Is This GOP Senator Right to Consider Roe v. Wade Settled Law?

As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement last week, one vivid possibility flashed across the minds of pro-lifers throughout the country: the overturning of Roe v. Wade. However, certain GOP members of Congress are not supportive of this possibility, most notably Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). Collins believes that Roe v. Wade is settled law. “I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v Wade,” she remarked on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. She additionally commented on ABC‘s “This Week”: A candidate for this important position who would overturn Roe v. Wade would not

Buckle Up: Left in Full Panic Mode after Kennedy’s Retirement Announcement

In the beginning of this first full week of summer, it looked like the big issues leading up to November’s midterm elections were going to be immigration, Obamacare, and North Korea. However, that’s all been thrown out the window now with the bombshell news that Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring for the Supreme Court. Court observers have speculated for several years that one or more justices would retire imminently. They focused most intently on Kennedy, who had reached his eighties and did not appear to have the same ideological motivation to stay on the court as justices like Ruth Bader

Will the Supreme Court’s Swing Vote Retire?

Last summer, rumors abounded that Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy would retire, but nothing came of it. Those rumors were given new life as Politico released the audio of a speech made by Senator Dean Heller (R-Nev.) in Las Vegas last week. Heller hopes that a Kennedy retirement would rally his base in a race where his reelection is at best uncertain. “Kennedy is going to retire around sometime early summer. Which I’m hoping will get our base a little motivated because right now they’re not very motivated. But I think a new Supreme Court justice will get them

How Will Kennedy Rule? 3 Important Clues from Yesterday’s Wedding Cake Case

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. This case has enormous religious liberty implications nationwide. You may remember that Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., refused to make a custom-made wedding cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding reception in 2012. Even though they were able to find another baker to provide a cake, the couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Phillips was ordered to comply with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, as well as change his company’s policies, provide cakes for same-sex weddings upon request, and

PredictIt Plays of the Week: No Obamacare Repeal, Thomas Next Justice Out?

Have you heard of PredictIt? PredictIt is a prediction market that attempts to “guess” the outcome to a number of political questions. For example, during the 2016 election, PredictIt had a market for “Will Donald Trump win the presidency?”. On PredictIt, you have the opportunity to buy YES shares and NO shares on any of these questions for anywhere between $0.01 and $0.99/share. When the question resolves to a YES, the YES shares will close at $1 and the NO shares will close at $0, and vice versa. This creates a market. When an event is perceived to be more

How Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement Could Reshape American Culture

Recent speculation has mounted regarding the potential retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. Widely seen as the swing vote on key issues, his exit from the court would have enormous ramifications. While viewed as moderate overall, he has repeatedly sided with the justices who far more liberally interpret the Constitution when cases involving social issues are brought before the court. As the second oldest justice, and the longest serving, his retirement is one of the more likely to happen in the near future. While still in the rumor stage, the potential vacancy has been discussed at the very

Trump Promises Another Conservative Supreme Court Justice

Many conservatives who may have been unsure about Donald Trump during the campaign ultimately voted for him because of his promise to nominate a strong pro-life Supreme Court justice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The data bear this out: 21 percent of voters said that Supreme Court picks were “the most important factor” in their decision about whom to support for president in 2016. Among those voters, 57 percent voted for Donald Trump. And President Trump delivered for these voters by nominating Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed last month after Senate Republicans overrode the Democrats’ filibuster. This

Another Supreme Court Vacancy Coming? This Senator Thinks So.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said back in February that he believed there would be another Supreme Court vacancy in 2017. As a former Supreme Court clerk and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Cruz is well-connected and highly credible when it comes to SCOTUS rumors. Today, the possibility of another vacancy got a big boost from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said he expects one of the current justices to resign or retire this summer. As chairman of that committee, Grassley’s word is probably as good as Cruz’s. Grassley didn’t hint at which justice

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