Civil Cold War Turning Hot

On a day when Drudge reports that 44% of Americans think we'll be in a civil war in five years and a further 59% fear political violence, Justice Anthony Kennedy announces his retirement from the Supreme Court. Kennedy was the moderate, though right leaning member of the court whose opinions often broke 4-4 deadlocks. This was the case with three major decisions this week: the travel ban, free speech, and yesterday's union dues decision.

This retirement is yuge with a capital 'y'.

Liberals are melting down and we don't blame them.

We're in a cold civil war that has the chance to go hot. It is a cultural conflict that has gone on for decades.

People and systems often collapse slowly and then all at once. Our grandfather did. We wonder if the United States is reaching the rapid collapse stage.

When did the slow stage collapse begin? Kennedy's retirement is apropos for the moment. It seems to us that the first shot in the cold civil war was fired 31 years ago with President Reagan's appointment of Judge Robert Bork to the supreme court. Read the link for background info on that fiasco. Ironically Justice Kennedy* was appointed after the senate rejected Bork.

The left would fight a confirmation battle again in 1991 when George Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the court. That time the right won.

When conservative justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016 during Obama's last year, Republicans blocked his replacement, Merrick Garland and held out until Trump won the election and appointed conservative Neil Gorsuch. Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell changed the Senate rules allowing for an up or down vote on Gorsuch rather than the normal 60 vote threshold, securing his confirmation.

Thirty years of Democrat monkeying around with the court finally caught up to them.

*Comedian Dennis Leary once quipped, 'Forget Bork and Ginsburg we need Judge Woppner on the stand.'