Almost as soon as Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, the GOP announced that they will not approve any nominee that Obama puts forward to fill the former's place. In fact, on Tuesday, they went so far as to declare that they would not even engage in the traditional courtesy meeting with an Obama nominee. Senate Republicans plan to fight so hard against any attempt by Obama to alter the high court's slant that they won't even shake a hand.
Republicans' best weapon, right now, is a 24 year old video of Joe Biden (then a senator) methodically defeating arguments made by Obama, point by point, and urging against a SCOTUS nomination in an election year. This, of course, is quite a blow for the Obama administration, but Biden has said that this video doesn't illustrate the entirety of his view on the subject. However, no matter how hard you try, it's pretty difficult to spin this one.
Republicans claim that if roles were reversed, Democrats would be making exactly the same moves that they are right now. These claims are somewhat supported by previous comments made by Democrats in previous years, but an important distinction is that they were made hypothetically, whereas the GOP's actions have real consequences on our current political climate.
Hopefully, once Obama nominates someone to fill Scalia's seat, the fight will become increasingly about the merits of the candidate, rather than a hunt for who said the most incriminating thing in the past. Soon, the argument will be about the present rather than what has come before.
Democrats still believe that they have the political high ground on this one, regardless of the Biden-shaped hit that they took early on. Seeing as the GOP won't deign to treat a nominee cordially, it will be fairly easy to argue that they're unsustainably depriving our country of a justice for political reasons, which is sure to sour public opinion of the party.
An optimal nominee for the GOP would be one that fills Scalia's shoes almost exactly. In my opinion, that would be injurious to the development of our country, as it basically stagnates the court's slant for however long it is until another justice passes away. That said, Republicans believe that whoever wins this year's election will be the one to decide who our next justice is--and they're hoping it'll be a Republican willing to follow their guidance. On the other side, if a Democrat were to win, Clinton would put forward a nominee dedicated to abortion rights, voting rights, and marriage equality; Sanders would look for a nominee who will help overturn the Citizens United decision.
I believe that Republican Senators are making a mistake by refusing to meet with Obama's nominee, whoever it may be. The fight will definitely prove to be long and arduous, but this move seems to be approaching petulance rather than political prowess.
Will Obama be successful in appointing a Supreme Court Justice? Can Democrats recover from the video of Biden? Were Republicans right to preemptively refuse to meet his nominee? What are your other predictions for this battle?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/us/politics/struggle-over-supreme-court-pick-enters-a-new-level-of-hardball-politics.html?ref=politics
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/us/politics/supreme-court-nomination-obama.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/23/us/politics/battle-for-the-court.html
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I think that this process will be one of the hardest fights Obama will face as president. First of all, the video of Biden is a huge blow. Despite being 24 years old, people look for consistency in leaders; if Biden tries to go back against the video that wouldn’t look good for him or the Democratic Party. However on the other hand, by him trying to go with the video he is backing up the Republican cause. I think Obama will have to appeal to people of the United States to look past the video and see that not only is it his right to appoint a new judge, but it would be beneficial for everyone. I completely agree with maybesarah in that the GOP is making a big mistake by refusing to even discuss nominations. Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana, a Republican has said that he would not back any Republican that the White House sends their way. Despite many Democrats, including Sen. Harry Reid, saying that they would support a Republican nominee, one that was similar to Scalia. Especially now that Donald Trump is the top contender for the Republican nomination, I think the GOP should take their chances with Obama choosing a nominee. I think this battle will not only bring up the issue of the president's right/power to elect a nominee during an election year, but it will also bring to light many of the issues within the party's themselves. Overall I think this battle looks very bad from a constitutional standpoint because the Supreme Court is supposed to be separate from the parties and yet now they are battling over the next nominee.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/24/politics/harry-reid-brian-sandoval-supreme-court/index.html
