The unexpected passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday brought the nomination of his successor front and center during the Republican debate in Greenville, SC. While there are still questions surrounding the death of Scalia, President Obama has vowed to name a successor and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) just as quickly announced that the schedule for the remainder of the year would not accommodate such an appointment. The Republican candidates jockeying for position to succeed Obama unanimously concurred with McConnell by saying the next president to name Scalia’s successor is presently standing on the stage in Greenville.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla) stated that such an appointment was unprecedented because it had not been done by a lame duck president in over eighty years. Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump chimed in by saying that the Senate should simply “delay, delay, delay” any appointment by President Obama.
Hilary Clinton who is presently trying to gain her footing in the Democratic primaries against Bernie Sanders wasted no time to go on Twitter and release this statement following the death of Scalia:
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Justice Scalia as they mourn his sudden passing,” the statement said. “I did not hold Justice Scalia’s views, but he was a dedicated public servant who brought energy and passion to the bench.”
“The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution,” she continued. “The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons.”
Until Scalia’s vacant seat on the nation’s highest court is filled, neither Liberals or Conservatives on the court presently have an advantage. Hilary Clinton was abruptly asked on last week if she had considered nominating Barack Obama to fill a possible vacancy on the court had been considered if she were elected as the next president. Clinton stated that she had not thought about that possibility but concluded that she was not opposed to the idea. In like manner, many Republican hopefuls have concluded that any vacancy should be filled be an ultra-conservative.
As fate would have it, Scalia’s death has opened up the dialogue that will dominate the presidential debate until a successor to Obama has taken the oath of office in January of 2017. The notion that the nation should decide the person to nominate the nest Supreme Court justice was answered in 2008 and 2012. Until the current president is replaced he has an obligation to uphold the Constitution by putting forward a replacement.
To insinuate that a president is unqualified to make such an appointment and to wait and see who the next president will nominate could possible setup a scenario that could destroy the Republican Party forever. If Hilary Clinton is elected as a protest vote against Republican obstruction and nominate private citizen Barack Obama to fill this vacancy, it’s game over.
