Saw this on Facebook, and it needs to be repeated far and wide:
“Kennedy was confirmed by a Democratic congress and appointed by lame-duck Ronald Reagan in 1988, so there’s precedent (at least a dozen SCOTUS justices have been appointed in an election year).”
" It is only February. "
That was my line. I am glad that Leahy took some time off from his frigid weekend in Vermont to broadcast some very profound words. Indeed, sir.
Maxaroo: 2. The Senate stonewalls, thereby giving Obama the platform to urge voters to go out in November to help the Democrats finish the job.
the down the line implications of a massive dem turnout are huge. let the obstructionism commence.
Just another GOPer tantrum because Obama gets to name a SCOTUS nominee. GOPers are as predictable as they are repugnant.
That logic could also extend to any president’s first term if a senator arbitrarily decides for example he won’t vote to confirm any black president’s appointments. What is at stake in November is highlighted for all… Not just the presidency, but the Court and Congress too.
Major question for tonight’s debaters, eh?
I thought baggers were all about the constitution?
This President has the CONSTITUTIONAL right to nominate the Supreme Court judge!
I expect Obama to have a nominee named the day after Scalia’s funeral. Let the GOP Senate refuse to take it up. A 4-4 court is still a lot better than a 4-5 court. Roberts and Alito can suck on it, starting now! Countdown to reversal of Citizens United, starting now! McCain-Feingold is still the law of the land if the court reverses that travesty, right? The real question is whether Obama, or Clinton after him (if she wins), is going to empower the FEC to enforce the law.
One extremely good thing about this, and it goes without saying but I’ll make it explicit, is that this isn’t a hard situation for the public to understand. Presidents get to choose SC replacements. The only argument the wingers can make against this particular President fulfilling this part of his role is that he’s uniquely evil and awful and bad. Most people don’t think that. The wingers will show themselves clearly as what they are, obstructionist partisan jerks, doing a thing that’s unfair in a way that should be clear to a bright eight-year-old, and they’re making it clear the good of the nation is the least of their concerns. And with no fucks to give, Obama is free to tell the nation so in his trademark reasonable but compelling way.
ETA: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE HAD A VOICE IN THIS MATTER TWICE ALREADY MCDONNELL YOU POS. THE PRESIDENT IS PRESIDENT. FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE CAREER, JUST DEAL WITH IT LIKE A GROWNUP.
GOP in a move of infinite stupidity will think that they are playing checkers when in fact they are about to unwittingly engage Obama in a chess-match.
Remember how well the “Let’s shut down the government” strategy worked?
So, heard it was on a hunting trip.
Anyone know if Cheney was there too?
“couldn’t even wait for the body to be cold before politicizing this death”. Not technically accurate. They found the body in the morning and the tweets were after 5pm (admittedly a different time zone).
I have personally felt a loved body change from warmth to something that felt like roast beef. It was a few hours. Scalia probably retained heat longer given his bulk but I think that he still would have been cold by five.
Pardon my pickiness but It was a memorable and unhappy experience. I have no problem with cheerful phrases like “She announced her pregnancy while the sheets were still warm.”
That assumes that the Republicans won’t shut down everything for the next 4 years as well.
Don’t underestimate ISIS-types. People willing to kill themselves have all the leverage over people who want to live.
FUUUUCK 'em
Are we sure he was alone? I know it’s bad for me to wish he was with some rent-a-boy, but I can’t help it. LOL!
Actually, that’s pretty much what they’ve done since McConnell took over. But the MSM has ignored it because it’s soooooo boooooring, and anyway, everyone has done that, right? Gonna be kinda hard for them to ignore it now.
Where is the concern for Clarence Thomas? He’s lost his lodestar. We know that he always “me too” to whatever Scalia said or did so now two voices have been silenced. Cue: the crocodile tears in 3…2…1…
OK, Republicans, either let him make the nomination before he moves on, or HAVE him as the nominee after the election, which is it?
If you assume that the next President will be a Republican, you are asking for a big disappointment. And anyone who doesn’t see the cosmic irony in all this is blind.
I hope the President waits until after the funeral, then announces a nominee to fill the opening.
And then ask the Senate do its constitutional duty of “advice and consent.”
And if it does not, hammer them every single day as a “do nothing” bunch of buffoons. Worked for Harry Truman.