Here’s the article.
http://www.kvia.com/news/breaking-surpreme-court-justice-scalia-dies-during-hunting-trip-in-marfa/37981652
Will Pres Obama be able to successfully appoint another justice before he leaves office?
With the House and senate predominantly republican, not a chance.
I was just humming that song.
Wow. Absolutely monumental news. I was not a fan, but RIP and best wishes to his family.
This election season just got much, much unpredictable.
Thirding that. I haven’t felt this good since Jesse Helms slipped this mortal coil.
Well dang… now how is Clarence Thomas supposed to know how to vote?
I wonder who Cheney was aiming for?
Only the Senate matters. But I get your point.
? I’m not seeing the immediate connection to the predictability of the POTUS race.
How would this make any difference in the way anyone will vote?
That’s too bad. Whatever you might think of his beliefs he was a good jurist.
Oh, wait, I forgot where I was for a minute. He was terrible glad he’s dead HURR DURR.
Assuming that the nomination remains logjammed between now and November, then the election essentially becomes a referendum on whether the Supreme Court will have a liberal or conservative majority for the foreseeable future.
As a great American once said;
But will the Democrats be able to force this into an election issue? If the Democrats can successfully hammer home that the Republicans are willing to hamper the Supreme Court for a full year just for political gain, then it could be just enough of a wedge issue to get them over the top in the election.
I don’t think Joe or Josephine average voter is going to be making their choice based on that hypothetical.
Then it becomes the obligation of the pundits and campaigners on both sides of the aisle to educate them on that hypothetical, because it is now the deciding question on which this election shall be won or lost.
I can’t say I’m shocked. In recent years, his temperament seemed to shift, which is unusual in the late 70s, I think. It seemed he died peacefully in while hunting in Texas. Not a bad death for the guy.
For democrats, I think this also makes the question “who do you think will be able to get a nominee confirmed, Bernie or Hillary” an important question. Don’t underestimate how many democrats pay attention to the composition of the SCOTUS.
He was a terrible Justice who I wanted to see get impeached but he was funny and wrote opinions like no one else did. RIP.
Side note: this shit show election just became a cluster fuck.
What’s the longest the court has been without a ninth member?
And the average voter may not get how important the court is, but I think they might understand “this is a government function, but certain people aren’t letting it function fully”.
Are there any particularly important cases that are expected to reach the Supreme Court docket in the next year or two?