NY Times: Congress Should Rubber-stamp Anyone Obama Nominates For Supreme Court

15 Feb, 2016 by William Teach

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The NY Times Editorial Board actually makes a few salient points in their editorial, but, it is the lead that should be noticed first

When Antonin Scalia was named by President Ronald Reagan to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court in 1986, the Senate considered the nomination for 85 days, then voted to confirm him. The tally was 98-0.

That unanimity was by no means a measure of widespread agreement with Justice Scalia’s judicial philosophy. Rather it was the Senate’s customary acknowledgment — at least until recently — that the president had fulfilled his constitutional duty and selected a clearly qualified person for the post.

It is by no means a coincidence that the NYTEB starts off this way: they are demanding that the GOP led Congress rubber-stamp whomever Obama nominates, who will certainly be a hardcore leftist applying their political beliefs, activism, and international law in deciding cases, rather than American law and our Constitution.

Thirty years later, and within hours of the news that Justice Scalia had died, Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, rejected that practice outright. It would not matter if President Obama nominated the ghost of Ronald Reagan himself, they appeared to suggest — there will be no confirmation hearings until Mr. Obama has packed his bags and moved out of the White House. Mr. Obama promptly replied that he planned to send a nomination to Congress shortly.

On this, the NYTEB might have a point: the GOP Senate should give the person a hearing, all the better to expose just how unqualified and left leaning the person is, then take a vote and say “No.”

Senators are free to vote yes or no on any nominee. But not to vote at all is an enormous insult and grave disservice to millions of Americans awaiting justice.

It might make sense if the left wing judges were interested in applying the Constitution to their votes. Rarely do any of the current ones vote against their left wing Social Justice Warrior beliefs. That said, there is precedent to delay delay delay. We’ll see what happens.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.