Sandra Day O'Connor has retired

[sarahncraig]

They just broke in to my tv program with breaking news. Sandra Day O'Connor has retired.

What do you think?

[RobynScott]

OMG _ That makes me really sad! and worried!

[kakirk]

This is just terribly disappointing news.

(actually, when DH called to tell me, my language was a might more colorful)

Katie

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

Nooooo! :( I think I'm going to become ill.
Must. Put. Head. Between. Knees. Before. Pass. Out.

[Jessica]

NOOOOOO! I'm seriously upset.

[lawyergirl25]

Oh CRAP! :(

[gokatgo]

oh no.
son of a motherless goat.

[msnicolea]

Oh My God. This is AWFUL.

[Neen]

I'm in shock and kinda scared.

[lawyerlee]

What do you think?
I feel betrayed. I'm sad, I'm angry, and I'm dissapointed. I'm also really scared. : (

[jbenny75]

We're Screwed

[fuzzy]

*sigh* Stay, Sandra, staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[Asha]

she is such an inspiration to me. what a pioneer!!! this is sad news to me. :(

[Belm]

We're Screwed

Ditto!

This isn't good at all. :(

[villanelle75]

I just hope she's the only one. SO much damage can be done. So much.

[bookworm]

Maybe we could be pleasantly surprised? Or at least not as horrified as we anticipate (my first reaction was distinct queasiness). She was a Reagan appointee, and this president is a Reagan fan.

(Yeah, I'm trying to talk myself around b/c I want to enjoy the weekend...)

[rebeccasmommy]

I'm so scared by this news!

[keska]

I'm sorry to see a woman go, but it was expected that she would announce her retirement this week. I liked the fact that she was a swing voter because it made anticipating new decisions interesting.

As for what it means in terms of selecting a new justice, we'll just have to wait and see. I think the Supreme Court should have a balance (as much as possible with 9 people) of conservative and liberal justices because our society is split on these issues too. In addition, I think Justice O'Connor proved that there are moderates who can end up voting both ways.

I certainly hope that Bush picks someone better than Alberto Gonzalez at analyzing the law, though.

[emschwar]

I'm scared. Petrified, really.

[lawyergirl25]

I certainly hope that Bush picks someone better than Alberto Gonzalez at analyzing the law, though.
That is why I'm concerned. I don't know that he will.

[gokatgo]

Keska - I think many people (myself included) agree that the Supreme Court should have a balance, unfortunately I'm pretty sure Dubs/Rove isn't one of them.

My boss's reaction: Well, at least I'm older than you, so a smaller percentage of my female life experience will be screwed.

[sparkle&shine]

That's really sad. I am sad to see her go :(

[trefoil]

I'm disappointed. In a small way, though, I feel like we have this coming to us. If, as a country, we vote in certain ways, then we deserve the outcomes we get.

Erg.

I hope that we get another moderate taking her place, but suspect that will not be the case.

[Tempest_too]

I think she was a truly great Supreme Court Justice. She showed wisdom in her decision making and seemed to truly contemplate how her decisions would effect the real world.

Her husband's health is deteriorating (I think he has Alzheimer's) and I think she is making the correct personal decision. But the thoughtful balance she brought to the court will be hard to replace.

[amew]

Though I often disagree with her, I am sad to see a great jurist go. And I am more than a little scared to see who W appoints. With one or two exceptions, I am extremely unimpressed by his appointments to the federal bench thus far. The Bush 43 appointees seem to employ a frightening degree of conservative judicial activism -- I think they are a totally different breed than the Reagan and Bush 41 appointees for the most part.

Let the confirmation battle begin!

[villanelle75]

Anyone know where I can stock up on RU486?

[MLA]

Originally posted by Keska:
I'm sorry to see a woman go, but it was expected that she would announce her retirement this week.

That's not actually true, keska. It was Renquist who was expected to retire. Not O'Connor. Everyone in the media and it seems on Capitol Hill as well is surprised.

I was very surprised to hear the news. I'm sad. I'm disappointed, but most of all I'm SCARED.

This is bad. Very bad.

[Jessica]

My boss's reaction: Well, at least I'm older than you, so a smaller percentage of my female life experience will be screwed.

As upset as I am, that gave me a good laugh.

[Sherb]

Crap. Dems in the Senate: PLEEEEEAAAASSEEEE save us from W. and the majority of Americans!!!! I know you Dems agreed to that nice little pact to save the filibuster - well, get your filibuster ready... AND DIG, DIG, DIG through the nominees personal life and judicial past.

God: If Bush does get to nominate one or two justices, can you at least give us a couple of stealth nominees like Souter? Don't let them use your name like this!

[graciebella]

I certainly understand that she's ready to leave the court, but I am worried about her replacement. Between all the PBS/CPB/NPR drama recently and now this, it just brings back the anxiety I had right after the election about the direction of our country.

[carolc]

My reaction involved a lot of unprintable words.

:( :( :(

[sweetlady]

What?! Oh man, this can't be good.

[maggieb]

There's actually been a lot of speculation about O'Connor retiring lately as well as Rehnquist. He's pretty ill, isn't he? God help us all if he retires, which seems inevitable.

Sad day.

The Dems better protect all of our asses. :eek:

[hockeybrat]

This is really scary.

Dems, please help us!!!!

[gokatgo]

As upset as I am, that gave me a good laugh.

Well, what else can you do? Aside from cry, of course. :p

Sorry to ruin the laughter but the article also talks about Stevens leaving, and Ginsburg's health's not the greatest. We've still got three and a half years left of the dumbass in charge, and I don't know how many justices can hold out that long.
Scalia and Thomas are the youngest ones there, so they'll be there for many years to come - hurray for us!
:(

[lawyergirl25]

Scalia and Thomas are the youngest ones there, so they'll be there for many years to come
*whimpers*

[maggieb]

but the article also talks about Stevens leaving, and Ginsburg's health's not the greatest

NOoooooooooooooooo! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[miel]

Wow. What's going to happen now? What worrries me is the 'war on terror' and the international laws, constitutional guarantees and human rights that have been violated. Are they just going to rubber stamp the military tribunals and all the rest of it? Say goodbye to your civil rights!

[sublime311]

Hey ladies, cross-posting this from an email I received - link to petition in text (will also post this in the liberal thread):

Dear MoveOn member,

Early this morning Sandra Day O'Connor stepped down from the Supreme Court, leaving the first open seat in more than 10 years. As a moderate Justice, she helped protect our rights for decades. With Bush likely to nominate a replacement in a matter of hours or days, our most basic rights and freedoms are suddenly very much up for grabs.

This is the time to act.

Its rumored that Bush will nominate a replacement as quickly as this Tuesday. In the next few days Bush, the Senate and the media will all be will be listening very carefully—gauging the public reaction to this vacancy and deciding how far they can go.

That's why we've launched an emergency petition calling on our Senators to do what it takes in the crucial weeks ahead to protect our rights. We're aiming to deliver 250,000 signatures and comments by Tuesday. Please add your voice today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/protectourrights/index.html

From the Patriot Act to the Terri Schiavo tragedy, in the last four years the Republican leadership has exploited every opportunity to attack the basic American right to keep our private choices private, and to make personal decisions without government intrusion.

This vacancy could represent the biggest threat yet.

The only clear indication from Bush about who he might nominate is that he intends to follow the example of his two "model" judges—Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.1 These two have weighed in from the far-right fringe for decades, and another judge in their mold could shift the balance on the Court significantly.

Below are just a few examples of landmark cases where Scalia or Thomas voted against O'Connor to try to strike down core rights and freedoms. In many cases if they had one more vote they would have succeeded.2

Workers rights - Nevada Dep't of Human Resources v. Hibbs, which protected the right of workers to care for newborn children or gravely ill family members.

Women's rights — United States v. Virginia, which allowed women to attend all publicly funded schools. (C'Connor was not on the Court at the time of Roe v. Wade, but has opposed Scalia and Thomas on reproductive freedom issues in such landmark cases as Planned Parenthood v. Casey)

Church and State—Locke v. Davey, which ensured that states could not be required to fund religious training.

Envrionmental rights—Friends of the Earth , Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. which protected citizens' rights under the Clean Water Act to sue against the illegal dumping of mercury and other toxins.

Civil Rights: * Dickerson v. U.S. which upheld the "Miranda" guarantee that people accused of crimes are read their rights. * United States v. Fordice, which protected the rights of those still suffering from the effects of state-enforced racial segregation. * Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) affirmed the right of state colleges and universities to use affirmative action in their admissions policies.

Civil Liberties—Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, which blocked the government from indefinitely detaining American citizens without charges, an attorney, or any basic rights.

On Capitol Hill, today's resignation unleashed a swarm of fringe groups and corporate lobbyists pushing for a nominee who will favor narrow prejudice and greed over the rights of the American people.

If we can deliver 250,000 signatrures and comments by Tuesday, we can make sure the voice of ordinary Americans can compete with this swarm and tell our senators to stand up for our rights.

Please sign today.

http://www.moveonpac.org/protectourrights/index.html

Thanks for all that you do.

Ben, Joan, Justin, Eli and the MoveOn PAC Team
Friday, July 1st, 2005

P.S. As soon as we heard about the resignation, we put an ad on the air calling for Bush and the Senate to protect our rights and not nominate an extremist. You can check it out at: http://www.moveonpac.org

[BryantRN]

I said it once and I will say it again, it is a sad, sad day for women's rights. What if he nominates another Clarence Thomas who basically just warms the bench?? That man scares me!