02-14-2016, 01:02 AM
Wow, a Tampa event has just occurred!
Associate Justice Antonio Scalia has just died. It is rare for a Supreme Court Judge to die while still on the Bench.
Shamefully, the Republicans are saying they won't allow Obama to fill the vacant position. This is just a continuation of a strategy they've employed for years. There's a backlog of Federal judicial positions that need to be filled and the Republicans have refused to allow Obama's picks to go before Congress. But it's particularly problematic when it involves the Supreme Court because there is no longer a deadlock-breaking vote meaning that vital cases may end up in stalemate. There are still 341 days left in Obama's presidency and it would take some time after the new President takes office for the position to be filled.
If the Republicans stick to their word, the Presidential election has just taken on even more importance. Of course, any half-intelligent voter should have known that this was an issue but the death of Scalia concentrates the mind.
Imagine, issues such as abortion, climate change, gun control, Obamacare, and campaign financing will depend on who fills the vacancy. And other vacancies will probably open up in the next Presidential term. Ruth Ginsberg is almost 83. Affecting the balance of the Supreme Court influences politics will handcuff or liberate the next President depending on his or her political hue.
If I were an American Democrat voter, I wouldn't want to take any risks. I'd be voting in the primaries for whoever would be most likely to beat the Republican candidate. If Trump or Cruz can get in and stack the Supreme Court, the US will be radically changed in a way that might take decades to reverse.
If I were minded to vote for Sanders on the basis that a quixotic tilt at campaign reform is worthwhile even if it is bound to fail, I might re-evaluate.
Associate Justice Antonio Scalia has just died. It is rare for a Supreme Court Judge to die while still on the Bench.
Shamefully, the Republicans are saying they won't allow Obama to fill the vacant position. This is just a continuation of a strategy they've employed for years. There's a backlog of Federal judicial positions that need to be filled and the Republicans have refused to allow Obama's picks to go before Congress. But it's particularly problematic when it involves the Supreme Court because there is no longer a deadlock-breaking vote meaning that vital cases may end up in stalemate. There are still 341 days left in Obama's presidency and it would take some time after the new President takes office for the position to be filled.
If the Republicans stick to their word, the Presidential election has just taken on even more importance. Of course, any half-intelligent voter should have known that this was an issue but the death of Scalia concentrates the mind.
Imagine, issues such as abortion, climate change, gun control, Obamacare, and campaign financing will depend on who fills the vacancy. And other vacancies will probably open up in the next Presidential term. Ruth Ginsberg is almost 83. Affecting the balance of the Supreme Court influences politics will handcuff or liberate the next President depending on his or her political hue.
If I were an American Democrat voter, I wouldn't want to take any risks. I'd be voting in the primaries for whoever would be most likely to beat the Republican candidate. If Trump or Cruz can get in and stack the Supreme Court, the US will be radically changed in a way that might take decades to reverse.
If I were minded to vote for Sanders on the basis that a quixotic tilt at campaign reform is worthwhile even if it is bound to fail, I might re-evaluate.