This has major implications as the next president gets to choose a supreme court justice and Republicans say they will block all nominees by Obama.
Also, I imagine this will make things more interesting for the debates especially on the GOP side.
HereAndThere Wrote:This has major implications as the next president gets to choose a supreme court justice and Republicans say they will block all nominees by Obama.Also, I imagine this will make things more interesting for the debates especially on the GOP side.
This will definitely make things more interesting. No one saw this happening and this shines a light on how important the Supreme Court is.
I see this making things interesting on both sides, but I think the GOP is going to have a harder time sorting this out. They seem to have a lot more to lose than the Democrats and they will upset a large chunk of their voters no matter what they do.
J.K.Logic Wrote: Any official info out there to how long they can legally prolong the process? So, I wrote in the Sander's forum that I thought Obama would appoint his 3rd justice before he left. But the more I read, the more it seems that that might not actually happen. And that the next elect will actually be responsible for filling Scalia's chair.
Senate Republicans can prolong it as long as they want to. At least until January 3, 2017.
President Obama can nominate anyone he wants, but the Senate has the final say. If they don't act on his nomination or vote his nomination down then the court will only have eight justices until the next President and Congress are able to get one confirmed.
You weren't mistaken. Every single Republican in the most recent debate said that President Obama shouldn't get to have his pick confirmed.
It will be interesting to see if they continue to sing that same tune if the Republicans start getting hammered in the polls for being obstructionists. This battle is only beginning and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets pretty ugly.
justin412 Wrote: It will be interesting to see if they continue to sing that same tune if the Republicans start getting hammered in the polls for being obstructionists. This battle is only beginning and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets pretty ugly.
I really wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans wait until all of the primary elections are over before they do much of anything. This will allow them to give vulnerable Republicans some cover from a candidate who primaries them from the right.
Then, after the primaries, I wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans look at the Senate map and realize they are in big trouble because they have twice as many seats that are up for election. Moderate Republicans in swing states may change their mind and vote to confirm a justice to show their constituents that they take their job seriously.
Either way, I see a new Justice being confirmed to the bench before President Obama leaves office.
JaredS Wrote:I really wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans wait until all of the primary elections are over before they do much of anything. This will allow them to give vulnerable Republicans some cover from a candidate who primaries them from the right.
Southern California's Paul J. Watford is among Obama's top choices for Supreme Court
Regardless of who Obama wants to nominate though, looks as if the Republicans will be blocking the nomination in unison, because of the upcoming election. I suppose they want a Republican nominee of their choosing, so they will postpone until they potentially get their chance.
Well, it's their prerogative to jam this decision up I guess. No rule saying they can't. Is there?
Trump identifies 11 potential Supreme Court nominees
Chances of Garland getting the nom before the election is over just sent down considerably.
J.K.Logic Wrote:Trump identifies 11 potential Supreme Court nomineesChances of Garland getting the nom before the election is over just sent down considerably.
I wouldn't be surprised if Republicans do an about face if they think Trump is going to lose in a landslide. The Senate map is horrendous for Republicans no matter who's on the top of the ticket and I can definitely see them rushing through Garland's nomination at the last minute if they are staring down at the Democrats retaking the Senate and a Democrat winning the Presidency.