Fuck You, Anthony Kennedy

Progressives have absorbed a series of staggering blows from the Supreme Court in the last couple of weeks, and are punch-drunk. The knockout was when Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement after thirty years on the highest court of the land. Facebook was full of "We're fucked" memes.

It's true that progressives have a love/hate relationship with Kennedy, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan (after Robert Bork went down to defeat, and Douglas Ginsburg had to withdraw after admitting to smoking pot--how times have changed). Bork would have been much worse, as Kennedy was a reliable liberal vote on progressive issues. When the history of gay rights in this country is written, he'll be a prominent name, as he wrote decisions that banned sodomy laws and ensured gay marriage. He also voted to affirm Roe v. Wade.

However, he also wrote the Citizens United opinion, one of the worst of recent years (that says that corporations are people) and was on the wrong side of Bush v. Gore. As he went out, he was the deciding vote on five terrible decisions that erode at the rights of all Americans--allowing Ohio to purge voting rolls, allowing Texas to gerrymander to keep Republicans in office, allowing a baker to not have to serve gay customers, upholding Trump's Muslim travel ban, and to weaken trade unions by not requiring dues from those who do not join the union. Then he basically slipped out the door with both middle fingers raised.

All of this started with the Republican's unconscionable postponing the replacement of Antonin Scalia with Obama's choice of Merrick Garland. Presumably Garland would have flipped most of those cases, which would have made this a terrible week for Fox News, not MSNBC. Neil Gorsuch, who was given Garland's stolen seat, was part of the conservative cabal on all decisions. Now the court is an obvious political battle zone, with five nominees by Republican presidents and four by Democratic presidents.

Kennedy, whom I just read was buttered up and pushed out the door by Trump and his minions, like it or not, was the swing vote ever since Sandra Day O'Connor retired. Now there is no swing vote, just a wait to see who Trump will pick. It's supposed to be from a list of 25 names that was assembled by the Federalist Society and the American Heritage Foundation, both right-wing groups, completely eliminating any pretense of balance. Trump has stated he wants Roe v. Wade overturned, and if he gets his pick confirmed, this will probably happen sooner or later. The gay rights Kennedy enshrined are in peril, too. We may well go right back to 1954.

I mention that year because one name on Trump's list is Anne Coney Barret, who was just confirmed last year as a circuit judge even after declining to say whether Brown v. Board of Education was rightly decided. A fierce Catholic, she would certainly overturn Roe and send women back into the alleys to get coat-hanger abortions.

None of these 25 names is a David Souter or Harry Blackmun, a judge appointed by a Republican president who managed to turn liberal. These are scary conservatives, the kind that liberals tell stories about around the campfire. The name most mentioned is Brett Kavanaugh, who was a protege of Kenneth Starr. Kenneth Starr! Amul Thapar, who would at least bring diversity to the court as the first Asian-American on the court, once sentenced a nun to three years in jail for protesting.

No matter who it is, we are fucked, and it seems unlikely to stop it (the hope is that Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins might flip if Roe v. Wade is threatened. Also, Jeff Flake and Bob Corker are lame ducks who owe Trump nothing, and who knows what John McCain would do). But we have a chance--elect a Democratic president in 2020 (who will immediately lift the travel ban) and hope that Clarence Thomas, who is morbidly obese, keels over dead. He would have to do it with a Democratically-controlled Senate, and early in the president's term, so we don't get the "the next president should appoint this justice").

So keep eating, Justice Thomas, and get out and vote, Democrats. Or The Handmaid's Tale will be real life.

And fuck you, Anthony Kennedy. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.