Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.

I am very surprised that this has not been a prominent part of the Get Out The Vote efforts. I mean for the Democrats, and for the Republicans. The process is so contentious that it seems like a great strategy for both parties to rally the base. Stop the ACLU posted an article on it last night, linking to this story rumor about Justice Stevens’ health. But the guy is four hundred thirty six years old, according to Ace. He doesn’t have to be in poor health right now in order for SCOTUS appointments to be a GOTV issue. It’s just really surprising to me that so little noise has been made about this, what with control of both houses having been called into question this cycle. If it doesn’t get mentioned in the ads, it won’t be on people’s minds. SCOTUS: Out of sight, out of mind.

I am a little curious to know what Justice Stevens will have to say about the confirmation hearings for whoever is nominated to be Stevens’ successor (assuming he lives through the confirmation process, that is). After all, he didn’t seem to have any problem discussing John Roberts during his confirmation. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but commenting on your own successor might be even more bizarre.