The Supreme Court Vacancy

I’ve seen a lot about the vacancy left on the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) by Justice Scalia’s passing. The Senate has said they are not considering, nor voting for, any one President Obama (POTUS) nominates.

That’s dereliction of duty to me. I know my liberal friends are outraged, and they should be. My conservative friends like this, and they shouldn’t. This is not how we run a country or government.

Having a vacancy is bad for the court. We have ties, and we can’t get good jurisprudence on important cases. A President should appoint someone at the earliest opportunity, after considering and contacting candidates. The Senate committee should review the candidate, and assuming they are qualified, pass them to the Senate for a vote.

That's the duty; do it.

Now, certainly the individual's views come into play. Both from POTUS, our Senators, and each of us.

There is no reason for the Senate to confirm someone qualified from a legal standpoint if they disagree with viewpoints. That’s part of their check and balance. Imagine that an accident wiped out all the conservative justices today. Do we really want President Obama to be able to nominate 4 liberal justices that get confirmed if they as legally qualified?

I’d say no. Just as I wouldn’t have wanted President Bush to be able to nominate all conservative justices. The power and strength of our country has grown as we have had balance. Not any overwhelming strength from one side.

If the Senate doesn’t want an overly liberal justice, vote no, but go through the process. If Obama wants someone confirmed, they will need to be very centrist, if not slightly conservative. Negotiate and compromise. That’s our system.