Looking For Another Souter
I’m not going to lose sleep tonight because Justice David Souter is retiring at the end of the next session of the Supreme Court. I’m sure his last magnanimous acts for posterity will simply blend in and be as meek as most of his acts over the last 18 years he’s been on the court.
He’s never a swing vote, just a loyal Leftist or an unexplainable outlier. That’s why his retirement will be more about Obama’s next pick, and not so much about his nearly two decades hiding behind more deeply intellectual Libs. I may despise his judicial philosophy, but I think Justice Breyer is a brilliant person. I can’t say that about Souter.
Neither will the press over the next five months. Appointed as a stealth-conservative/moderate by Bush 41, he quickly drifted to the Left and hung out there ever since. Ted Kennedy and John F’in Kerry even thought Souter to be too Bork-like and voted against him! Hmm… right — must have been a liquid lunch that day.
So, Obama will pick an “empathic” liberal rube to replace Souter; a true judicial activist who wants to use the power of the court to change the human condition (not the Supreme Court’s job, by the way). That concept, however, does sadden me because liberal or conservative judicial philosophy should not matter if your sole job is to interpret a document which can fit on the front and back of ONE piece of paper that is written in relatively approachable late-18th Century English. Last I checked, Lady Justice had a blindfold on — a blindfold to both the privileged and the destitute.
I think the new “Souter” will be in the Breyer and Ginsburg mold, looking to junta-style international laws to interpret our Constitution in the name of “empathy” and “fairness.” But that is the President’s prerogative (once again, it’s why elections matter). I think he’ll probably pick a liberal woman, either Latino or black.
