You and I know that politicians keep telling us how they hate dealing with hypothetical situations, how they detest questions dealing with circumstances that might not ever occur.
Well, here’s a hypotthetical matter that very well could play out. Bear with me for a moment.
The midterm election this fall could result in a dramatic shift in congressional power, with Democrats reclaiming the majority in the House of Reps … and also the Senate. Let’s suppose the Senate shifts from Republican to Democratic control. Donald Trump is likely to become apoplectic, but this isn’t really about him.
What happens if one of the three liberal seats on the U.S. Supreme Court becomes vacant? A justice might have to resign, or he or she might well … be unable to serve. The Senate then becomes Ground Zero in the battle to fill the seat.
Flash back to 2016. Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died while vacationing in Texas. President Obama then was able to nominate someone to replace the brilliant jurist Scalia. He chose Merrick Garland, chief justice of the DC Appellate Court.
Not so fast, said then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. We’ve got an election coming up in November and we need tolet the voters decide who becomes president before moving on this nomination, McConnell said. Obama was furious. So were Democratic senators. Everyone praised Garland as an outstanding candidate for the high court. McConnell played his hand brilliantly.
Donald Trump won the 2016 election. He took his oath and then nominated the first of three justices he would get to pick during his first term in office.
It well might be possible for the next Senate majority leader, presuming it’s a Democrat, to pull the same stunt that McConnell used. One liberal justice, Sonia Sotomayor, has hinted openly she might have to step down because of health matters. Do you think a new Senate majority leader is going to roll over and let Trump tilt the court even farther to the right? Hah! I don’t believe that will ever happen.
Elections have consequences, yes? We’re watching in real time how those consequences can play out with a Supreme Court that already has overturned landmark rulings. Thus, it becomes vital to understand how vital it is to select the right Senate candidates when it comes time to speak out.