A Lion in the Court

John Paul Stevens, you have been a most worthy addition to the Supreme Court. Nominated by Gerald Ford back in 1975, you were selected as a seemingly non-activist addition to the court after the retirement of Justice William Douglas. You turned out to be one of the most staunchly liberal members to ever sit on the court and you have served the country well in your extraordinary 35 years of service on the bench. You have earned you retirement.

And now President Obama, it is time once again to dance this ridiculous dance with Republicans, the Anti-Liberal Activism Rave. I say rave because ultimately it's not about the music, it's about the drug you're on. DO NOT, under any circumstances Mr. President, listen to this, to put it politely, bologna.

Keep in mind that Republicans had absolutely no qualms about confirming a couple of conservative activist judges in the Bush years, most importantly now Chief Justice Roberts, who was only 50 years old at his confirmation (keep in mind, Stevens was 55 when confirmed, and, again, he served for 35 years!) They certainly didn't mind Roberts' extraordinarily conservative jurisprudence and his service specifically in the Reagan and H.W. Bush Administrations, or Samuel Alito's, President Bush's other nominee, consistent rulings on the U.S. Court of Appeals on the Third Circuit in favor extreme gun ownership and against worker's rights.

The court already has a 5-4 majority in favor of conservative judges and at the end of this session of the court, we will be losing the most liberal justice the court has ever seen! Now is not a time to pander to the petty desires of a party that runs on a platform of deceit and hyperbole. Pick somebody liberal! Shoot for the bleachers! We got Sotomayor in there, a she's pretty damn liberal! Granted, we had a supermajority back then in the Senate, by she was still confirmed by a vote of 68-31. We can get another one in there!

Let's pick somebody truly liberal! Get someone like Diane Wood in there. She's ridiculously intelligent when it comes to the law and has been able to hold her own against some seriously influential federal judges on the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. She's a very strong candidate and she could probably get in considering her unanimous consent when she was nominated to the court by President Clinton (after the 1994 Gingrich fueled election catastrophe I might add.)

Or, even better, Pam Karlan, from Stanford! She is ridiculously liberal and has ample experience advocating before the Supreme Court! And she's a lesbian! Imagine the political points if you could get her confirmed... And she'd be a liberal force on the same level as Justice Stevens!

I know, I know. You're probably going to go with Elena Kagan. It's a pretty safe choice. She does lean liberal and she is highly qualified. Plus, she is seen as being "non-activist", which will get her through the Senate much easier. And I know, she is great at drawing people together and convincing people of her side of the argument, which may be all we need if we can just convince Justice Antonin Scalia's parrot (i.e. Justice Thomas) to jump off of his shoulder for a minute and agree with the liberal block every once in a while. And she might even be a lesbian, maybe, which would be good.

But President Obama, with all due respect, do not pussy out on this. If you can get one of the liberal lions into the court, do it. And make sure Hilary Clinton is ready for when that third nomination comes your way. I know you're waiting for it, and I can't wait to see Hilary in the old penguin costume. Make it happen!