What Scalia’s Death Means to the Country and to Politics
This past weekend our nation lost Supreme Court Justice Atonin Scalia.
At the age of 79 years of Scalia was the longest serving justice among the current nine judges, being the appointee of President Ronald Reagan in 1986 at the young age of 50.
Honing the nickname of “Nino”, Scalia was known as being a highly conservative parliamentarian who was often times accused of letting his Catholic beliefs influence his rulings.
With the death of Justice Scalia just hours before the South Carolina debate, the mourning period seemed to be that of a few seconds as the debate stage opened up to a flood of political jargon regarding the replacement of the highly conservative judge.
It is seeming that most Republicans have gotten it in their head that the highest court in our country should be just fine without a replacement, as they believe it to be the responsibility of the next President to choose the nominee.
Watching Face the Nation this past Sunday morning as they recapped the previous nights republican debate, I could feel my blood begin to boil.
More and more I find myself disappointed in the men and women our nation has elected into some of the most powerful positions in our government.
The divide between the aisles seems to grow deeper and deeper with each crisis that faces our country, and in my mind this is not only a self serving result to the way we have set up our government, but also quite the disservice to each and every individual that calls them self an American.
From where I am standing, I get that it sucks for the Republicans to lose a spot on the Supreme Court, but it is what it is. Obama has vowed to fulfill his “constitutional responsibilities” to nominate the next Supreme Court Justice, and according to our Constitution, that is his right, and only his to fulfill.
If the Senate were to block a reasonable candidate for the Court, there would be devastating backlash from moderates and liberals alike, as it is just inconceivable to leave such an important post vacant within our government for nearly a year.
Secondly, in regards to possible nominees, I truly believe in the nomination of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. Though I am a bit biased, being that I hail from the great northern state of Minnesota, I truly believe that she is the best candidate for the job.
Known as being well liked by both parties in DC, Klobuchar is considered to be a moderate democrat, and has a solid resume to back up her creditability. Though she has never served in the postition of a judge, she would most definitely not be the first to join the Supreme Court without the prior title.
All in all, the appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice has never been so political and it is my belief that there may be a new wave of political involvement surrounding our nations high judiciary system.
