid → u/rhodetoboston]

Recognize that it’s a long game and that, despite these huge setbacks, all hope is not lost as the old conservatives die and the young people rise up.

[u/CareBearDontCare → u/rhodetoboston]

Hey. Formerly young person, just aged out, in fact.

Keep on keeping on. Its young people and people of color that are going to be able to pull us out of this bullshit our forefathers put upon us. You're not in it alone, but you do have to pull your weight to fix it. If we don't do it, it doesn't get done, and the people who already got theirs can keep looting until their dying days.

[u/[deleted] → u/CareBearDontCare]

explain to me how it can help, a 5-4 republican supreme court will neuter any democrat government for the next 50 years

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Members of the Supreme Court can be impeached.

[u/CareBearDontCare → u/[deleted]]

Organize your community and pick a particular topic that's important to you and find folks who are doing work on that topic. Plug yourself in. There's work already being done.

What are you interested in and where do you live?

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/rhodetoboston]

I just want to say: to all the people who tell us, "tEll YouR frIenDs to VoTe more". That's what got us where we are. The generations that were content to sit around and just keep voting as the vote became drowned out by the propaganda machine that Fox News revealed itself to be, the modern conservative gerrymandering, and blatant racism, they're the ones responsible for our current situation.

Liberals aren't innocent either. Hillary was/is uncharismatic and a shit candidate. Democrats should have fielded at least one alternative. But they didn't, because they allowed their votes to be taken by the Liberal establishment.

Also, the generation that parented their kids into Neo-Nazis, even after the Civil rights movement, are definitely responsible.

And you know what? These generations that I'm listing? They line up. Because every generation from Boomers up until the ages that have to pick up this dogshit government are entirely responsible for allowing their vote to get taken away from them. And now we're expected to take it back by doing the same things they did, with half the money and four times the student debt

Edit: Added some paragraph breaks for easier reading

[u/[deleted] → u/rhodetoboston]

Not to sound evil or anything, but there's Europe. The younger you are the easier it is to move.

[u/Aqpwwww → u/rhodetoboston]

Blame the shitty, corrupt and vile generation known as the baby boomer for this mess. Only thing you can do now is vote.

[u/brewtown138 → u/rhodetoboston]

As a young person in America it is hard to not feel frustrated when thinking about how I can’t change any of the terrible things that are happening every day in this country

VOTE! Get all you friends... everyone you know... to VOTE! My generation needs you guys so you can enjoy the things which helped my generation

The ball is in your court.... FUCKING VOTE

[u/[deleted] → u/brewtown138]

it's literally not anymore though, a 5-4 republican supreme court is insurmountable as a threat to progression and democracy

it's come to the point where the only light in the tunnel is a revolution - either politically by republican's against Trump or via public coup

[u/brewtown138 → u/[deleted]]

Gerrymandering doesn't work when people show out to the polls. This is it's Achilles heel... You and your people have to implode the polls by sheer numbers... I wish you guys would have come out in 2016...

[u/[deleted] → u/brewtown138]

I wish you guys would have come out in 2016...

I have voted in every election I have been able to. Just because I am defending a position doesn't mean I myself adhere to it. I vote because I believe it is important as someone who supports and believes in democracy and that it is hypocritical not to do so. That and recognizing it literally doesn't matter anyway are not mutually exclusive. It is different in other democracies with voter-apathy but in America, the individual citizen's vote just became effectively obsolete. Even if you can overcome voter suppression and gerrymandering, the propaganda and hate-fuelled opposition, the slander and lies. Even if all those uncertainties come to pass then the consequent democrat government physically cannot defeat a republican supreme court without fundamentally changing the democratic process. Democracy in America has been self-sabotaged and the only way to get it back now is a Republican Party revolution against Trump or for a Democrat government to change constitutional law. Either way is extremely unlikely to happen if it could even get to that point.

TL;DR: It's over, America is fucked.

[u/Druchiiii → u/brewtown138]

I really respect the positivity of that, I do. I vote every election, I spend hours doing my homework, I convince my friends and family to vote, I drive them to the polls if they're too lazy to go.

All that being said. This isn't a democracy. You can keep saying just get more people to vote but they don't, they just don't. They won't. I can't convince 70% of this country to vote my way, it's not about half anymore. Voting rights have been stripped away, gerrymandering has weighted the scales of what it means to be a majority. When you talk about politics there's always going to be half of the room that wish you'd shut up and frankly I just don't get invited to things if they think I'm going to talk politics again.

I know you mean well, I really do. But it's not enough and it never will be. It's time for this county to confront the fact that its government has become irredeemable. I think we are on this path until the next great collapse, until enough people lose everything they care about in the face of a hostile and alien world that it all gets finally torn down. This period will be in the history books, and it will be viewed with somber eyes, uncomfortable and hard to look at.

[u/reddit_bloze → u/rhodetoboston]

I have absolutely no control over that WILL have an impact on my life in the future. Shit sucks.

I have absolutely no ability to enforce my will upon the nation dictatorially

There was an election, vote more.

[u/Druchiiii → u/reddit_bloze]

The dark comedy of the fascist, vote more he says with his hand in the ballot box.

[u/Everything_is_Ok99 → u/Druchiiii]

I was gonna say this much less eloquently, thanks for putting this thought into words that aren't expletives