Justice Scalia’s passing has opened a window that President Obama
will use to create a nightmare situation for the Republicans.
I believe that President Obama should nominate a replacement for
Justice Scalia and that the Senate should hold hearings to confirm or dismiss
the candidate with honest deliberation. That is what our constitution dictates.
Unfortunately, the Republicans do not agree with me.
A few Republican presidential candidates have stated that the
President should not put forth a candidate and that if he does, the Senate
should not act on the President’s nomination. The Republicans believe that the
balance of the Supreme Court would be unfairly tilted if the President were to
appoint someone to the Court. Is this not what elections are all about?
Elections have consequences and one of those consequences is that the elected
President is given the power to select candidates to serve as judges in all our
federal courts. The President should nominate a candidate and the Senate should hold
earnest hearings on the nominee. If the individual is qualified (without regard
to their political ideology) then the Senate should confirm the President’s
nomination. The sooner the better. I would prefer this to happen in a matter of
weeks, not months.
It would be best for Americans to see the impact of a
lopsidedly-liberal Supreme Court before casting their votes in the November
elections. If the Supreme Court hands down one liberal ruling after another,
Americans will realize the error of electing a liberal president. But alas, I
am only dreaming. The President’s nominee would have to be confirmed in days
not weeks for the impact I describe to occur in time to affect the November
elections. What scares me is that the next president will most likely appoint
two Supreme Court Justices and maybe as many as four - not counting Justice
Scalia’s replacement. Justice Ginsburg is 82, Justice Kennedy is 79, Justice
Breyer is 77 and Justice Thomas is 67. Add five years to each of these ages and
that is how old they will be in the next President’s last year of his or her
first term. The odds are good for the next president to appoint four Supreme
Court justices (including Justice Scalia’s replacement).
Back to the present day: The most probable situation is one that
puts the cause of conservatism back for a generation. In this scenario, President
Obama nominates an African-American, far-left ideologue and the Republicans
delay the confirmation hearings with the hope of winning back the White House
(and putting forth a far-right ideologue - whew, how sad is this?). This then results inn the
Democrats properly stating that the Republicans are obstructionists and worse
yet, racists. Yes, the “R” word will be everywhere! The scent of racism will then
ignite the voting power that provided President Obama his two victories. Thus
the Democrats win a third term for President Obama in the form of either Hilary
Clinton or Joe Biden (depending on the FBI’s investigation). They also lose control
of the Senate and maybe even the House. Racists do not deserve nor do they get
a lot of votes.
Picture a Democratic White House, Senate and House of Representatives.... Please allow some mature, intelligent Republican to make his or herself known before this happens! This person is needed to lead the Republicans away from the trap they are about to fall into.
All Republicans should act in good faith under the Constitution of
the United States of America. Not acting in good faith will have supreme
consequences. I believe that the Democrats are smart enough to execute the plan just described and that the Republicans are stupid enough to fall into the trap. This is
a nightmare waiting to happen!
Oh, wait a minute. Maybe Mayor Bloomberg will save the day.
Certainly, Donald Trump will not.
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