Tell me flattering lies or the country gets it

Your reminder that Elite Liberal Lawyer Brain is a horrible affliction:

Senate Republicans are poised to deny President Joe Biden an appointment to the Supreme Court if they take the majority in the 2022 midterm elections. Five Republican senators raised the stakes around Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, telling CNN they’d oppose any likely nominee out of this White House. But Democrats in the Senate and the White House, though they’ve come off the November elections more worried in recent weeks about a potential wipeout in the midterms, are still avoiding calling directly for Breyer to quit, fearing that it would backfire and encourage the 83-year-old to stay on the bench.

Breyer has told several people who’ve made unofficial efforts to push him to retire that he thinks the confirmation process shouldn’t be political, according to people told of those discussions, and Democrats worry he’d remain as an act of resistance to show he’s not bowing to politics.

Anthony Kennedy cannot be reached for comment.

It’s just amazing that Breyer can look at RBG refusing an opportunity to retire, see it work out as badly as it possibly could — including, it seems relevant to note, the Supreme Court becoming so unpopular the justices feel compelled to give public speeches wondering why their “I am not a partisan hack” t-shirts are raising so many questions the shirt has already answered — and deciding to roll the dice again. And Ginsburg was at least a figure of major historical importance before her tragic blunder — if Breyer is replaced by a Republican he’s not going to be remembered for anything else. But this “you’re forcing me to do want I want to do for selfish reasons” routine is embarrassing. If he actually cared about the reputation of the Court he would have already resigned.