A Dark Vision for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s Coming Paralysis (Jeff Greenfield) from the Daily Beast
"... the smart bet would be on a paralyzed process, and perhaps even a Court with fewer than nine Justices, no matter what happens in November. ... even if the Democrats hold the Senate—even if, by some hard-to-imagine turns of events they kept their 55-seat majority—the likeliest outcome of any Supreme Court nomination is a filibuster and a vacancy or two that will endure until the country chooses a new President."
I completely agree with Greenfield's analysis here.  There will be no NEW supreme court justices for the foreseeable future -- and this stasis will go beyond Obama's tenure in office.  The best that can be hoped for is when Ginsburg retires, one of the conservative justices retires at the same time -- and the Democratic president cuts a deal with the Senate Republicans to nominate two justices, one liberal and one conservative.  Otherwise look for a court with fewer than nine justices.