Ultra-Conservative Justices Loiter in the Wings in Case Ginsburg Retires

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dismisses speculation about her retirement, but since her treatment this summer for a tumor on her pancreas a well-oiled, far-right machine has gone into overdrive readying a replacement that will assure conservative domination of the Court for decades. Leonard Leo, an informal advisor to the President on judicial nominations, says there is a good chance the nominee would be a woman chosen from a list including Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit, Joan Larsen of the Sixth Circuit, Allison Eid of the Tenth Circuit, Britt Grant of the Eleventh Circuit, and Amul Thapar of the Sixth Circuit. Democrats would be unable to block the nominee if the vacancy occurs before the election, but pro-choice Senator Susan Collins, who faces re-election in 2020, concedes that she has lost support since supporting anti-abortion Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and would be under intense pressure from abortion rights supporters. Ginsburg has consistently claimed that she will continue as Justice as long as she stays sharp mentally. She has hired law clerks through 2020.