Democrats are still in shock over the fact that Donald Trump handily defeated Kamala Harris in the presidential election on Tuesday. The left had created such an echo chamber for themselves that they thought there was no way that Trump could come out victorious.
Instead, Trump trounced Harris not only with the Electoral College but also in the popular vote. This has sent Democrats into full panic mode, particularly when it comes to the Supreme Court.
In fact, Democrats are getting so desperate that they are pressuring Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 70, to immediately retire so that Joe Biden can appoint a younger replacement for her before Trump takes office.
On top of Trump winning the presidency, Republicans also won the Senate. This has only increased the left’s Supreme Court panic in a big way.
From Politico:
If Sotomayor were to resign, “she can sort of resign conditionally on someone being appointed to replace her,” the Democratic senator told Playbook. “But she can’t resign conditioned on a specific person. What happens if she resigns and the nominee to replace her isn’t confirmed and the next president fills the vacancy?”Then there’s the abbreviated timeline.Democrats would have to convince her to retire immediately, Biden would have to nominate a successor, they would have to figure out how to bring enough senators on board, dodge whatever obstructions Republicans throw in their way and get a whole floor vote before the new Congress is sworn in. There would be no room for error or delay.
Indeed, it seems that time simply isn’t on Democrats’ side on this one.
Democrats Are Getting Desperate
Sotomayor herself has yet to respond to calls for her to resign. At only 70 years of age, one can’t help but think that she has many more years on the Supreme Court left in her. That’s why it has to have come as a nasty surprise to her that her own party wants her out immediately.
“We would have to have assurances from any shaky senator that they would back a nominee in the lame duck, because what do you do if she announces she’s going to step down and then [independent West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin doesn’t support her and then [Republican Sens.] Susan Collins and LisaMurkowski back off and say they’re not going to support a new nominee?” questioned one senior Democrat source. “Do you just rescind that letter?”
The desperation among Democrats really is palpable, isn’t it?
Unfortunately for leftists who want Sotomayor to step down, however, those who support her have been defending her from these calls since long before the election. Back in April, Maria Town, president of the nonpartisan American Association of People with Disabilities, described the pressure for Sotomayor to step down as being “ableism, pure and simple.”
“She is the target of calls to resign because of assumptions about her health as a diabetic,” she added.
Sotomayor ‘Knows Best About Her Body’
Mia Ives-Rublee, director for the Disability Justice Initiative at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, spoke out to defend Sotomayor as well.
“The call by several prominent progressive figures for Justice Sotomayor to resign at 69, because of her diabetes, are absolutely tied to ableism and the belief that disabled people are always just a step away from death,” Ives-Rublee said.
“I trust that, like all disabled people, she knows best about her body,” she continued. “Bodily autonomy is not just about reproductive rights. It’s about allowing people, including disabled people, to choose how they want to live their lives.”
It seems that when it comes to Sotomayor, Democrats have truly found themselves in quite a conundrum! Only time will tell if she is able to withstand the pressure and remain on the Supreme Court as Trump takes office for the second time.
