The Senate Should Refuse to Confirm Any Obama Nominee to Succeed Justice Scalia

[Valin]

National Review:

John Yoo

February 15, 2016

 

After the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia — I posted my tribute to him here — Washington, D.C., has been almost unseemly in its rush to discuss the political consequences of a new vacancy on the Supreme Court. President Obama declared the night of Scalia’s death: “I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time.” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell hinted that the Senate would not confirm the nominee: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice.” But now that the issue has taken center stage, Republican candidates and senators should understand clearly what is at stake.

 

The appointment is critical not just because it comes during a presidential-election year. The Supreme Court is finely balanced between conservatives and liberals at a time when it still rushes to confront the most controversial issues of the day. Cases on immigration, affirmative action, religion, abortion, and free speech, among others, sit on the Court’s docket right now, awaiting decision. As the Court is now split 4–4 between conservatives and liberals, this November’s elections will serve as a referendum on these issues and whether the conservative revolution in constitutional law will continue.

 

In a development much criticized by Scalia himself, the justices have eagerly swept more and more of the nation’s most important issues into their power, and out of the hands of the democratic process. The Court’s claim to supremacy over these controversial issues focuses even more political attention and effort on to the Court, leading to even more politicization of the Court and our constitutional law. Witness the 2012 efforts by the White House and Democratic senators to pressure Chief Justice John Roberts to uphold Obamacare — they succeeded, at great loss to the Constitution’s structure of limited federal powers.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Dear Democrats, Please Stop Insulting Our Intelligence on Judicial Nominations
David French

February 14, 2016

[Valin]

Hot Air Quote Of The Day

 

 

GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday night that the Supreme Court vacancy “should not be filled until we have a new president,”

[clearvision]

Hot Air Quote Of The Day

 

 

GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday night that the Supreme Court vacancy “should not be filled until we have a new president,”

Would be better if he said "will" instead of "should"....

[righteousmomma]

Yes, it would have been better to say : "GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday night that the Supreme Court vacancy “will not be filled until we have a new president,”

 

If the GOP caves on this one, we are all doomed -and I don't have confidence that they will not cave.

[Valin]

Confirming an Obama Supreme Court Nominee Could Destroy the GOP
David French
February 15, 2016

This morning, the Washington Post’s James Hohmann made perhaps the Left’s single-strongest argument for confirming President Obama’s imminent Supreme Court nominee — obstructionism could cost the GOP its Senate majority. Hohmann argues that McConnell’s vow to block Obama’s pick is a “bold and understandable gambit,” but he claims it could “backfire badly.” Here’s how:

 

 

 

Assuming the president picks a Hispanic, African American, or Asian American — bonus points if she’s a woman — this could be exactly what Democrats need to re-activate the Obama coalition that fueled his victories in 2008 and 2012. Even if he does not go with a minority candidate, the cases on the docket will galvanize voters who are traditionally less likely to turn out.

 

Expect this argument to be amplified again and again. The media will hammer Republicans, the Left will enlist its entire, lavishly-funded grassroots army to press for a vote, and each and every Republican who even thinks about breaking ranks will be hailed for their “integrity” and “courage” by every left-leaning publication across the land.

 

In other words, all the elements are present for a classic Republican cave — identity politics, astroturf agitation, and the media-industrial complex have proven time and again that they can trump the will of GOP voters. But if the Republican Senate hands control of one branch of government to the Democrats — during a presidential election, no less — it not only won’t save its majority, it will likely hammer the final nail in the GOP’s coffin. Given all the advantages the GOP brings to this fight, the Republican party would richly deserve its painful death.

 

(Snip)

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

This is going to be brutal!

[nickydog]

 

Hot Air Quote Of The Day

 

 

GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday night that the Supreme Court vacancy “should not be filled until we have a new president,”

Would be better if he said "will" instead of "should"....

 

 

Rush was saying the same thing today.

[clearvision]

 

 

Hot Air Quote Of The Day

 

 

GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday night that the Supreme Court vacancy “should not be filled until we have a new president,”

Would be better if he said "will" instead of "should"....

 

 

Rush was saying the same thing today.

 

 

I actually heard him say it while driving (45 minutes after I posted). Must get his talking points from TRR

[Valin]

 

 

 

Hot Air Quote Of The Day

 

 

GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday night that the Supreme Court vacancy “should not be filled until we have a new president,”

Would be better if he said "will" instead of "should"....

