Posted on 02/14/2016 12:45:02 PM PST by SeekAndFind
After Justice Antonin Scalia's death Saturday at 79, the Supreme Court is now evenly divided between four liberal justices and four conservatives, even with Anthony Kennedy's occasional swings. What a moment for Scalia to depart: The court faces a wild array of closely divided decisions. It is an election year. And President Obama has stacked the lower circuit courts with Democrats. Obama has been chewing on his legacy for months. Fate has handed him the opportunity of any presidency -- to swing the balance of the Supreme Court from conservative to liberal.
Scalia weighed heavily on the conservative tilt of the current court, registering as more conservative even than other Republican justices in every field except on international and defense issues. There is no other justice whose replacement would more profoundly affect the court's orientation. The court's docket this term shows a clear intent to rule on some of the most contentious issues in the society: abortion, unionization, presidential power, affirmative action, political representation. Nothing in the presidential election in the fall matters more than the ability to shape the court. Now everyone should know that, including an incumbent who once taught constitutional law.
Any nominee, of course, would have to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Leaders there, and also most GOP presidential candidates, are already making clear that they intend to block Obama. But they may not realize that leaving Scalia's seat vacant plays right into his hands.
The court is not yet halfway through the 80 or 90 cases it deals with each term, but many of the most contentious have already been heard. Normally, justices meet the week a case is argued, and vote on the outcome. So they have most likely already voted on pending cases on apportionment and affirmative action, for example.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The Washington Post warning the Republicans. How touching that the Post is so concerned for the welfare of the Republican party.
I'm with you, Dilbert San Diego. Putting a new liberal on the court is much worse than a 4-4 tie.
The tie keeps the lower court ruling against Obama's executive amnesty in place. And for the other case cited in the article, the stay on the EPA CO2 rules, it wouldn't be so fast for the adminstration to come up with a new plan to push through the 4-4 court. There are all kinds of public hearing procedures etc. which delay it.
I wouldn’t bet against the GOP establishment holding out against any one Obama might nominate.
They don’t want to be accused of being racist, obstructionist and playing politics.
If they move to confirm an Obama Supreme Court nominee, the fix is in.
A computer program could easily be written to decide the constitutionality of nearly anything.
I always depend on some stupid blog like Washington Post.
To the Supreme Court? Well, we could all move to Venezuela or some other banana republic.
Sure he does! /s
I think you are right
Scalia’s death could be the equivalent of the Dred Scott decision of 1857.
Boy the media want Obama to have this more than the Dems. Scary stuff.
Indeed -The author has lots of good details in his article but his conclusion that the GOP should approve whatever leftist Obama nominates so that we can lose a few cases 5-4 instead of 4-4 defies sense. If we approve someone it’s not about this years cases its about 30 more years of judicial tyranny.
Impeachment is the only way to removed a lifetime appointment, outside of resignation or death.
Okay. We'll call it fate.
Or any one of the identifiable precursor events to the First Civil War. Seriously, I think the Justice who replaces the late great Scalia is more important than which Republican becomes President on January 20, 2017.
Kennedy and Roberts could only be called conservative next to Obama.
“What is unclear is how soon Loveable Lindsey, Susan Collins, et al get KY’s McC to switch his stand and bring up the nomination of Obama’s choice.”
McConnell has no say. The Ball is in Chuck Grassleys court. He is the judicial committee chairman. How ever, McConnell could remove him from that post.
“We are the Socialists. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”
Thank you for referencing that article SeekAndFind. As usual, please bear in mind that the following critique is directed at the article and not at you.
As I have ranted in related threads, lawless Obama and state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices are not the main problems with the corrupt Washington cartel.
The main problem with the DC cartel is corrupt lawmakers who keep their voting records clean by allowing federal officials outside the legislative branch to steal and abuse legislative powers, including stealing 10th Amendment-protected state legislative powers. By keeping their voting records clean, state sovereignty-ignoring lawmakers are able to fool low-information patriots into reelecting them.
For example, we would probably not be concerned about Obama nominating / appointing another state sovereignty-ignoring activist justice who will predictably steal legislative powers to unconstitutionally expand the federal governments powers if Congress had done its job to impeach and remove Obama from office for likewise stealing federal and state legislative powers to make unconstitutional executive orders.
The bottom line is that the corrupt, post-17th Amendment ratification Senate is the most unconstitutionally powerful entity in the corrupt federal government imo, regardless that the corrupt media, including Obama guard dog Fx Noise, wants everybody to think that the Oval Office is the most constitutionally powerful office in the land.
Remember in November !
When patriots elect Trump, Cruz, or whatever conservative they elect, they need to also elect a new, state sovereignty-respecting Congress that will not only work within its Section 8-limited powers to support the new president, but also protect the states from unconstitutional federal government overreach.
Also, consider that such a Congress would probably be willing to fire state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices.
If the Pubbies delay for a couple of months, the temp justice would hardly have time to come up to speed, The term is over at the end of June.
Sessions ought to have been handled the Gavel. Grassley is not even a lawyer.
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