“There is a price to be paid for what [Chief Justice Roberts] did” by voting to uphold the Affordable Care Act??
And that price is the destruction of #SCOTUS’s (remaining) integrity?
What a stunning statement for *anyone* “close to several conservative Justices” to make. pic.twitter.com/Vj1atscSCY
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) May 11, 2022
The quote is from a pearl-clutching, gleefully doom-posting Politico article that is exactly as terrible as you would expect, so I’m not gonna bother further extracting: Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe is still the only one circulated inside Supreme Court.
I’ll just add: My suggestion, back in December, is looking more prescient than ever:
… You want to let your benchmates know how you really feel, Chief Justice? Flap your wings, instead of your gums. Retire now, and let President Biden appoint your replacement. If your judicial philosophy is as strong as you claim, the court will still have five True Constitutional Conservatives(tm), so it won’t make a difference to future court opinions. You’re 66 years old, you and your corporate-lawyer wife are presumably ‘comfortable’ financially, and staying in the SC(R)OTUS is going to be nothing but a series of public embarrassments and humiliations for the foreseeable future. You’ve got your nice life — lovely wife, grown kids, possibly future grandkids — and a lot of high-profile media attention to look forward to; why spoil it with all this pointless public agitation?
Do yourself and the rest of us a favor, Chief Justice — go away, while you can do it with some semblance of dignity.
Who’s the most DGAF, nothing-to-lose, politically active and activist, not particularly constrained by old-fashioned institutional norms person with plausible access to a SCOTUS draft decision?
Not a clerk whose career would be ruined. pic.twitter.com/PqOIef72uh
— Jacob T. Levy (@jtlevy) May 11, 2022
sanctity of the court [wank wank] aside, i'm just not really sure what the point of the court trying to track down the leaker actually is. maybe you ruin some clerk's day if it were them, otherwise, justices are basically bulletproof.
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) May 11, 2022
also unclear to me what the consequences are.
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) May 11, 2022
I think Roberts thinks that the investigation will deter future leakers (it might, if they actually get to the bottom of it). It also wouldn’t surprise me if he launched it as a be-careful-what-you-wish-for message to some RW commentators
— Rob Grant (@robgrant9) May 11, 2022
knowledge of bad behavior without any consequences whatsoever for bad behavior is maybe useful, but, like, not very useful
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) May 11, 2022
hells littlest angel
We are a nation of laws, not of men. But seriously, folks, don’t forget to tip your server.
Kropacetic
@hells littlest angel: Are you suggesting that this ::gestures broadly toward the US and its institutions:: is all a joke?
Explains a lot, actually. Not everything, but a lot.
dmsilev
I’m sure any resemblance between this and stereotypical mobster talk is purely coincidental.
Ken
Hypothetically, if Roberts resigns effective next week, can the already-approved Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson be slotted into the Chief Justice slot? I seem to recall something like that happened with Roberts’ own appointment.
EDIT: Checking wikipedia, Roberts had been nominated but not approved to replace O’Connor. The nomination was withdrawn and he was re-nominated for Chief Justice.
sdhays
@dmsilev: Sounds like “Justice” Rapey McBeerBong to me.
Shalimar
I am in full agreement that Roberts should resign if he cares about his personal legacy. He’s the Chief, so he gets blamed for all the extreme decisions he has no control over. Might as well give that burden to someone else.
I also am of the opinion that not only is this leak not unprecedented, but sharing draft opinions with Leonard Leo, various members of Congress, and members of the rightwing press to help develop talking points has become the conservative norm the last 5-15 years and the only new facet is Politico printing the whole thing rather than just gossip about the coming decision.
sukabi
@Ken: if Roberts decides to retire I’d suggest Hillary for chief justice….make the rest of them stroke out.
Shalimar
@sdhays: It does sound a lot like his “I’m gonna get you, my pretties” speech against Democrats at his confirmation hearing, doesn’t it?
Dangerman
First Roe, probably Griswold, almost certainly Obamacare (latter two just as soon as they have a case find their desks, I assume). Gonna be lit.
Peale
@sukabi: Obama. And there’s the Taft precedent.