After Antonin Scalia’s death, my first reaction was that the Republicans must take Obama’s nomination for the Supreme Court into consideration, but now I see that they will not consider a candidate no matter what their political background. Obama was considering appointing Governor Sandoval from Nevada, who happens to be a more moderate Republican (Since then, he has expressed that he does not want to be considered for the Supreme Court). Even after this news, Mitch McConnell has held his ground on the issue and is sticking to his principles. This shows that the Republicans will not accept a nomination from Obama’s adminstration even if he is a Republican. The Republicans believe that because Obama is a lame duck, he should not be the one to fill the seat. The next president, whoever he/she may be will choose the next Supreme Court justice based on his/her values. I think that the 24 year old video is significant to show that the democrats would probably doing the same thing as the Republicans right now if they held the Senate. After thinking a long time about this issue, I think that Mitch McConnell is doing the right thing by sticking to his principles.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-vetting-republican-nevada-gov-brian-sandoval-for-supreme-court-seat-1456344658
http://www.wsj.com/articles/nevada-gov-brian-sandoval-removes-himself-from-supreme-court-consideration-1456427598
As Claire mentioned I think that this nomination process is going to be an uphill battle for Obama. He is facing a Republican Senate who has already stated that they will not be open to hearing or even considering Obama's nomination. Several senators have even gone so far as to say that they wouldn't change their mind even if the nominee happened to be Republican. Then there is the whole issue of Biden's video, and given America's intense dislike of anyone who appears to flip-flop on their positions, I don't see how Obama's administration is going to be able to effectively recover from this major set back.
Obama has stressed since the beginning of this conflict that this is his and the Senate's constitutional duty and that he will be selecting a nominee who has a "sterling record" and who is best suited to take on such an important job. Obama has also commented that this should not be about politics and partisanship, despite the fact that those happen to be the root causes of this conflict to begin with. Many people have stated that the best way for Obama to get around these stubborn Republicans is to put up a moderate nominee whom Republicans have supported in the past. In doing so not only would that help to remove some of the partisanship that has come to dominate this judicial appointment discussion, but also highlight how ridiculous the Republicans are behaving.
It is frustrating that our government is so polarized that officials are willing to allow an entire branch of our government - one that is supposedly removed from the whole political game - to have an empty seat for almost an entire year, a year when many important cases will be brought before it.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/24/politics/obama-supreme-court-nominee/
I agree with Amanda that it is a violation of the senates constitutional responsibility to review all candidates presented by the current president. In this case the republicans are trying to stall the process until a knew president (GOP preferred) is elected and sworn into office. If this happens then they will be able to elect a republican leaning supreme court justice and the GOP will have the majority for all branches of the government. As of now with the death of supreme court justice Scalia the supreme court is split between republican and democrat. Whoever takes Scalia's places will give the majority to that party. It is crucial for Obama to appoint a replacement for Scalia as soon as possible because if the republicans elect a favorable candidate for themselves they will have a monopoly in our government. The Judicial branch may be the only branch of government with a Democratic majority by 2017 unless Obama can't get the senate to vote on his nominees. Obama needs to fight this hard and make sure the republicans don't get away with their current violation of their constitutional duties. If the Republicans are able to stall the process and get a Republican Supreme Court Justice a new political era will be born.
Although I believe that Obama has the right to nominate a justice, I do not think he will be successful in doing so. The Republican party has made it very clear from the beginning that they will not even consider anyone that Obama nominates. I strongly disagree with this approach because Obama has a constitutional right to nominate the justice of his choice. The fact that the GOP won't even consider his nomination is ridiculous. I also don't think that this is the best move on the GOP's part either. They are hoping that the new president will be a Republican who will choose whichever justice they suggest. However, there is a great chance that the president elect will be a Democrat. In this case, both Hillary and Clinton will nominate people even more extremely against the GOP's preferences than Obama's would be. Obama's best bet at this point is to nominate a moderate justice who will be a good compromise. Because of this, the GOP should take this opportunity to grab a moderate justice, rather than taking their chances and possibly getting a very liberal one.
