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U.S. Supreme Court and the 2004 elections
I feel the most lasting impact of yesterday's election is the potential implications it could have on the Supreme court (as well as other federal courts). We all know of Chief Justice Rehnquist's health problems and that a new justice hasn't been appointed for 12 years. The high courts are ripe with the opportunity for replacements over the next four years.
Besides the President's re-election and so many potential places on the bench for his nominees... the Senate Republicans have extended their majority making finding enough Democrats to break a filibuster much easier (in the senate you need 60 people to break a filibuster).
So... we have a semi-conservative President serving at a time when many seats might open on the federal benches with a legislature that has a bigger majority than in the years past. It sounds as if the makeup of the federal courts may be dramatically altered over the next few years.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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