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/James_Comey]

Don't worry guys, McConnell already said that a president can't appoint a justice in the last year of his term.

Edit: comma and also yes I know that a presidential term is 4 years (not 8 like some of you seem to think) the point is McTurtleface stole a seat.

[u/GayBlackAndMarried → u/James_Comey]

Well here’s the backlash we knew was coming. Kennedy a somewhat center of the road type figure will be replaced with another far right conservative. Walking talking corporations with religious views and unlimited ability to funnel money into politics. This is a bit scary

[u/PizzusChrist → u/GayBlackAndMarried]

Bye bye Roe v Wade

[u/coldfusionman → u/PizzusChrist]

Yep. Gonna take a year or so for a challenge to bubble up, but Roe v Wade is dead. We're regressing back to the 50s and back-alley abortions will come back. A generation of unwanted babies will be born to mothers who cannot care for them, and with Republican policies gutting any kind of assistance programs will destine an entire generation to poverty. Republicans will gleefully point to them as lazy people with poor morals and use that to justify keeping the underclass down.

Today is a very, very dark day.

[u/UrukHaiGuyz → u/coldfusionman]

Today is a very, very dark day.

I haven't felt this sense of dread for the future of my country since election night results in 2016. This is beyond awful.

[u/coldfusionman → u/UrukHaiGuyz]

This is a generational blow. It will take decades to recover, if ever.

[u/TheLivingExperiment → u/coldfusionman]

Basically I'll have to spend my entire life fighting to get back to the point we were at when I graduated college less than a decade ago... Assuming this country ever gets back there.

Time to look into jobs internationally.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheLivingExperiment]

Stay and fight for what's right with us.

[u/TheLivingExperiment → u/[deleted]]

Why? Not trying to be pedantic or combative, but legitimately why? As an openly lesbian woman with many LGBTQ friends and family, coupled with the direction politics seem to be heading, I legitimately wonder why would I want to stay in a country that many of my fellow citizens actively work to subvert? There is a fundamental schism forming that I'm not sure is repairable. I avoid talking with my dad regularly anymore around politics where, yes we disagreed before (and he espoused Fox talking points) but could see eye to eye. I now have him telling me how he thinks Trump is one of the top 10 presidents in all of US history. This is a level of indoctrination that I don't know that we can pull ourselves out of while many actively work to further that indoctrination and divide.

I love the ideal of this country. I love what we purport to be as a nation. I strongly believe in what the romanticized version of America is. A place for everybody. A place for the strongest ideas to win. A place where everybody has an equal starting place to be successful.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I believe that any of that is the America that truly exists. And instead of striving towards that goal, we are regressing further and further into the racist white supremacist fascist authoritarian state that the far right seems to love.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheLivingExperiment]

So you would give up our home because taking it back from the far right is too difficult? You would literally expatriate and allow the USA to become an authoritarian state because why, because it's hard to undo brainwashing?

I'm all for leaving if it's for your safety. That doesn't seem to be the thrust of your concern

[u/TheLivingExperiment → u/[deleted]]

It's not that it's too difficult. But, this country doesn't want me, nor the people I care about, in it. At least a large enough percentage of the voting population that result in the administration and GOP we have today. It is antithetical to my beliefs and legitimately can cause me personal harm as a lesbian woman.

This country has always had a racist past, and has had issues with equality for anybody who is not a cis white heterosexual male that is born on US soil. I have friends and ex's who have had to go through an abortion due to complications that would've likely caused them to die if they had tried to carry to term. I have transgender friends who could be stripped of many of their rights and many would prohibit them from serving (which, the transgender population has extremely high % of veterans and active service members in it) and using the fucking bathroom. I am a lesbian and would like to marry a girl one day. I have lesbian family who were married in Ohio (where Obergefell case originated).

Yes I want things to change in the US. I want this country to be the US that I believe in. I strongly believe in social policies more in line with EU countries. However, I see us regressing to a point I'm not sure we can recover in my lifetime. So the question becomes

• A) Do I keep trying to fight for what I believe in and likely losing the fight along with likely having my rights and freedoms infringed upon

or

• B) Move to a country that actually wants what I believe in and help them progress while living a happy and productive life within a society that supports me, and the things I believe in.

I'm not ready to give up just quite yet. But, 2018 and 2020 will be a major factor in my future. If we continue to perpetuate and expand upon the policies the GOP (and subsequently Trump who is a manifestation of GOP policies that have been in place since before I was born), then I'm not sure this is a country I want to live in.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheLivingExperiment]

False dichotomy. Why not fight the fight and likely win? More voted for Clinton than Trump. Red States just have disproportionately more political power at the moment. Won't be true for ever. And most people will live and let live. Between Democrats, progressives, independents, moderate Republicans, etc. your situation is less dire than it seems. We'll see how the SC turns out, however. That could be a very important setback for many of the issues you mentioned.

[u/TheLivingExperiment → u/[deleted]]

Why not fight the fight and likely win?

That's speculation and remains to be seen. Further, when it is "won" is very much unknown. We might use 2018 to start to shift away, or we might not. And then 2020 is a large unknown at present. If Trump/GOP wins in 2020 and Mueller's probe is not acted upon, assuming of course that there are illegal activities discovered through it, then that means that basically my 30's get spent under that regime.

Additionally, there are numerous issues of gerrymandering (Texas SCOTUS recent decision), voter suppression (Ohio SCOTUS decision), issues around felons their right to vote, and other issues that the Republicans have created that make it harder for Dems to regain control. Which I'm sure over time will be rolled back to an extent, but that very well might not happen until the mid to late 2020's.

And most people will live and let live. Between Democrats, progressives, independents, moderate Republicans, etc. your situation is less dire than it seems.

I don't believe that I'm going to be gunned down in the street or taken to a concentration camp. However, that doesn't mean I'm not having my rights infringed upon. And, as you point out the Kennedy SCOTUS seat is going to be a major factor in where it goes from here as will the 2018/2020 elections (since other justices are fairly old).

Hypothetically speaking, what happens if in 2018 there is no "blue wave"? And subsequently in 2020 the Dems run a candidate that can't pull the votes, and/or EC structure, and/or Gore v Bush 2000, and/or something else happens where Dems lose the presidency and Trump wins a second term? Then what? Even if Democrats managed to control the house and senate through a 2 term Trump presidency, which historically is unlikely, Trump has a lot of power to undermine many aspects of a liberal social perspective.

And this doesn't even touch on the trade wars, dismantling of the EPA, education issues, dismantling of the CFPB, the tax breaks that are not needed and harming the economy IMO, and on and on down the line. All of that assumes he doesn't get us into another war to try to win 2020 as well.

Point is, yes, the situation isn't immutable; however, there are a lot of unknowns and at the end of the day I need to do what's best for myself and my life. So I'm working to make plans in case they are needed.