Shalimar
trollhattan
Thread subtitle is the most antithetical picture to the spirit of the song one could possibly conjure. Well played, damn you.
Kent
@sukabi: Naw, we need a 25 year old Hillary Clinton.
Give it to someone like Ilhan Omar.
Gvg
@sukabi: The way the “game” is played these days, she is too old. We need to pick someone younger.
I’d like at least 2 of them to stroke out soon and save our bacon, but probably won’t get my wish. Didn’t realize Roberts was that old.
sdhays
@Kent: Chelsea!
NotMax
@sukabi
Have Schumer declare the Senate formally in recess and use recess appointment to slide in Doug Emhoff.
(Ike made three recess appointments to the Supreme Court, all later approved by Senate vote: Chief Justice Ear Warren and Associate Justices William Brennan and Potter Stewart.)
//
BTW,
kindness
The nominee doesn’t have to be a lawyer. They just mostly are. I think they should name AOC to the court. We would really see heads explode then.
debbie
Roberts shouldn’t resign until Alito and Thomas have been impeached.
sdhays
@debbie: So, never?
zhena gogolia
Roberts is not going to resign.
Edmund Dantes
@kindness: it’s kind of like the pope in some ways. There aren’t a ton of written criteria as to who gets to be a scotus. Though I think there are less for scotus than pope. But not by a lot.
pope being male and baptized in the Catholic Church.
I think scotus is alive and confirmed by the senate.
James E Powell
@Kent:
Ilhan Omar would definitely own the wingers. But Democrats take the supreme court more seriously.
I’d like to see Katie Porter on the supreme court.
Ken
And being male and baptized in the Catholic Church.
NotMax
@kindness
I’ll see your AOC and raise you a Hunter Biden.
:)
TriassicSands
The Chief Justice always votes to support Republican electoral prospects. By preventing the destruction of the ACA, he did so, indirectly, once again.
Major Major Major Major
God I hate these people so much. Just the sorest winners on the planet.
And honestly, it might be good to have a non-lawyer on the court. Couldn’t possibly make things worse. Their clerks can write the actual opinions, it’s what they do already.
Kropacetic
@Major Major Major Major: They’re just sore, just constantly sore.
Alison Rose ???
@James E Powell: Oh man. Imagine her busting out the white board during oral arguments!
oldgold
The pool from which they draw the Justices is way too small and shallow.
Ivies, law review footnoters and bootlicking ex-clerks is a piss poor pool to draw from if you are looking for Justices who know something about how this world spins round.
Another Scott
ICYMI, Tom Goldstein at SCOTUSBlog – How the leak might have happened (from May 5):
“It wounded the institution” is just mouth-noises, IMHO. Justices who throw out 50-year old rights and try to impose their religion on the country are damaging the institution much, much more than a leaked draft opinion.
On the rest, plausible? No idea. But the players and their hangers-on know this is a potential important inflection point. Too many RWNJs have worked too long for this to think that they’re going to care about tradition and “the institution” when they think victory is at hand…
The fact that it was Politico that got the draft is the biggest “tell” for me. They’re intimately plugged into the GQP. A liberal supporter of Roe would probably send it to Mother Jones or something similar. Unless, they were hoping to cover their tracks…, but even then it still doesn’t smell quite right to me.
Maybe we’ll know some day, maybe we never will. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is what’s in the the signed opinion, and how voters react to it.
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
eversor
@sukabi:
they wouldn’t stroke out they’d be overjoyed at the own goal the democrats just did. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
Steeplejack
A couple of tweets from Bill Kristol, presumably still a semi-connected GOP insider:
James E Powell
@Alison Rose ???:
If Katie Porter ever gets on the court, we need to televise supreme court proceedings.
Cameron
Hey, why would they stop with Roe and Griswold and ACA? Why not Social Security and Medicare and SNAP and TANF while they’re at it? Nothing there that the private sector can’t provide, right?
rikyrah
@zhena gogolia:
No more than Unca Clarence will when revealed that his wife was the leaker?
Jackie
@sukabi: Let’s make it Chelsea; many more years to drive the repubs insane?
