# This election has just changed, Justice Scalia has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 13, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052 "2016-02-13T22:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/261 "2016-02-17T07:23:44Z")
Wait. The _Pope_ had him whacked? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/262 "2016-02-17T10:40:14Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > And through the looking glass we go… Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/263 "2016-02-17T12:46:30Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > … > And the other point, that he (allegedly) chose cremation in his will, despite disputing the second Vatican Council’s legitimacy, and it was this council that first proposed that cremation should not be banned by the catholic church…is hilariously desperate reaching. An Originalist to the bitter end I guess. ---
**Author:** ![desertmonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@desertmonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desertmonk)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/264 "2016-02-17T13:20:21Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Really? And you breathe OK? > > I am not a fan of the judge declaring the COD natural sight unseen. > > ETA: If for no other reason than to preempt conspiracy talk. I sometimes sleep with a pillow over my eyes and upper face, I don’t block my mouth. If I were to die like that I can’t say where the pillow would end up. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/265 "2016-02-17T13:31:20Z")
Strategically, Obama would best name a well-qualified member of a ‘group’ (women, minorities, etc) and let the R’s block or reject the appointment. Nationwide, the fallout against the R’s would likely increase the number of elected D’s and help secure the presidency for a D. But, Obama usually does not do things that way. He will, if he follows the “I don’t want to give them any ammunition to say I’m a pinko community organizer” path, he will work behind the scenes to give the R’s a face-saving selection, and justify it as being the best thing for the country. Trump might well be the R nominee. About 60% of the electorate will never vote for him, D’s and R’s alike, so the R’s who are left after the Nov 2016 purge will have to filibuster to prevent Bernie or Hillary from pressing their advantage to the extreme during 2017-2018. That obstruction will lead to further losses, throwing the House into D hands during the midterm… Then we’ll start to see some positive realignment of power in the country, and God help the old white men who try to stand in the way…By the way, I’m already an old white man, and I cannot believe how poorly my sort are managing their future. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/266 "2016-02-17T13:34:40Z")
The R’s kept looking at Ruth, figuring she would be the one to go first. They didn’t even know how sick their big guy had become. He knew it, but, being human, didn’t admit it to himself or try to find a way to protect his legacy. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/267 "2016-02-17T13:39:18Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Really? And you breathe OK? At one point when my family was discussing my MIL w/ dementia, I asked my kids to please put a pillow over my face while I slept, should I ever get to that point. To which my engineer son helpfully responded that most pillows are not sufficiently dense for that purpose, as they allow too much air through. But he said no worries, he’d take care of me. Nice to know he’d been thinking of such things! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/268 "2016-02-17T14:45:56Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > At one point when my family was discussing my MIL w/ dementia, I asked my kids to please put a pillow over my face while I slept, should I ever get to that point. To which my engineer son helpfully responded that most pillows are not sufficiently dense for that purpose, as they allow too much air through. But he said no worries, he’d take care of me. > > Nice to know he’d been thinking of such things! 🆒 No need to ask your family any more - Obama’s death panels will take care of it now! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/269 "2016-02-17T15:09:29Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Politically, the general usage of “lame duck” regarding the president has come to mean the last couple years of a president’s second term, when there are no more midterms or reelection campaigns ahead. But the premise that a lame duck cannot nominate judges is deeply flawed. > > We have to stop using Kennedy as ammunition for our side, though. He was only confirmed in an election year after being nominated in the previous year, and after two previous nominees had been defeated by the Senate. Justice Powell had announced his retirement way back in June of '87, almost twice as long before the election as there is now. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/30/us/byrd-says-bork-nomination-would-face-senate-trouble.html](http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/30/us/byrd-says-bork-nomination-would-face-senate-trouble.html) OTOH, John Marshall was nominated by President John Adams on January 20, 1801 - two and a half months _after_ Jefferson was elected, and only a month and a half before Jefferson would take office. The Senate confirmed Marshall’s nomination a week later. And that’s how the original originalists did things. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/270 "2016-02-17T17:27:43Z")
My father and my first husband were both declared to have died of “natural causes” without autopsy, because both had health issues. I could have asked for an autopsy for my husband, but I didn’t find it necessary. It’s really common. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/271 "2016-02-17T18:25:23Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > My father and my first husband were both declared to have died of “natural causes” without autopsy, because both had health issues. I could have asked for an autopsy for my husband, but I didn’t find it necessary. > > It’s really common. Yes. My dad died of cancer. We were pretty sure that the cause of death was…cancer. But this isn’t about rational thought, it’s about loons making up lunacy. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/272 "2016-02-18T00:25:20Z")
Sorry to hear about both of your losses. But I assume there were not massive political and policy implications of their passing. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/273 "2016-02-18T00:37:28Z")
And I doubt Scalia’s wife and kids give a crap about buttoning loopholes for conspiracy theorists. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/274 "2016-02-18T00:43:28Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/275 "2016-02-18T00:43:42Z")
It shouldn’t be up to them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/276 "2016-02-18T00:48:29Z")
So who do you think owns the body? Who do you think owned it when he was still alive? Scalia himself, or the taxpayers? Or maybe the media? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/277 "2016-02-18T00:49:17Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > It shouldn’t be up to them. It’s up to them unless there is a sign of something other than someone dying of ill health. Fat old men die at age 79 all the damned time. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/278 "2016-02-18T00:50:18Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > And I doubt Scalia’s wife and kids give a crap about buttoning loopholes for conspiracy theorists. It wouldn’t work anyway. “Who bought off the coroner? 0bummer threatened him!” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/279 "2016-02-18T00:52:39Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Wait. The _Pope_ had him whacked? He seems like such a nice guy for a Pope, but, you know, once a Jesuit, always a Jesuit. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052/280 "2016-02-18T00:55:19Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > It shouldn’t be up to them. It isn’t if any law enforcement agency suspected something. But in this case they didn’t so it is up to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-election-has-just-changed-justice-scalia-has-died/746052.md?page=15)