SC Justice Antonin Scalia has died

• Con_Alma

  Just remember the framers explicitly made the process political.
• isadore

  gut;1781590 wrote:I don't think that means what your or the blogger does....it's about recess appointments, meaning when Congress is out-of-session confirmation is circumvented. This was used not that long ago with respect to the NLRA, I believe.
  
  If Obama puts up a moderate, I don't see how Repubs can't confirm. The grandstanding will be a moot point if Hillary is elected, and if a Repub does win they will get to replace possibly 2-3 judges, restoring or changing the balance again. And if they lose control of the Senate, a moderate is the best you can hope for even with a Repub POTUS.
  
  IMO, the ideal balance is 2-5-2 or possibly 3-3-3 (which is closer to what it was with Scalia). It's popular to say the court was 5-4 conservative, and no doubt that's the story being pushed to pressure Repubs to confirm a liberal, but Kennedy and Thomas vote with liberals enough to be considered moderate or non-partisan.

  gosh a ruddies what is the basis for your statement about Thomas being a moderate or non-partisan. He is consistently rated as one of the most conservative members of the court
  http://www.usnews.com/news/national/articles/2008/05/12/ranking-the-politics-of-supreme-court-justices
• gut

  isadore;1781662 wrote:gosh a ruddies what is the basis for your statement about Thomas being a moderate or non-partisan. He is consistently rated as one of the most conservative members of the court
  http://www.usnews.com/news/national/articles/2008/05/12/ranking-the-politics-of-supreme-court-justices

  He ruled for Obamacare twice. And he's closer to the center than any of the 4 liberal justices, and has been for the past 10 years.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideological_leanings_of_U.S._Supreme_Court_justices
  
  Look at the voting records - if Thomas is ultra-conservative, his decisions don't reflect it. Unlike the 4 liberal justices who vote predictably in lock-step. Thomas and Kennedy do not.
• majorspark

  

  Heretic;1781604 wrote:So, since both sides are loaded with hypocrites, what next?

  Chuck Schumer.
  
  [video=youtube;zyp0x-cNuyE][/video]
• isadore

  gut;1781667 wrote:He ruled for Obamacare twice. And he's closer to the center than any of the 4 liberal justices, and has been for the past 10 years.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideological_leanings_of_U.S._Supreme_Court_justices
  
  Look at the voting records - if Thomas is ultra-conservative, his decisions don't reflect it. Unlike the 4 liberal justices who vote predictably in lock-step. Thomas and Kennedy do not.

  hey dumbo are you confusing Associate Justice Clarence Thomas with Chief Justice John Roberts
• BoatShoes

  gut;1781667 wrote:He ruled for Obamacare twice. And he's closer to the center than any of the 4 liberal justices, and has been for the past 10 years.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideological_leanings_of_U.S._Supreme_Court_justices
  
  Look at the voting records - if Thomas is ultra-conservative, his decisions don't reflect it. Unlike the 4 liberal justices who vote predictably in lock-step. Thomas and Kennedy do not.

  Dude I think you mean Roberts and not Thomas. Thomas is more Conservative than Scalia ever was.
  
  You mean Chief Justice Roberts methinks - even though he is also Conservative and there was never any doubt that Obamacare was constitutional because of course Congress has the power to tax. The only thing that created any ambiguity was the Obama Administration making the argument that taxing people who didn't have insurance wasn't actually a tax for political reasons.
  
  Just because he is not as Conservative as Thomas doesn't mean he isn't generally conservative.
• BoatShoes

  Let's face it. If the pubs had the presidency the arguments would be the exact same except on different sides.
• majorspark

  

  BoatShoes;1781702 wrote:Let's face it. If the pubs had the presidency the arguments would be the exact same except on different sides.

  I think nearly everyone acknowledges this. You could take the Schumer video I posted and substitute Mcconnell in that case nearly verbatim.
• majorspark

  

  Such a great mind and beyond that a great person. The guy really was not the right wing nutjob he was perceived by some to be. A true jurist that had the ability to set aside his personal convictions and base them on an originalist interpretation of the constitution. the 60 minutes interview I linked is well worth taking the time to watch.
  
