Wednesday, February 24, 2016

When the Shoe Was on the Other Foot

Following the recent death of Justice Scalia, there is a debate about whether or not a new nominee should be put forth by President Obama, or wait until we elect our new president.  Some argue tradition says no SCOTUS appointments are made during an election year.  There are examples of both waiting and proceeding.

But the hypocrisy is abundant on both sides of the aisle.  Both parties want what is to their own advantage, particularly since the court is evenly divided between 4 liberal and 4 conservative justices since the death of Scalia.  Examples of Democrat who opposed late term nominees are listed below.

President Barack Obama (Then Senator Obama)
Vice-President Joe Biden (Then Senator Biden)
Senator Charles Schumer
Secrtary of State John Kerry (Then Senator Kerry)
Senator Harry Reid in this article says the now is the time to proceed with the nominee approval process.  He was once opposed when a republican president was in office.

It is important to note that Democrats were the first party to draw blood in the SCOTUS nominee wars, when President Reagan nominate Robert Bork in the final year of Reagan's 2nd term in office.

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