We should be worried that Thomas and Alito, the two most conservative justices on the court, are also the two oldest justices on the court. The 2024 election could not have higher stakes.
Anything can happen. But they're in better health than Sotomayor. And all it takes is for Trump to win. Then the GOP needs one more seat in the Senate. Sotomayor should retire after the current SCOTUS term end in June. Then Biden can replace her. They made a mistake with RBG. Which is rare by the Democrats.
And Thomas is especially difficult to replace. Scalia would sometimes pen opinions along the lines of “but what if cops don’t like it”, where Thomas is reliably “screw that, we’re not here to ensure the convenience of the government and the precedent on this is wrong”.
Amen. IMHO one of the most important issues in the November election is who will get to fill these seats. If Trump wins and the Republicans retake the Senate, then I expect that both Thomas and Alito will retire before the 2026 congressional election. If Trump wins, but the Dems hold onto the Senate, then I expect that they will both wait until after the 2026 election to see if the Republicans can take the Senate. If Biden wins, then they will both have to hold on at least another four years.
i don’t know about Alito, but Thomas is in very good health-healthy diet and lifestyle, etc. I’m over 70 and manage a business that requires physical work. I also follow an all-organic, paleo diet healthy lifestyle, like most people I know. Years sit easier on you if you don’t abuse your body with bad diet, extra weight and drugs that you really don’t need...