RIP Antonin Scalia

Well, Obama did talk just the other day about how he wants to close the political divide and get back to a more moderate political climate in this country. Guess we'll see if he's held to that, and is willing to compromise by offering up a moderate justice, or if it was just talk.

 

This seems like an early tell as to how the GOP truly sees its election chances. If they agree to a compromise candidate -- and come off their statements about waiting until after the election -- it's probably because they think it's going to be even worse for them if they wait.

 

What are the Vegas odds on beating the old record of days from nomination to confirmation or rejection?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/13/us/supreme-court-scalia-ideology.html

 

Either side could filibuster a nominee now and likely after the election. I can imagine Bernie Sanders arguing that the GOP is more comfortable with a potential HRC nominee than one from Obama. This will really be a tough call for the GOP which is already in the midst of a backlash from its voters with more than half favoring an outsider. I do think the GOP Senate would be more comfortable dealing with Hillary over a nomination than Cruz.

 

OK I misinterpreted the 125 days thing. From the NYT link Inky posted, that wasn't the longest wait to fill a vacancy, that was the longest time from nomination to conclusion (whether the person was confirmed, rejected or name withdrawn).

The clock starts when Obama nominates someone. I think he'll be cognizant of that and get a nomination out there pretty quickly. Maybe at the funeral.

 

Unrelated, reading about Tyler's presidency is hilarious.

Harrison dies almost immediately after inauguration and a debate breaks out over what the succession rules really mean. A lot of people think the VP stays VP but has "acting powers" if needed. Tyler solves this by giving himself the oath of office, giving an inaugural
speech and refusing to open or respond to any official business that refers to him as acting president or Vice President.

The cabinet had been told that policy woul be decided by voting among them. Tyler shows up at the first meeting and basically tells them "fuck that."

Also this is the man who was president in the 1840s and still has living grandchildren.

 

Quite true. He might have been the most disliked president in history. He managed to piss off everyone, regardless of political persuasion.

And on another unrelated side note, I wonder how much of the country melting down into the Civil War had to do with having awful presidents (Polk excepted) for the two-plus decades before the war. When you think about it, in a 22-year span from 1840-1861, there were 9 presidents (Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln). There have been 3 in just our past 23 years (1994-2016).

 

The scariest thing about this whole situation is that we currently have a Congress that can't do ANYTHING without a bitter political fight, mundane tasks included and now we're asking them to do, quite possibly, the most important task in the country.
Scary times ahead my friends.
Scary times indeed.

 

It was God's will that scalia died during the term of a democrat presidemt. The gpp should not block God's will.

 

So many... well, unique... firsts with him:

- First to get kicked out of his own party and serve as an independent while in office
- First to watch nearly half of his cabinet get wiped out in a naval munitions accident
- First former president to commit treason (by serving in the Confederate congress.)

And, not least of all...

- First President to marry a woman his daughter's age, someone whom he groomed since girlhood.

 

Obama voted no on Roberts and Alito when he was a senator, so let him nominate some lefty slapdick and watch him/her get stomped.

 

That's why I find all the talk of filibusters so silly. I don't think the band of tea partiers and far righties can hold out that long.