Does it matter if next Supreme Court justice is a woman or minority?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is currently the only female Supreme Court Justice. (PHOTO CREDIT: MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
When it comes to nominating the next Supreme Court justice, President Obama is likely under pressure from interest groups, lawmakers, you name it...
But it turns out Most Americans aren't too concerned about the gender, race or ethnicity of the person who will fill Justice David Souter's seat on the bench.
A new Gallup poll shows 64 percent of those polled say it doesn't matter to them if the next Supreme Court justice is a woman. 68 percent don't care if that person is Hispanic; and 74 percent say it doesn't matter if the next justice is black.
It's widely expected that President Obama will nominate a woman. Currently the Court only includes one female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been battling cancer. Yet only six percent of Americans say it's essential that the president appoint a woman.
The poll shows women are more likely than men to feel that gender matters; but not by as large a margin as might be expected. And even a majority of women say it doesn't matter to them. There are also partisan differences - with more Democrats, than Republicans or Independents, saying it's essential or a good idea that the next justice be a woman. But again, a majority of all three groups say it just doesn't matter.
Here’s my question to you: How much does it matter to you if the next Supreme Court justice is a woman or minority?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Damaging for Republicans to keep criticizing each other publicly?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Add Mike Huckabee to the growing list of Republicans publicly taking one another down as they fight for the soul of the party. The former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate is blasting some GOP leaders.
Huckabee writes on Fox News' web site:
Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
"It's hard to keep from laughing out loud when people living in the bubble of the Beltway suddenly wake up one day and think they ought to have a listening tour; even funnier when their first earful expedition takes them all the way to the suburbs of Washington, D.C."
Huckabee is referring to the National Council for a New America, formed by folks like Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain. Their first meeting was held at a Northern Virginia restaurant.
Huckabee also suggests the party is at risk of becoming as "irrelevant as the Whigs" if it moderates its policies. That sounds a lot like what Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh have been saying. These right-wingers are not helping the Republican Party to portray itself as more moderate and inclusive.
Huckabee's a lot more likable than Limbaugh or Cheney, but the message is just as shrill; and at the end of the day... it seems like Republicans are self-destructing without any help from the Democrats.
Meanwhile speaking of the former vice president, his daughter is picking up right where he left off. Liz Cheney suggests President Obama appears to be siding with terrorists for agreeing to release photos showing alleged abuse at U.S. prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush administration.
President Obama has now ordered government lawyers to object to the release of these photos because he says it could endanger our troops.
Here’s my question to you: How damaging is it for the Republicans to continue to criticize each other publicly?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Confident Social Security will be around when you retire?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The recession is taking its toll on Social Security. The government says the trust fund will be paying out more money than it receives by 2016 - a year earlier than expected. And unless changes are made, it will be gone in 2037 - that's 4 years sooner than expected.
A man dressed as a Social Security card is pictured during a rally in D.C. to protect Social Security.
As a result, Social Security recipients probably won't get cost-of-living increases in 2010 or 2011 - something that's happened every year since 1975.
Here's the problem: Social Security is funded by payroll taxes. And with 5.7 million Americans out of work since the recession started, and another 4.3 million jobs being filled on a part-time basis, there's just not as much money going in. With nearly 80 million baby boomers getting ready to retire, the demand for benefits is rising.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the administration will tackle Social Security once health care is addressed. Whenever they get around to it, the options are limited. Either raise revenues, which means increase the taxes people pay into Social Security, or cut benefits. That could mean raising the retirement age - which is already scheduled to increase to 67.
Both choices could be political suicide - but something's gotta give. Washington has known about Social Security's problems for years and has chosen to do nothing about it.
Here’s my question to you: How confident are you Social Security will be there for you when you retire?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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