With respect to Byrnes, he’d have probably been better off remaining on SCOTUS (and likely could’ve continued until his death in 1972). I think by the 1950s, he’d have been a reliable Conservative, and by not having resigned could’ve prevented THREE judicial mediocrities (Wiley Rutledge, Sherman Minton, and the execrable William Brennan) from succeeding him.
Interesting theory. If Byrnes had hung around SCOTUS for decades instead of only a year or so, we might have had a rare example of a RAT appointee that "evolved" in the OPPOSITE direction and eventually became part of the conservative bloc of the court. Previously, the only examples I could give of that were Justices James McReynolds & Byron White (which means, contrary to popular belief, RATS presidents have about a 90% track record of their appointees remaining ideologically dependable, not 100%)
On the other hand, I think , Byrnes became increasingly conservative in later ELECTIVE office because the electorate of South Carolina became increasingly conservative itself, so he needed to be more and more GOP friendly to stay relevant in SC politics and be re-elected as a "conservative Democrat". If had a "safe" cushy federal job as a SCOTUS judge for the rest of his life, he may not have changed his views.
>> by not having resigned could’ve prevented THREE judicial mediocrities (Wiley Rutledge, Sherman Minton, and the execrable William Brennan) from succeeding him. <<
Interesting point there I hadn't considered. Even if he hadn't become a conservative justice, if he had stayed on the court it would have prevented far WORSE justices from being there to destroy America. Some FReeper falsely alleged that "most Catholics appointed to SCOTUS have been a disaster", while I pointed out the opposite was true... the only two "Catholic justices" I could think of that fit the definition of "disaster" were Roger "Dred Scott" Taney and marxist crusader William J. Brennan. On paper you could count Sonia Sotomayor as "Catholic", but by her own admission she doesn't practice, so she is as "Catholic" as Bernie Sanders is "Jewish"