Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court

Ronald Reagan Thinks The SCOTUS Vacancy Should Be Filled Now

What does the patron saint of conservatism think about a SCOTUS vacancy?

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Ronald ReaganBy now the shocking news of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death has begun to give way to questions of who will succeed him on the highest court. Okay, in fairness that switch happened about a hot second after the news of Scalia’s passing was confirmed. And while some consider it distasteful that thoughts immediately went to finding his replacement, I think it speaks highly of the power Justice Scalia wielded. When President Kennedy died, under much more violent circumstances, no one waited for an ill-defined and arbitrary “appropriate” time to swear in a successor. Nope, President Johnson got sworn in on a plane, with his hand on a missal, since no Bible could be found.

Of course the Court can survive for a time with eight justices, but those 4-4 lower-court-affirmed decisions are going to start rolling in, and that isn’t going to do anyone any good. But we live in contentious times, and there is already a controversy brewing, with the players predominately taking party lines.

On one side are Republicans who are loathe to let President Obama make another Supreme Court nomination. Donald Trump got in the best sound bite on the issue, natch, urging the Senate to “delay, delay, delay” an Obama nomination.

Marco Rubio went on a run of Sunday talk shows this weekend to push the talking point that Obama has an obligation to… the GOP?, America?, something?… to not put forth a Supreme Court nominee. That led to this humorous exchange with Chuck Todd:

“Do presidential terms end after three years?” NBC host Chuck Todd shot back at the candidate.

“There comes a point in the last year of the president, especially in their second term, where you stop nominating,” Rubio said. “You basically say, at this point, with a few months left in your term, no accountability from the ballot box on the appointment you’re going to make — on a lifetime appointment.”

“Eleven months!” Todd interrupted.

Zing!

Ted Cruz immediately went on the offensive, tweeting out this respectful gem shortly after Justice Scalia’s death was confirmed:

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And the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, is now claiming it is standard practice to leave a vacancy on the Supreme Court for 11 months. Okay, those aren’t the exact words he used, but he did gabber on about election years, which barely concealed his naked political interest in delaying the SCOTUS nomination. His spot was further blown up when C-SPAN dug up this tidbit from 1988 — an election year — when Senator Grassley spoke in support of Reagan’s nominee, then-Judge Anthony Kennedy. And yes, Justice Kennedy was confirmed unanimously by a Democrat-led Senate.

Surprising exactly no one, President Obama shut down Republican dreams that he’d just coast through his final year of presidency without a nominee:

I plan to fulfill my Constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They are bigger than any one party; they are about our democracy. They’re about the institution to which Justice Scalia dedicated his professional life and making sure it continues to function as the beacon of justice that our founders envisioned.

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And he doubled down on that promise at today’s press conference.

As you might expect, the rest of the Democrats are lining up in support of the president. Senator Elizabeth Warren took to Facebook, burning Republicans for thinking Obama should wait on a Supreme Court nominee:

Article II Section 2 of the Constitution says the President of the United States nominates justices to the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate. I can’t find a clause that says “…except when there’s a year left in the term of a Democratic President.”

Senate Republicans took an oath just like Senate Democrats did. Abandoning the duties they swore to uphold would threaten both the Constitution and our democracy itself. It would also prove that all the Republican talk about loving the Constitution is just that — empty talk.

And of course the two Democratic candidates have taken the same stance:

But lost in all the current political back and forth are the words of conservative hero Ronald Reagan. He thought it was a “constitutional obligation” to restore “the United States Supreme Court to full strength.” He even championed, and received, a bipartisan effort to do so for Anthony Kennedy. Don’t believe me? Watch the video from CSPAN:

Nothing quite so satisfying as when history gives you the perfect quote for the completely opposite political party.

Earlier: Supreme Court Justices Remember Antonin Scalia
Justice Scalia And Me: A Love Story
Who Will Obama Nominate To Replace Scalia — A Gambler’s Guide
In Death, Scalia Will Become More Powerful Than Ever
Justice Antonin Scalia Reported Dead Of Natural Causes In West Texas

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