So...Anthony Kennedy is ok with same-sex marriage, but not with black people voting in the South...

[Ken Burch]

Can anybody else work THAT combo out?

And will Paula Deen end up catering a "Gone With The Wind" party for him?

[BeyondGeography]

1. It's all about one 76-year-old white male with a lifetime appointment

You go, Founders.

[Maximumnegro]

2. BAM!!!

[cthulu2016]

3. He has gay friends. He does not have poor southern black friends. Simple as that.

And the black guy where he works (Clarence Thomas) says all black people hate the voting rights act.

[Ken Burch]

5. I think we know which character "Justice" Thomas rooted for in DJANGO, UNCHAINED:

[deurbano]

31. Gay friend(s)... or even better-- relative(s).

These days, it seems like the only time Republican officials are caught doing anything halfway compassionate is when they are personally affected.

[Skidmore]

4. Been trying to wrap my head around this

SCOTUS giveth and SCOTUS taketh rights all afternoon.

[TheMadMonk]

6. Give you a victory over something which only matters to them...

...insofar as it can be used to stir up their base, whilst taking from you that which they can turn to their own profit.

Worse, right now, having their base in an irrational frothing rage is to their great advantage.

These defeats of DOMA and Prop 8 are indeed great and necessary victories. However do not forget the several critical battles lost to this SCOTUS: Citizen's united; Glass-Steagall; Consumer protection laws; and more.

It's a pretty common pattern on the court's part, a slow kicking and screaming capitulation over special/limited interest issues, whilst gutting EVERYONE on matters which limit the rights of the population as a whole.

[demwing]

7. I'm guessing there is an equal justice issue

that Kennedy sees. Same rules, applied to all states...same rules applied to all marriages?

My two cents is that the issue as applied to all states is shallow, and only offers some cover. In reality, striking down section 4 has exactly the opposite effect as some claim was "intended." Section 4 promoted and enforced equality in states where there existed measurable and entrenched inequality. This wasn't a feel good issue, it was a do good issue. It was the cure, not the affliction.

There is a silver lining - the turd could blossom into a rose. If the Dems rally around saving the Voting Rights Act, and can Gingrich up some sort of "Contract for the Constitutional Right to Vote" we could turn a mid-term election into a referendum on Civil Rights.

If that happens, I can see this turning into a sweep of both House and Senate, maybe a super majority Senate.

I can also see Dems acting like a herd of kittehs, unable to agree with ourselves on a range of details, and unwilling to wait to work on the sticky bits until after we win.

I can see both, but I'll dream for the best

BTW - you better believe it that the end of DOMA will be the same level of issue for the Righties. It may come down to a gamble of which party can present a better message. Luckily, we have an extremely skilled orator, who happens to be African American, and also currently lives over on Pennsylvania Ave. Who do they got?

They got nobody.

[Johonny]

8. He believes everyone should be equal but not in mechanisms that might help that

so in theory it isn't fair to pick on the states with a history of Jim Crow voting laws so every state should be equal in finding its own way to voting. In practice we know they are already actively restricting voting rights across the country. So your equal in theory but there is no mechanism of rules and checks to make sure society really treats you equal. It is basically the same thing they did with marriage. Hey the federal government treats you equal, what your own state treats you as a second class citizen well good luck with that...

[Junkdrawer]

9. The Black vote is Democratic and swings elections. The Gay vote is split?

Just a thought.

[Ken Burch]

13. Does the Log Cabin Club even still exist? n/t.

[Buzz Clik]

10. I'm pretty sure black people can still vote in the South.

[Ken Burch]

11. That may just be because the new laws haven't gone fully into effect yet.

And they'll probably let a few obedient tokens vote.

[cordelia]

17. Yep. They can. You know this type - just make shit up to get in their bashing.

You know this type - just make shit up so they can get their jollies with their bigoted region bashing.

[Ken Burch]

25. My comments were mainly about the justice, not about the region.

Yes, there are good anti-racist Southern whites and I support all that they do to fight the good fight.

Sadly, they're still a minority AMONG Southern whites(and I post that as a person whose father's side of the family only moved to the West Coast from Tennessee in 1910).

Unfortunately, it's still a question of a large faction of white Southerners(with some like them, agreed in other parts of the country, in places like Boston and Chicago and others)fighting to the bitter end to avoid moving on, to avoid giving up their completely unjustified feelings of resentment, bitterness and victimhood. We wouldn't NEED the VRA if only those people would freaking grow up and get the dead past out of their heads...but too many of them still refuse to...and the other party still ENCOURAGES those people not to let it go.

