Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died, reported here at NBCNews:
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the bench’s ideological conservative known for his fiery comments in and out of the courtroom, has died. He was 79.
Scalia was “a brilliant legal mind with a pugnacious style, incisive wit, and colorful opinions,” President Barack Obama said Saturday night. “He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the Supreme Court.”
Scalia was found dead at a Texas ranch on Saturday morning when he did not appear for breakfast, the U.S. Marshals Service in Washington told The Associated Press.
No time is being lost to mourning in weighing the political consequences. Every change of personnel necessarily changes the character of the Supreme Court and, since Justice Scalia was the most reliably conservative justice, it’s likely to shift the court to become less conservative. By “less conservative” in this context I mean more of an instrument for social change.
It was very inconsiderate of Justice Scalia to die in an election year since his death will inevitably render what is already a contentious election into even more of a slug fest. That could be forestalled in any number of ways. For example, President Obama could nominate a replacement who was acceptable to the Republicans in the Senate. I see nothing in the president’s past behavior that would suggest he would do such a thing.
Republicans could forestall the coming acrimony by confirming the president’s nominee, if you believe they would do that. Me, neither. Battle lines are already being drawn with Republican presidential aspirants and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell already saying that the Senate will reject any of President Obama’s nominees, as reported by USA Today:
GREENVILLE, S.C. — While mourning the loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, some Republican presidential candidates said Saturday the GOP-run Senate should block confirmation of any successor President Obama might name — a move guaranteed to make the high court a major election issue.
Saying the nation owes it to Scalia’s memory, Texas senator Ted Cruz tweeted that his colleagues should “ensure that the next President names his replacement.”
Marco Rubio, a Florida senator, also said that “the next president” should pick a new justice in the mold of Scalia.
“Justice Scalia was one of the most consequential Americans in our history and a brilliant legal mind who served with only one objective: to interpret and defend the Constitution as written,” Rubio said.
For a guide to what’s likely to happen, look to the sitting Republican senators running for re-election in 2016 from states that were carried by Barack Obama in 2012. They are (in declining order of vulnerability): Mark Kirk of Illinois, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio, Michael Bennett of Colorado. If enough of them break party discipline while Democrats hold party discipline, just about anything can happen.
The GOP will hold out and no nomination will be acted upon. Some of the Obama nominations had unanimous votes of approval, but that won’t be enough. Assuming Trump wins the election I would think the appropriate response would be to delay confirmation of his nominee of rat least a year in return. It gets really interesting if Hilary wins. Would the GOP delay for 5 years?
Steve
This election was already brewing up to be one of the most unpleasant in memory….now it’s just going to be a 9 month train wreck.