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Scalia Death Sparks Political Battle
The death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia over the weekend has not only left a vacancy on the nation’s highest court, but has also launched a bitter battle between Senate Republicans and The White House.
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President Obama offered words of condolence upon learning of the death of the 79-year-old conservative Scalia, who died in his sleep at the Cibolo Creek Ranch in Marfa, Texas.  He then went about his constitutionally mandated duties of the presidency and began considering a viable replacement. However, realizing that another Obama appointment to the high court would shift its ideological balance for years to come, Republicans began digging in their heels and fixing for a fight.
The argument is this: should President Obama be allowed to appoint a successor to Scalia of his own choosing, or should the seat remain vacant for an entire year until a new president is elected and sworn-in?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants the seat to remain vacant until after Mr. Obama leaves office, in the hopes that a Republican will win the presidency and appoint a conservative to fill Scalia’s seat.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,” McConnell said in a statement. Â Hmmm…
His words are puzzling.  The American people do have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice, since they already elected Barack Obama to make that decision on their behalf. His words are also puzzling considering McConnell made it a point back in 2005 to educate his Senate colleagues on the presidential protocol for judicial appointments.
“The Constitution of the United States is at stake,” McConnell said on the Senate floor during the Bush presidency. “Article II, Section 2 clearly provides that the President, and the President alone, nominates judges. The Senate is empowered to give advice and consent.”
Funny how his tune has changed now that those rules don’t benefit him or his Republican Party.
Still, Democratic leader Harry Reid is calling Republicans on their political posturing while vigorously pushing for the seat to be filled right away.
“The President can and should send the Senate a nominee right away,” Reid said. “With so many important issues pending before the Supreme Court, the Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible. It would be unprecedented in history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Â Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate’s most essential Constitutional responsibilities.”
Not surprisingly, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton echoed Reid’s sentiments.
“Barack Obama is President of the United States until January 20, 2017. That is a fact, my friends, whether the Republicans like it or not. Elections have consequences. The President has a responsibility to nominate a new justice and the Senate has a responsibility to vote,” Clinton said during a campaign stop in Denver.
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When asked how he feels about a Republican plot to delay a nominee for political reasons, President Obama scoffed at the suggestion, saying “these are responsibilities that I take seriously as should everyone” that are “bigger than any one party.”
He added “They are about our democracy, and they are about the institution to which Justice Scalia dedicated his professional life in making sure it continues to function as the beacon of justice that our Founders envisioned.”
Republicans have vowed that if Mr. Obama proceeds with plans to name a nominee, they will throw a tantrum delay a Senate vote until after his term ends.  This could be a successful maneuver for them if a Republican wins the presidency — or it could be a political death certificate if voters choose to punish them at the ballot box for their political tomfoolery.  In fact, how the GOP handles this situation could end up handing both the presidency and the Senate to the Democrats on a silver platter.
U.S. Presidents since the beginning of time have been allowed to completely fulfill the duties of their office for the official duration.  This means they become president from the very moment they are sworn-in and remain president until the very second they leave office. The duties and responsibilities of the presidency don’t end a year early simply because the opposing party wants to neuter presidential power for their own political expediency.
Should President Obama give in to Republicans and allow this Supreme Court seat to go vacant for nearly a year, just so a new president can pick who he/she wants?  Or should Republicans accept that Barack Obama is the President of the United States until 12 noon on January 20th, 2017 — and simply allow the man to do his constitutional duty, even in decisions they might not like?  You decide!
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Ok now this is ridiculous. Repubs have been trying to block Obama from the minute he became president. Now they want to cut his time as president short too??? This man is the president so let him be the president. He doesn't stop working and appointing people a whole year from his term end just because Repubs are scared what he might do. No president ever had to go through this and I'm sick of it. Let Obama do his job.