[malaise]

12. Crazy indeed

[yardwork]

14. Slight correction. Justice Kennedy knows that gay people still can't get married in the South.

My state and all the other southern states, plus most of the western and midwestern states, have banned equal marriage. Repealing DOMA did nothing to bring us more rights. We still don't have access to federal marriage rights since our states don't recognize same-sex marriages.

Justice Kennedy's vote gave marriage rights to gay folks who live in New York, California, D.C., and a handful of other states.

Southerners and poor people got the short end of every Supreme Court decision lately.

[Ken Burch]

15. Whoops! I didn't mean to say he was talking about same-sex marriage IN THE SOUTH

the reference to the South was intended strictly to refer to the VRA decision. Sorry for causing confusion due to unclear wording.

You are right about the state of affairs with SSM in "The Artist Formerly Known As The Confederacy".

[yardwork]

16. I understand. I was just reinforcing your point.

All these decisions tend to reinforce a movement toward rights for the few at the expense of the many.

[Ken Burch]

18. The worst thing is, it sets up LGBT people as "backlash bait".

This creates a situation in which others who are losing in the current system will have their anger directed away from those who are the
real authors of their misery...the wealthy white "Christian" types who run this country...onto LGBT's, simply because they APPEAR to be doing better(as the anger was diverted towards other groups, such as Jews and the Roma, in the past and sometimes in the present, as it is also misdirected today in many places towards Muslims).

[Skidmore]

19. It is so important that the LGBT and AA community and all like minded people

hold strong in a coalition that supports one another's rights.

[Ken Burch]

20. We definitely need to see rainbow flags in the coming voter defense campaigns

And on union picket lines, as well.

[bluestate10]

26. I don't think backlash will happen Ken. The current democratic coalition is

smart. Plus the brute force efforts of republicans and teabaggers is driving even moderate republicans away from their side. I see the coalition growing stronger not weaker.

[alarimer]

29. Same-sex marriage will never be allowed in the south as long as it is left to the states.

Which is why federalism is such a problem. When your rights depend on where you live, it is a problem.

Now I think the DOMA ruling is excellent, but it doesn't mean the fight is over.

[yardwork]

30. The fight is definitely not over. Millions of us gay folk have no more rights today than yesterday.

Knocking down one part of DOMA is good but there's a long way to go before gay people have equal rights. And there's ENDA to be passed. And meanwhile I am sick about the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, the attacks on women's rights, the whole Tea Party takeover.

[KoKo]

21. Swing Vote because the other recused?

[roamer65]

22. Yeah. It's that stupid "states rights" crap in his head.

That is the consistency on his rulings.

Garbage if you ask me.

Grow a pair Kennedy and uphold the VRA and strike down DOMA and Prop 8 directly.

You're on a federal court...be a fucking federalist.

[bluestate10]

23. The pre-approval part of the voting rights act was ended. But the act itself is still potent.

If states attempt to restrict voting rights and get sued, the court will be forced to come down clearly on the side of voter rights. Kennedy was likely the moderating voice in the majority opinion, the voice that kept the act mostly intact. It is likely that if the right of the court had pushed for full elimination of the act, Kennedy would have switched and voted with liberals on the court to beat back regressive attempts. As things now stand, the court has thrown the ball into the court of Congress and it appears to me, with a subtle warning, likely from Kennedy, that Congress need to figure out a way to uniformly protect voter rights nationwide. While I don't expect Kennedy to go farther on the VRA than he did, I am of the opinion that it is better if President Obama could replace Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas or Alito soon with a moderate to liberal justice. My reason for a new justice is that some red states will attempt to challenge in court if Congress does the right thing with voter rights, a new moderate or liberal justice to join the four on the court would drive a nail into the coffins of regressive states.

[sabbat hunter]

28. and

if congress re-writes the pre-approval part it can still be in effect with a new VRA.

as for other parts of your post
I think the only way Thomas or Scalia are leaving the SCOTUS with a D in the white house is feet first. Alito is pretty young so he isn't going anywhere.

I could see Kennedy retiring, along with Ginsburg from the liberal wing.

[JoeyT]

24. Kind of.

I suspect it's because he's a well off white dude that's never been denied any of his rights before that he won't believe people try to deny minorities the right to vote until it becomes common across the country. Again.

[UTUSN]

27. R#6 & K n/t