Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
The recent spate of socially liberal Supreme Court rulings should put the fear of God in the electorate in 2016 when it comes to choosing the next president who could nominate up to four new justices by the end of his or her term.
CNSNews.com is reporting on what could be a pivotal turning point in the cultural trajectory of this nation with four out of the nine sitting justices due to reach the age of at least 82 by the end of the next presidential term.
For instance, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 82, who is currently the oldest justice, will be 87 on inauguration day in 2021.
“Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy, both born in 1936, will be 84—or two years older than Ginsburg is now—on inauguration day in 2021,” CNS reports.
“Justice Stephen Breyer, born in 1938, will be 82 on inauguration day in 2021.Justice Clarence Thomas, born in 1948, and Justice Samuel Alito, born in 1950, will be 72 and 70 on inauguration day in 2021.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, oldest Supreme Court Justice at 82
This means that if the current Court remains in place, six out of the nine justices serving at the end of the next president’s term will be at least 70 years old.
“As of now, the average age of the nine justices is 69.4 years. If the same nine are still on the court on Jan. 20, 2021, their average age will be 74.4 years.”
The younger members of the Court – Chief Justice John Roberts will be 65 in 2021; Justice Sotomayor will be 66, and Justice Elena Kagan will be 60.
As Richard Wolf writes for USA Today, “The stakes with four aging justices are huge: If a Democrat wins the White House and outlasts Kennedy or Scalia, the result could be a liberal court for decades to come, with an impact on issues such as abortion, campaign financing, political redistricting and voting rights.”
On the other hand, Sahil Kapur of Talking Points Memo writes: “Conversely, the future of abortion rights and the legal trend toward gay rights may be imperiled if a liberal justice is replaced under a Republican president. The current Court has begun to roll back abortion rights, and Justice Antonin Scalia has repeatedly called for overturning Roe v. Wade; the addition of a conservative justice could complete the task.”
Kapur gave as an example last year’s landmark ruling on gay marriage which rested on a 5-4 margin might have gone the other way with a new conservative justice on the bench.
The bottom line is that it’s more important than ever for Christian citizens to take an active part in the upcoming election, by encouraging family members, neighbors and congregations to make 2016 the year we take back our culture by voting for candidates who support Christian values!
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