  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-scalia-on-the-record/
  
  Boatshoes see if you can catch just how strongly his textualist approach to interpreting the constitution was in this interview. Hint abortion.
• Glory Days

  

  not sure what all the fuss is, Ruth Bader Ginsburg already has her foot in the door. its only a matter of time before they are nominating someone for her spot. If they focus on winning the oval office, they can control that nominee and its right back to the status quo.
• QuakerOats

  THE WHITE HOUSE says President Obama believes his 2006 decision to filibuster the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court was a mistake – after being accused of hypocrisy for blasting Senate Republicans for vowing to block his next high court nominee.
  
  
  
  
  And of course, he is skipping Scalia's funeral.
• CenterBHSFan

  

  It seems a little odd to skip the funeral of a SCJ.
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  CenterBHSFan;1782174 wrote:It seems a little odd to skip the funeral of a SCJ.

  Very. I am not a fan of it and the President should be there.
• bases_loaded

  

  CenterBHSFan;1782174 wrote:It seems a little odd to skip the funeral of a SCJ.

  The great unifier is too busy perpetuating a race war.
• queencitybuckeye

  QuakerOats;1782062 wrote:THE WHITE HOUSE says President Obama believes his 2006 decision to filibuster the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court was a mistake – after being accused of hypocrisy for blasting Senate Republicans for vowing to block his next high court nominee.
  
  
  
  
  

  Forgot about this, changed my mind. The president earned the penalty of sitting out this term as far as this subject is concerned.
• majorspark

  

  queencitybuckeye;1782399 wrote:Forgot about this, changed my mind. The president earned the penalty of sitting out this term as far as this subject is concerned.

  In his speech on the floor of the Senate, one of his big concerns with Alito were the checks and balances in the federal government. Noting specifically his fear that Alito would rule on cases concerning the executive to affirm the power of the executive branch. I found that quite interesting.
• gut

  majorspark;1782403 wrote:In his speech on the floor of the Senate, one of his big concerns with Alito were the checks and balances in the federal government. Noting specifically his fear that Alito would rule on cases concerning the executive to affirm the power of the executive branch. I found that quite interesting.

  Especially interesting after 7 years of executive actions and orders.
• gut

  bases_loaded;1782384 wrote:The great unifier is too busy perpetuating a race war.

  Ehhhh, basically the only thing that gets Obama to cancel a tee-time is if his people tell him the optics are beneficial. Skipping the funeral probably plays better with most of his base.
  
  It's possible Obama the perpetual campaigner and Commander-in-Speech is simply a product of the social media age. I'm not sure Trump/Cruz/Rubio will be any different. Again, it could be Obama or simply a function of the times where popularity and support among your base is better achieved through demagoguing and propaganda than compromise and deal-making. Being accomplished at pointing fingers trumps getting things done. Certainly a formula Cruz has followed in his short time in the Senate.
• jmog

  QuakerOats;1782062 wrote:THE WHITE HOUSE says President Obama believes his 2006 decision to filibuster the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court was a mistake – after being accused of hypocrisy for blasting Senate Republicans for vowing to block his next high court nominee.
  
  
  
  
  And of course, he is skipping Scalia's funeral.

  saying he was wrong years later does not preclude him from the consequences of his actions. He should come out and say that due to his own actions when Bush was POTUS that the SCOTUS nomination will wait until the new POTUS has been inaugurated.
  
  That would be if he has any integrity left.
• BR1986FB

  bases_loaded;1782384 wrote:The great unifier is too busy perpetuating a race war.

  Sounds like he skipped the funeral to go golfing. At least the POS' had his round cut short by rain.
• QuakerOats

  Yeah, I didn't realize he was golfing until somebody told me over the weekend. What a leader.
• jmog

  Please tell me that isn't true. He was really golfing on the same day as the funeral he skipped?
• QuakerOats

  I cannot say definitively; but that is what a fairly reliable source told me.
• like_that

  

  Link?
• QuakerOats

  The golf may have been on Sunday, not Saturday ..........
  
  http://www.redstate.com/absentee/2016/02/21/obama-busy-work-couldnt-attend-justice-scalias-funeral-...-golf-bet/