THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012 - This Day In History
Supreme Court Justice Hillary Rodham Clinton
Posted By Stonecipher - Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 12:35 PM
  |   Report Abuse  |   RSS Feed

What to do with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.  That is the question.

 

It has been the subject of much debate here at eyesonobama.com in recent months.

 

Some have suggested she should stay in the Senate, some have suggested she should become Secretary of State in an Obama Administration and of course there is the constant VP chatter.

 

How about some outside the box thinking?

 

What if President Obama made Hillary Clinton the next Supreme Court Justice?

 

John Paul Stevens is going to turn 175 years old next April.  Ok, fine, he's only 89 years old, but still, he's getting old.  He's been serving on the Supreme Court for 33 years and it is likely that his time on the bench will come to an end during the first term of an Obama Administration.  If not Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsberg or Antonin Scalia are both in their 70s.  Although Scalia seems to still have plenty of kick left.

 

The odds are good that the next President of the United States will be appointing at least one Supreme Court Justice.

 

The idea of a Supreme Court Justice Clinton is not a new one.  Many have suggested an appointment of President Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court if Hillary were to win the nomination.  Of course, with the nomination out of reach for Sen. Clinton, that scenario seems unlikely.

 

By the way, anti-nepotism laws only prohibit a president from appointing family members to executive branch positions, the judicial branch is a different story altogether.  Furthermore, President Taft became a Supreme Court Justice after being President, so there is a Presidential Precedent in this case. 

 

But I digress.  This is about Hillary Clinton, not Bill. 

 

With the major gains in Congress the Democrats are expected to make in 2008, President Obama will have no problem getting his appointments confirmed.  Hillary Clinton will be no exception.

 

Sen. Clinton may not be as qualified as her husband to become a Supreme Court Justice but at least she hasn't been disbarred in the past.  If Bill Clinton were nominated, the his disbarment would certainly become a major issue.  Hillary would not face this problem.  Also, have you seen who George W. Bush has tried to nominate? 

 

If Harriet Miers can be considered, certainly Hillary Clinton is a legitimate option.

 

I should probably be careful what I wish for.  I might get it.  This option would solve many of the Hillary Clinton Problems.

 

Hillary Clinton needs somewhere to go after this election comes to an end.  If the thought of Bill Clinton in the White House with nothing to do scares you, imagine Hillary Clinton not in the White House with nothing to do.  Scary.

 

Making Hillary Clinton the next Supreme Court Justice would be just what Sen. Clinton needs to stay relevant.  There are major problems with most of her potential political options and many have argued that her political career will be over after this loss to Obama.  While that is yet to be seen, it is at least a possibility.

 

The title Supreme Court Justice Hillary Rodham Clinton would satisfy her ego, and the job would satisfy her great intellect, which has yet to be displayed during this campaign.  It would also elevate her above politics in some respects.  The fact that she is not charming and comes across as cold and heartless would be irrelevant.  It would be a step in the right direction for a gender balance in The Court and Democrats would have one less reason to worry about Roe vs. Wade being overturned.

 

Back in March, I asked you Sen. Clinton, to think about accepting the role of Senate Majority Leader.  You should still consider it, but while you're pondering your future, think about the Supreme Court too.



Support Eyes On Obama!


Discussion:

An interesting proposition and one that I'll admit hadn't occurred to me as a viable option. The Supreme Court after all is the third branch of government and her appointment would be for life, so she'd be set in terms of a political future. She has the legal background even if she's never served in a judicial capacity and there have been similar precedents in the past for Court picks by presidents, although it's been a while since one like that was successful in making it to the bench. I can only imagine what that nomination hearing would be like in Congress especially if the Senate doesn't have the 60 votes to override a filibuster. The Republicans would have a field day with it.

At the end of the day, I don't think the Clintons are gone from the stage after this nomination process is over and is likely one of the main reasons she's still fighting so hard. She's staying in to prove she's got relevance post-primary and won't be fading away gracefully by any stretch. The Democratic Party is going to have to find a way to deal with them one way or the other. The black robe could very well end up as being an effective way to do just that.

 

[ Posted at 7:33 PM on 5/12/08 | Reply ]

Back to Blogs

Copyright © 2012 EyesOnObama.com. All Rights Reserved.
Home | About | Advertise | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Links | Feedback | Contact | RSS

  
FeedbackClose




Email Address:

Comments


Image Verification:
(Case Sensitive)

JoinClose


Username:
Password:
Retype Password:
Email:
Image Verification:
(case sensitive):


Forgot Pass?Close


Username:
Email:
Image Verification:
(case sensitive):


Add FriendClose


To:
Subject:
Image Verification:
(case sensitive)

Compose Message Close


To:
Subject:
Image Verification:
(case sensitive)

Message: