What part of the American electoral process don’t U.S. Senate Republican leaders understand?
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said “the American people should decide” who gets to make the next appointment to the Supreme Court.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has echoed that sentiment.
McConnell said the Judiciary Committee will not conduct any hearings to decide whether to confirm whomever the president nominates. It’s malarkey, man.
OK, this isn’t an original thought, but it’s the best one I can come up with.
Americans already have decided who gets to fill the vacancy created by the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia. They decided it in two presidential elections.
Barack H. Obama won them both. He won the 2008 election by nearly 10 million votes; he was re-elected in 2012 by nearly 5 million votes.
Both times the young man gave every indication he would find someone to sit on the court with whom he — as a progressive Democrat — was ideologically comfortable. Two of his picks, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — already have taken their seats on the court.
He gets to nominateĀ a third individual to succeed Justice Scalia.
Yeah, he’s a “lame duck.” What difference does it make? None. He’s still the president. The Senate is still functioning.
So … let the president propose and let the Senate dispose.
Senators can stop hiding behind the cheap canard that the “American people” deserve a voice.
The people’s voice has been heard. Twice!
I will disagree with you on him being a lame duck. He was not defeated in an election and simply filling out the remainder of a term. Otherwise, he would have been a lame duck when the last dance was over at the 2012 inaugural ball.
I think it’s fair to wonder whether we’d be having this SCOTUS appointment debate had this vacancy occurred during the first year of BHO’s second term instead of the final year.