The Lines of Battle Drawn- the Death of Antonin Scalia

It did not take President Barack Obama a half dozen sentences to both note the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and to announce that he intends to replace the late justice, before his term is out. As though the president was chomping at the bit to do so, Obama seized upon the opportunity to leave one last mark- a lasting one, at that- on a Supreme Court that has, at times, thwarted his affinity to rule by fiat, through constitutionally- questionable executive orders on a host of issues, ranging from immigration to the right of citizens to bear arms, as guaranteed in the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Justice Scalia, a strict constitutionalist and perhaps the most conservative jurist on the Supreme Court, was widely admired on all sides of the judiciary for his academically-sound and scholarly approach to the opinions he authored, both in majority, as well as in dissenting, opinions. The son of Sicilian immigrants, with his brilliant mind and his honest, non-political approach towards the execution of his duties on the high court, will be sorely missed by all but one- that one being the incumbent President of the United States, who has heretofore shown much contempt for that bothersome document, the Constitution of the United States, to which Justice Scalia held in such high regard.

Conversely, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have both indicated their intent to delay hearings on Scalia’s replacement until after the 2016 presidential election. Standing on a tradition that has been in place for the past eight decades, where Supreme Court nominations have been set aside during presidential election years, it is altogether fitting that the Republican leadership in the Senate take such a stance. Certainly there is no doubt that, if the situation was reversed, the Democrats in the Senate would do precisely the same thing, just as they did in 2007-8, when the Democrat-led Senate delayed judicial appointments proffered by President George W. Bush, at the time.

The question is whether or not the Senate leadership will hold firm in their resistance to a political onslaught that is sure to follow, with Democrats, their candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and the mainstream media at the ready, to charge the Republicans with obstructionism, or worse.

All Obama has to do is put forward a nomination of an African-American to the high court, and charges of “racism” will surely follow any Republican resistance to the nominee, regardless of the candidate’s qualifications, or lack thereof. The same holds true for any woman, of any color, where any resistance will fire up Hillary Clinton’s mantra about the supposed “Republican ‘war on women’,” or some such rot. Given that temptation, Obama will likely proffer an African-American woman, such as Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and dare the Republicans to stand in his way, especially since her own confirmation as Attorney General was approved on a 56 to 43 vote, last year.

There is much at stake for the Republican leadership, should they cave into pressure from Democrats and the major media to proceed with hearings and eventual consent of Obama’s nominee, for they already have had the reputation of acceding to the demands of this “imperial president,” on issues ranging from the budget to the dubious Iran “deal,” thanks to the asinine finaglings of Bob Corker (R-TN), who made it easier for the Iran deal to sail through the Senate.

Even more so, the overall direction of the Supreme Court, given the absence of Scalia, already teeters on upcoming rulings regarding Obama’s use of executive orders to bypass Congress, and hazardously remains in flux. Add another activist liberal to the Supreme Court, and we can kiss the concept of legislative power and the rule of law, “goodbye,” for a generation to come.

All of this lends credence to just how important this election of 2016 has become, and for reasons that continue to pop up at such an alarming rate, to boot.

 

-Drew Nickell, 15 February 2016

© 2016 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.