Or what sdhays said ?
sukabi
@Peale: that would work too. ?
catothedog
@Cameron:
As sure as night follows day.
People are arguing about right to privacy, enumerated rights and constitution. They still don’t get it.
The real import of this decision is the thuggery. Might is right. There is no rule of law anymore, just power.
Edmund Dantes
@Another Scott: I still haven’t read a plausible explanation for why a liberal leaks any of the current roe stuff. It’s all down side for the liberals in outcome.
There is no plausible logic yet that I have seen as to how leaking the draft opinion gets a wobbling conservative (Kavanaugh or Barrett) to join Roberts once it’s found out they originally had voted to overturn than backed down.
I still think the Alito/Thomas wing makes the most sense. Plus there is a bit of a bridesmaid thing with Alito and Roberts. I bet Alito thinks Roberts got his Chief Justice seat so he is probably relishing a chance to stick it to Roberts a bit. Especially since Roberts hasn’t been a “steady” conservative (aka ACA ruling) while Alito has always been a good Federalist society soldier
Major Major Major Major
@Edmund Dantes:
Panic, heat of the moment, miscalculation… I wouldn’t be surprised if it were from either wing. Seems more likely to be a conservative though.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
All these leaks make the those six conservatives SCOTUS justices sound like they are well into their second childhoods and have a shared delusion they are group of mean girls at some high school. “No, I am sorry, Alito has more friends!” “No, I am sorry for you that, Roberts has more friends!” kind of nonsense. I am sure we will be seeing a cell phone video of a slap fight between two old white guys in the court soon.
The woman are complaining their fate is being decided by a group of men, my god, it’s not even mature men.
Mai Naem mobile
I was listening to Danny Cevallos yesterday. He thinks its definitely one of the justices since they have lifetime appointments and he was leaning towards Breyer since he’s retiring so he really has NFLTG. It also explains his retirement since he seemed to be iffy on the retirement. He must have seen where the court was going this last term and decided not to pull an RBG. Anyhow, Cevallos said there’s no way a USSC clerk, a big time overachiever is going to blow their career after working so hard to get there which was my initial thought. I personally think one of the conservative judges is going to kick the bucket and put an unexpected hurdle in front of the Federalist Society’s well laid plans.
lowtechcyclist
@Major Major Major Major:
There’s no joy in these people. Without having shit to be mad about, these SWINE* would wither up and die.
*Seditionists Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything (swiped from Al Capp, and modified to fit the times)
sab
@Edmund Dantes: Who cares who leaked it? Care about the likely decision.
lowtechcyclist
make my life so horrible
Pictures of Ginni
make me scream at night
@Kropacetic:
But you and I, we’ve been through that…
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@sab: Seriously. Who GAF about where the leak came from and what it does to the SCOTUS? So much ink spilled over so little. A corollary is all the hyperventilating about protests in front of the Justices’ houses. For Christ sake, why should they be immune from expressions of the free speech they’re supposed to be there to protect? When did they become so fucking special that they can make decisions that immiserate millions and just never have to hear about it from anyone?
But my money is on a conservative leaker because the last admin leaked like a bucket without a bottom. The Obama and so far Biden Admins don’t leak, at all. Our side has proven we can keep things close to the vest, their side has a terrible record in that regard.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Replace Roberts with Lionel Hutz or Ted Knight
zhena gogolia
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: I agree totally with your first paragraph.
EarthWind&Fire (formerly bluegirlfromwyo)
The leaked opinion says there is no real right to privacy. It tries to put the only applies to abortion fig leaf on it but that’s what it says. Caring about leaks and protests in front of justices’ houses when there’s no right to privacy is ludicrous. It’s a different world now. Act accordingly.
JR in WV
Actually, I think these “justices” are ignoring the piece of the Constitution that applies the most to this situation: The Ninth Amendment, short and sweet:
Perhaps the shortest yet most important clause in the whole Constitution! “…Shall not be construed to deny… others [ rights ] retained by the people!”
All the rights are addressed by this tiny but crucial piece of the Constitution!!! All of them!!!
So Fuck those fascist “justices” who intend to remove all the rights from the people, except the right to obey.