Quote Originally Posted by foxtrot View Post
Thomas is 70 years old presently, and in 2020, will be 72. By 2024 he would be 76. So even with this appointment, there's a reasonably high chance that between 2020 and 2024, the court will shift majority socialist/liberal.

Granted, a lot of judges make it to 80 still serving, but it's a high stakes gamble to say he (and all the others) will be okay in 20. Especially when you have a lot of money and people quite interested in making sure he's not.

So once again, the news of Kennedy's retirement is good, but the realization our fucked up system works this way is not so much. We're good now, but irreparably screwed very, very soon, my money is on "less than a decade". Thing is constitutional people respect jurisprudence, socialists do not, so they'll just ignore any prior ruling, 2A or otherwise, and make the new rule of the land regardless.
Thomas could keel over at anytime, and if the Dems get the Senate back, Trump won't get another pic through on a "Garland on Steroids" Rule.