When Antonin Scalia died eight months ago, the GOP labored mightily to figure out why the sitting President should not get any sort of a hearing for his Constitutionally-sanctioned nomination to the Supreme Court. Ultimately, they settled on the idea that … well … um … Obama was a lame duck president, with only (running out the clock) nine months left in his presidency, and that clearly the one, true, only fair and just and American way to settle who should get to select a SCOTUS Justice was … to wait!
Yes, wait! Because clearly the American People Must Decide, must give their indelible and always-to-be-respected stamp of approval to Who Is the True President, and who therefore should get to pick the next Justice.
So, even though Obama nominated someone, even though the Dems called out the Republicans running the Senate for not doing their job, even though this all left SCOTUS with a dangerously divisible number of justices, even though the Bush-appointed John Roberts, Chief Justice, complained about this … despite all this, the GOP Senate stood firm: We Must Let the American People Decide.
Aaaaand … is there anyone the least bit surprised that, now that it seems likely Hillary Clinton is going to win the Presidency[1] — by the will of the American People, mind you — that the GOP is tossing all that pious respect for the electorate out the window and maintaining that they will block anyone she nominates to the Supreme Court as well?
Yes, this bodes well for the next four years. But thanks at least to the Republicans for clarifying, for those who have any doubt, who is the party of gridlock and obstructionism and do-nothing politics.
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[1] It remains possible that Trump will win instead. But by making statements like this, McCain and his cohorts make it clear in advance that they are all about keeping government from working again, still, some more. And that they think their supporters want that, too.
McCain Vows Supreme Court Blockade Will Continue Through Clinton’s Presidency
Constitutional crises everywhere.