 

 

Rush was saying the same thing today.

 

 

I actually heard him say it while driving (45 minutes after I posted). Must get his talking points from TRR

 

 

 

If he's smart he is.

[Valin]

At-Risk GOP Senators Back Party on Court Nomination

James Arkin
February 16, 2016

 

Most Republican senators facing tough re-election races support Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s call to hold off on confirming a Supreme Court nominee until after the presidential election.

 

(Snip)

 

Rob Portman of Ohio, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania – all representing states President Obama won in 2012 and among the incumbents most-targeted by Democrats – said the nomination should wait until 2017.

 

Republicans backing McConnell’s decision may have calculated that opposition to Obama and his potential nominee will excite their base more than it will motivate their Democratic opponents, and that the issue of a Supreme Court seat will not necessarily be the biggest fault line in the election come November.

 

(Snip)

 

The fifth Republican seen as a major target for Democrats, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, didn’t take a position on the issue. Instead, he praised Scalia as a “giant in the history of American jurisprudence” and labeled the political debate “unseemly. Let us take the time to honor his life before the inevitable debate erupts.”

 

One of Kirk’s potential challengers, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, however, quickly criticized him for declining to take a position.

 

(Snip)

[Draggingtree]

Schumer Claims He Didn’t Call For Blocking Bush Noms, Even Though Clearly He Did

Chuckie Schmuckie lying again.

 

Via Daily Caller:

 

New York Sen. Charles Schumer fired back at Republicans citing a 2007 speech he gave to block all George W. Bush Supreme Court nominees to justify efforts to block President Barack Obama from replacing late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

 

As The Daily Caller News Foundation first reported Sunday, Schumer’s recent denunciations of Republican obstructionism on the Supreme Court clash with a 2007 speech he gave calling for Democrats to block any future George W. Bush nominations. But now, Schumer says it’s dishonest to use the speech to justify current Republican plans regarding the Supreme Court.

 

http://www.weaselzippers.us/257185-schumer-claims-he-didnt-call-for-blocking-bush-noms-even-though-clearly-he-did/

[Draggingtree]

Join Me In Urging the Senate to Ignore Any Nominee to Replace Scalia

 

By Erick Erickson | February 17, 2016

The ideological balance of the United States Supreme Court hangs in the balance in the midsts of a Presidential election two years after the nation overwhelmingly voted Republican and vested Senate control in the hands of the GOP. The nation deserves another democratic moment before potentially shifting the Supreme Court for a generation. Join me in calling on the Senate to ignore any nomination by the President for Justice Scalia’s seat on the Court.
Read More…

http://theresurgent.com/join-me-in-urging-the-senate-to-ignore-any-nominee-to-replace-scalia/

[Valin]

Those 2014 Midterms Look Consequential Now, Don’t They?
Jim Geraghty
February 17, 2016

Just one point to add to Charlie’s “what has conservatism done?” argument, and the related complaint, “what did all that effort to elect a GOP Senate in the midterms do for us?”… If the GOP hadn’t won the Senate in 2014, we would be looking at near-automatic confirmation for Supreme Court Justice Eric Holder, or whichever progressive Obama deems most desirable.

 

Yes, a GOP Senate minority could attempt to filibuster Obama’s nomination… and Senate Democrats could exercise the nuclear option and eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations. Harry Reid already nuked the filibuster for non-Supreme Court judicial nominations in 2013.

 

We don’t know how this confirmation fight is going to shake out, but the worst-case scenario, replacing Antonin Scalia with a reliable progressive “living Constitution” jurist, looks pretty unlikely right now..........................(Snip)

[Valin]

Obama to meet McConnell, Grassley to discuss Supreme Court vacancy
Jordan Fabian
02/25/16

President Obama will convene a long-anticipated meeting at the White House next Tuesday with top Republican senators to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) will both attend, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday.

The spokesman said the meeting was arranged "after a number of conversations, some more awkward than others."

"Ulimately, the president is going to fulfill his duty and it will be up to the Senate to decide if they're going to fulfill theirs," Earnest said of the leaders' handling of the nomination process.

They will be joined by Harry Reid (Nev.), the top Senate Democrat, and Judiciary Committee ranking member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

 

(Snip)