RIP Scalia

Quote: AZDuffman

Oh, I may not be inside his head, but I know how liberals think about Scalia. Obama could have shown respect and shown up. He could have shown up in the spirit of working across the aisle. He does not want and has never wanted this. As I said, he is a partisan hack and always has been.

Obama never learned a basic rule of acting like a man

Respect is a 2 way street, not a one way street
I think it was disrespectful for Scalia not to attend a single Obama State of the Union address

But anyway, totally agree with BBB
Funerals are the job of the VP
Meaningless ceremonies are exactly what the VP position is for

I take the Big Lebowski position, just put the ashes in a tin can and spread them at your leisure :-)

I think I understand a little better what is going on. By my calculations it was over 45.5 years since Republican president's nominations have had 5 or more seats on the Supreme court. They got as high as 8 (never all 9).

But the problem is that many of the Republican nominations have been moderates or even downright liberal. As far as a somewhat even count (4 conservatives, 4 liberals, and 1 swing vote) that has only been true for 10 years.

Although President Obama did replace two Republican nominated Justices:
Bush, GHW nomination Souter, David H. replaced with Sotomayor, Sonia
Ford nomination Stevens, John Paul replaced with Kagan, Elena

both Souter and Stevens had drifted so far that they were considered liberals. Now Sotomayor and Kagan may be even more liberal, but the fundamental balance of the court had not changed.

It is 90 minutes until Obama gives his nomination for the Supreme Court.

Here are two compromise candidates which may make the Republicans look bad if they fight the nomination tooth and nail.

Judge Sri Srinivasan age (48). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was already vetted by the Senate (and confirmed 97-0 in 2013). He's no tree-hugging liberal. He has defended giant corporations, such as ExxonMobil, against human rights charges, and their leaders, such as former Enron chief executive Jeff Skilling, in appealing fraud and conspiracy convictions. He clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was a Ronald Reagan appointee, and he was an assistant solicitor general under President George W. Bush. He may not want the nomination, as once rejected he may not be nominated again.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is a Republican, but one with views that Obama could likes. He's a former federal judge,who supports abortion rights and comprehensive immigration reform, took a moderate stance on whether to allow Syrian refugees into Nevada, and has not fought the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage. The President nominating a Republican would make it very difficult for the Republican party to run a high profile filibuster campaign against him without looking petty.

Quote: Pacomartin

Here are two compromise candidates which may make the Republicans look bad if they fight the nomination tooth and nail.

How else are they going to shoot themselves in the foot?

Quote:

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is a Republican, but one with views that Obama could likes.

RINO! ;)

He did not go with a compromise candidate.

Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American federal judge who is the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He has served on that court since 1997.

A native of the Chicago area, Garland graduated summa cum laude as valedictorian from Harvard College and went on to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. After serving as a law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States, Garland practiced corporate litigation at Arnold & Porter and worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he played a leading role in the investigation and prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers.

Garland was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1995, and (following a delay in Senate confirmation) took the bench in 1997. Over two decades of service on the D.C. Circuit, Garland developed a reputation for a centrist judicial philosophy and a reputation for brilliance.

I'll go make popcorn.

Quote: Nareed

I'll go make popcorn.

Good comment Nareed
EB dislikes the popcorn comment. He claims he does not understand it :-)
Already some republican senators up for reelection are backtracking from Mitch Mcconnels hard line stance
I also will be getting the popcorn out, wink wink EB :-)

Quote: terapined

Good comment Nareed

Thanks, but what else is there to do? I mean, those Facebook Law Degrees aren't even worth the pixels they're not printed on, right? ;)

Pretty pointless.

Unless Obama threatens to make a recess appointment, no hearings will be scheduled and there will just be accusations thrown back and forth in the press and nothing will happen until the next president takes office.

Quote: Dalex64

Pretty pointless.

Not necessarily. If a Democrat wins the White House this will be a good pick for them compared to what they will likely get later.