The Good Men Project

Democracy Dies and Anthony Kennedy Announces Retirement from S.C.O.T.U.S.

There has to be some form of punishment for women who have abortions was the view espoused by the Presidential Candidate Donald J. Trump. November 8, 2016 he was elected the 45th President of the United States of America.

As I wander through the pages of history I find myself unaccountably drawn back to the “Years of the Orange Menace,” as I have often seen it referred to.

Allow me to share this entry I came across today.

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“Historical Encyclopedia Americanus™”
Abridged Version, ©2098
Volume Three
Chapter 9

Following the February 13th 2016 death of ultra conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonio Scalia, Mitch McConnell Republican leader of the Senate vowed not to bring any nominee of then President Barack Obama to the floor for nomination.

Judge Merrick Garland had been nominated to fill the vacant post resulting from Justice Scalia’s untimely demise.

As reported in the now defunct WIKIPIDEA, The Free Encyclopedia, “…  Republican Senate leaders announced that they planned to hold no vote on any potential nomination during the president’s last year in office. Senate Democrats responded that there was sufficient time to vote on a nominee before the election. Garland’s nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress. The nomination remained before the Senate for 293 days, the longest nomination process in the history of Supreme Court nominations.”

*Editor’s Note: Information on the political causes of the dissolution of WIKIPEDIA can be found in Volume Four, Chapter 3 of this publication.

Subsequently, during the tenure of newly elected President Donald Trump, the 115th Congress passed the nomination of conservative jurist Neil Gorsuch to replace Scalia. This succeeded in keeping the modestly conservative balance in the Supreme Court and resulted in a number of 5-4 conservative S.C.O.T.U.S. opinions. These included rulings in favor of California anti-abortion centers and a controversial travel ban.

The appointment of Gorsuch was met with substantial resistance and the now historically disgraced Senator McConnel took pride in pulling what was known as the ‘Nuclear Trigger’ to accomplish this task.

As reported by NPR, McConnel stated… “This will be the first, and last, partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court justice…”

For many years savvy pundits and politically active citizens of both major political parties had consistently promulgated the concept that one is not electing a President, but rather a politician whose greatest legacy would be his or her Supreme Court appointments.

As history records, Republicans were far more willing than Democrats to ignore many of their more mainstream values if they felt their political leaders would support their core, hard right ones, which were said to include anti-abortion, and the abolition of civil rights for those who chose “alternative lifestyles.”

Many historians have noted that ironically the majority of Republicans voted for politicians and policies that were not in their best interest.

Historians also comment at length on the Democrat party’s in-fighting and failure to support their party’s ultimate Presidential nominee. It is believed by the majority that ardent “Never Hillary” supporters of Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Presidential election contributed to the loss of Hillary Clinton and the ensuing conservative and right-wing chaos.

However, it has also been noted that Sander’s supporters’ views and general humanity were a sorely needed component of the U.S. citizenry in general. Over the years many have engaged in discourse as to whether or not Senator Sander’s supporters who did not vote for Hillary Clinton were well or ill advised.

There were many who believed that Senator Sanders Democratic Socialism would have defeated Donald Trump in the general election. This has often been cited as the single most salient factor in the creation of a third national party, The Progressive Democratic Socialist Party.

Editor’s Note: More can be found on The Progressive Democratic Socialist Party and the awarding to Senator Sanders of a special Nobel Prize for “The Pursuit of Humanity” in Volume Five, Chapter 6 of this publication.

Prior to the 2016 presidential election most Democrats and many Republicans assumed they would see the election of the first woman President of The United States. They were sorely and tragically mistaken.

Instead, the very troubled, callous and many said mean spirited and psychologically disoriented Donald Trump was elected.

Though during his first year in office he was most unsuccessful in passing legislation and was a target of a special prosecutor’s investigation into his campaigns potential obstruction of justice as well as ties to Russia he achieved a few great victories that would change the course of American history.

Most notable was his appointment of more appellate judges in his first year in office than any other President in U.S. History. These jurists were awarded lifetime appointments. On June 28, 2018, the day Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his impending resignation to take effect in July of that year, Trump had appointed over twenty appellate justices making up a full eighth of the entire appellate circuit.

For more information and an in-depth analysis of the effects of Trumps appointments follow this link to the conservative publication, The Economist which a full five months prior to Justice Kennedy’s retirement announcement painted a strong picture of the lasting legacy of Donald Trump.

June 28, 2018 marked what was to become known as the “Day of Reckoning” for American’s on both sides of the political spectrum.

Democrats insisted that no vote should be taken on a new Supreme Court Justice until after the 2018 mid-term elections and swearing in of the new Congress. They anticipated they would win a majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The results of that election were very instructive to all.

The ever-anti-democratic Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnel vowed to select a new jurist before seating of the new Congress.

Not since the days of the fight for civil rights had the U.S. seen the citizenry on both sides so incredibly
angry, motivated and active in protests, civil disobedience and heretofore unseen and unorthodox courses of action.

For Republicans it was a matter of reversing the social progress of the previous sixty years.

For Democrats there were a myriad of reasons to protest. Perhaps the greatest of those was to ensure the basic rights and human dignity that were hallmarks of American Citizenry.

These included the elimination of poverty, free education for all, making America a haven for the disenfranchised, freedom to practice one’s beliefs, abolition of prejudicial behavior towards any individual or group and the treatment of all citizens as equals.

A huge internecine struggle ensued. It lasted for some time. However, The United States of America survived – bruised but intact and better for the struggle.

Generation’s of parents, children and grandchildren would go on to discuss the part they played in the great battle for the heart and soul of America.

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This brings to a conclusion my latest wanderings and foray into the history of this most intriguing nation. It is my hope you have found it of interest.

Respectfully Submitted for Your Enlightenment,

The Wanderer

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Photo Credit: Claire Anderson/Unsplash

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