Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Stephen Breyer.
Anthony Kennedy.
All three of these justices are in their mid to late 70s. And Ginsburg may be the next to retire.
THIS is the most important issue facing us. And Republicans already know it. They're just not saying it. You can bet ALEC has their lists of nominees and legislation all ready to roll for President Bachmann, President Perry, or even President Romney.
First on the list? A one sentence bill that bans ALL abortion with NO exceptions.
What's next?
How about a "reinterpretation" of the 14th Amendment concerning birthright citizenship? How many VOTING citizens would be disenfranchised? Care to guess how that decision would go?
How about "reinterpretations" of the 24th Amendment? How many poor and brown voters will be disenfranchised? Do you think challenges to that will ever be upheld?
How about a national "right to work for less" and the criminalization of unions? How much do you want to bet that such a court would say unions are a violation of the 13th Amendment while saying that wage slavery laws are not?
And how about the First Amendment? Did you all see what Israel just did? They basically outlawed protests and boycotts. You wanna bet this court would uphold a law designed to prevent Wisconsin-style protests from ever happening again?
And speaking of the First Amendment, if they get to have TWO justices, there will be NO MORE separation of Church and State as the "reinterpret" the First Amendment to allow State-sanctioned prayer.
To say nothing of declaring Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to be unconstitutional.
Oh yes, as I am reminded from the comments: DADT repeal? DOMA repeal? Lawrence v Kansas? Try MORE aggressive anti gay laws being passed AND upheld. If they get TWO, they overturn Lawrence.
Am I being hyperbolic?
Have you looked at what's been happening in the states?
Forget every other issue we're pie fighting about.
THIS is and should be the ONLY reason we must defeat these people. And that means RE-ELECTING the President.
That means GROWING our Senate majority.
Anything else means the death of our country and the descent into Fascism.
UPDATE: One more note. If we retake the House and the President loses, there will still be a grave risk. Many of the most odious STATE laws are in the process of being challenged. One or two more Right Wing justices and the SCOTUS can EASILY uphold these laws, thus effectively overturning decisions like Roe v Wade without any new Republican legislation.