Why I Cannot Support an Obama Nominee to the Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia was a giant of the Supreme Court. As a great thinker, a great writer, and a great judge, he served his country with his strong voice of Constitutionalism and conservatism from the moment he was appointed in 1986. The United States of America is a better place because of the 30 years he served on the Supreme Court.
Few have surpassed Justice Scalia’s eloquence in articulating the principle that, rather than unelected judges imposing their personal preferences, the American people should decide the outcome of controversial issues that the Constitution does not directly speak to. President Obama has made it clear that he does not share this philosophy. Instead, he seeks judges who will pursue what they view as “fair outcomes” appropriate to “rapidly changing times.”
The decision of how to replace Justice Scalia is one that will have reverberations far beyond the current presidency. What if the next Supreme Court justice serves for 30 years just like Antonin Scalia did? That brings us to 2046. President Obama leaves office 11 months from now in January 2017.
A president who has less than a year left in office believes he should choose a justice who could be on the court for 10, 20, 30 or even 40 more years. I’d rather wait to confirm a nomination until the American people have the chance to weigh in on the direction of the Court through their votes this November for president and Senate.
The Constitution gives the responsibility of choosing Supreme Court justices to two branches of our government, not just one. Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states:
“The President… shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint… Judges of the Supreme Court.”
The Constitution offers no deadline, no trigger date nor any other rules for an appointment. It just requires the advice and consent of the Senate.
It’s not just Republicans who believe that the Senate should not consider a Supreme Court nomination during a Presidential election year. Watch what Vice President Joe Biden had to say when he was a senator in 1992, a presidential election year:
“It would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is under way - and it is - action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over. That is what is fair to the nominee and is central to the process. Otherwise, it seems to me we will be in deep trouble as an institution.” — Vice President Joe Biden
Whoever is eventually nominated to the Supreme Court will serve all Americans, not just Republicans or Democrats. This November, we have a unique opportunity to let the people decide who the nominee should be, and that is why the next president and the next Senate should decide Justice Scalia’s replacement.
Somewhere out there in America today, there’s another Antonin Scalia waiting to be nominated and confirmed. I don’t know who that is, but I know that it should be up to the next president and Senate to pick him or her.
