For years, conservatives have ridiculed Democrats who urged left-liberal Supreme Court Justices to resign so they could be replaced by much younger left-liberals who can serve for decades. First, Ruth Bader Ginsburg got this treatment. Next, Stephen Breyer got it. Then, it was Sonia Sotomayor’s turn.
There’s something unseemly about Justices who have carried huge amounts of water for leftists being told to resign by the very leftists for whom they carried the water. The sentiment is understandable, I suppose, but articulating it seems disrespectful and ungracious.
This is especially true if the Justice in question is (1) still fully capable of carrying water for the cause and (2) only 70 years old (albeit with some health concerns).
Ginsburg who met the first criterion but not the second, ignored calls for her resignation. Her fans consider this a significant mark against her.
Sotomayor meets both criteria She, too, has resisted calls to resign. (More on her below.)
But now, after Trump’s victory and with Republicans about to take control of the Senate, some conservatives are calling on Justices Alito and Thomas to step down. That way, Trump can appoint youthful successors and the new GOP Senate majority can confirm them.