The current situation we are seeing within the government right now is rather disappointing. It has come to the point where party politics and personal interests have trumped those of the country and those of the American people. In short, I am of the impression that, regardless of everything they will try to pull out of their hat, the Senate will indeed appoint Obama’s nominee. Quickly, as for the video of Joe Biden, I personally don’t think it really matters at this point. Of course the GOP is going to try to use it as an exploit in order to stop the President. That being said, it would be naive to declare that no one from the GOP, or anyone ever for that matter, has never gone back on their word either. In terms of the Republicans preemptively deciding to not meet Obama’s candidate, I believe this is a dastardly action. The Senate has every right, as given by the constitution, to deny the President’s appointment, but to not meet the candidate at all is a disgrace to American government. Such partisan actions are destroying the ability for government to effectively operate and are in complete disrespect of our country’s leader. In any case, I too believe that this will be an uphill battle for President Obama, as McConnell and his fellow conservatives appear to be set in their ways. As with anything, I believe both of the parties need to cement themselves in the idea of compromise. This is compounded by the fact that every Supreme Court nominee has received a vote within 125 days; there are really no excuses.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/24/obama-to-proceed-with-court-nominee-despite-republican-defiance.html
I think that the Republican position is rather indefensible. A president has a constitutional obligation to nominate Supreme Court justices. People can be worried that Obama will nominate a liberally-biased justice, but that's the way it's always been. The founders knew very well that the president would only appoint justices loyal to him: it's part of the system of checks and balances. In addition, Senate Republicans say the people should decide who the next justice is. But under that logic, justices should only be nominated during the first day of the presidency, shouldn't they? Where do we draw the line? Or are they proposing that the people elect a new justice? Whatever the case, this position suffers from a fallacy of composition: applying arguments only to a small part, not the whole.
Biden's video is pretty damning at first glance. However, many voters (especially anti-Hillary voters) love to, when they oppose a politician, point out inconsistencies in doctrine years back. But at some point it becomes absurd. Sure, Democrats probably would have argued the same way if a the roles were reversed, but two wrongs don't make a right. If Julio punches you down by the schoolyard, he can say that you would have done the same, but that doesn't fix anything.
I am extremely disappointed with the Republicans' refusal to even hold hearings on a nomination from Obama. Regardless of whether the president is a Democrat or a Republican, it is his Constitutional right to fill Scalia's vacancy in the Supreme Court. History is not on the side of the Republican party considering that in the 20th century alone, there were six Supreme Court nominations. (In 1912, the Senate confirmed Mahlon Pitney, nominated by William Howard Taft. In 1916, the Senate confirmed both Louis Brandeis and John Clarke, nominated by Woodrow Wilson. In 1932, the Senate confirmed Benjamin Cardozo, nominated by Herbert Hoover. In 1940, the Senate confirmed Frank Murphy, nominated by Franklin Roosevelt. In 1988, the Senate confirmed Anthony Kennedy, who had been nominated by Ronald Reagan the previous November.) This proves that there is no deadline. I think it's also important to note that these nominations have been made by both Democratic and Republican presidents. More evidence is that the longest Supreme Court nomination in American history lasted 125 days. Obama has 329 days left of his presidency. This is not a partisan issue. I don't think Biden's video should have any influence on whether or not the nomination should be made. Party doesn't matter. This is a matter of following the Constitution, and as a citizen this is an extremely disappointing and frustrating event.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/opinion/the-party-of-no-way.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fnicholas-kristof&action=click&contentCollection=opinion®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection&_r=0
Unfortunately, I do not believe that Obama will be able to successfully appoint a Supreme Court Justice. The Republicans refuse to hold hearings even though Obama is granted the power to find a replacement for Scalia. In the past, most of the nominations were shot down by the opposite party, and this leads me to believe that whoever Obama nominates will not end up becoming the Supreme Court Justice. I think that the Republicans decision to refuse to even meet President Obama's nominee is ridiculous and very disrespectful. In the past, the Republicans at least had the respect to listen to who the nominee was, today President Obama can barely get anything done with the way the Republicans are acting. I believe that the issue will continue on the same path, and I doubt there will be much of a change.
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