Two of Scott Lemieux

Scott does a great job at Lawyers Guns and Money, the best of the bunch there. Two recent examples of his work:

1. He calls for Ginsburg's and Breyer's retirements and for fixed term limits. Of course I agree, I've said the same thing, but he's still right. I don't think they're going to retire - there's something arrogant about judges, even the ones who aren't right wing wackos - but that doesn't change the fact that they should have. Scott's right that it may now be too late because the Republicans will stall reappointment until 2015, maybe until 2017, but at least I think it would give additional motivation to Democratic activists.

Fixed term limits OTOH have some cross-party appeal. If a Democrat wins the presidency in 2016 it will have a lot of appeal to Republicans.

2. Scott makes a persuasive (not conclusive) argument that Breyer and Kagan joined the ridiculous Medicaid-expansion-is-optional Obamacare ruling in 2012 not because they actually believed it to be correct but because in return for a 7-vote majority, Roberts was willing to let Medicaid survive in optional form. We won't know the real truth until after they retire (or die), but it puts a very different light on an otherwise indefensible vote by the two of them.


I don't have any deeper conclusions, just pointing out some good work.

UPDATE:  maybe topical here to mention a much-appreciated post by another LGMer, Erik Loomis, on the need to save the Keeling Curve, which leads to Think Progress.