Ian Millhiser, a writer for Vox, slammed late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her “arrogance” and pushed for sitting Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to retire from their positions instead of running the risk of possibly setting up an unfavorable Senate makeup much later.
“Sotomayor and Kagan need to think about retiring,” expressed the headline, with the sub-headline adding further reason for very serious concern. He alleged that the Senate was a “fundamentally broken institution” — and for that specific reason, Democratic justices needed to make sure to plan things out because of that.
“We have now lived with the consequences of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s late-life arrogance for more than two years,” Millhiser expressed in the opening of the piece, and then he went on to speak about why he thought Ginsburg should have stepped down while former President Barack Obama was still sitting in the White House and was working with friendly Senate.
The issue that he outlined — at least when it comes to 68-year-old Sotomayor and 62-year-old Kagan — was that Democrats might end up losing the Senate in the coming two years and was worried that it would be quite a while before the balance of power rocked back into their favor once again.
However, Millhiser was able to carry on to the crux of his issue, highlighting that his actual problem was not the “so brutal” map for the Senate expected in 2024 but instead he was worried about the designated role of the Senate as it was written within the Constitution of the United States: the ensure the balance between the power of the states with the power of the people.
Labeling the Senate as “malapportioned,” he made the argument that the Consitution issued “extra representation to Republicans in small states” — which was the actual reason that the Democrats were most likely not going to regain the majority until some time after the year 2030.
“If Sotomayor and Kagan do not retire within the next two years, in other words, they could doom the entire country to live under a 7–2 or even an 8–1 Court controlled by an increasingly radicalized Republican Party’s appointees,” exclaimed Millhiser in complaint.
Mark Joseph Stern, from Slate, spoke out to agree with Millhiser, stating, “I think Sotomayor and Kagan are brilliant justices and I’d be sad to see them go. But Ian is indisputably correct about the political calculus here. After 2025, Democrats may not hold the White House and the Senate for a decade+. This argument should be taken seriously.”
I think Sotomayor and Kagan are brilliant justices and I’d be sad to see them go. But Ian is indisputably correct about the political calculus here. After 2025, Democrats may not hold the White House and the Senate for a decade+. This argument should be taken seriously. https://t.co/VU0vQWPCxa
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) December 21, 2022