Dying unexpectedly Feb. 12, 79-year-old Supreme Court Justic Antonin Scalia left a legacy of conservative activism on the Supreme Court since appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate Sept. 26, 1986. Tributes for Scalia came from all quarters but most unexpectedly for his closest friend on the High Court, 82-year old liberal Associate Justice Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Since appointed to the bench, Scalia became the iconic equivalent on the High Court to President Reagan. Regardless of the issue, whether on gay marriage, right-to-life, prayer in public schools, right to bear arms, states rights, limited government, etc., Scalia remained true to his conservative principles, making him a culture warrior for conservatives. Obama’s decision to exercise his right under Article 2 of the Constitution to nominate Scalia’s replacement met stiff resistance.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made it clear he wouldn’t convene confirmation hearings on Obama’s pick to replace Scalia. McConnell wants no part of continuing Obama’s liberal track record, something that would dishonor Scalia’s conservative legacy on the High Court. Obama got his way with the High Court early on in his first term appointing and confirming Sonia Sotomayor Aug. 8, 2009 and Elana Kagan Aug. 10, 2010. Obama’s bad will with Republicans in the U.S. Senate started March 23, 2010 when he signed the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare, into law without one GOP vote. Losing the House majority Nov. 3, 2010 and eventually the Senate Nov.5, 2014, Obama squandered his political capital. Ramming Obamacare down Republican throats Mach 23, 2010 leaves Barack unable to get anything done in the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
Barack plans to nominate a successor to Scalia but has virturally no chance in the GOP-controlled Senate. Considering well-qualified moderate jurists or legal scholars like U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sri Srinivasan in D.C., Merrick Garland, Chief Appeals Court Judge in D.C., Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch, former Obama Solicitor General Georgetown Law Professor Neil Katyal, Solicitor General Jay Verrilli, former Atty Gen. Eric Holder or Homeland Security Deputy Jeh Johnson are all non-starters. No matter how qualified Obama’s short-list of potential jurists to fill Scalia’s seat, McConnell won’t allow confirmation hearings. With only 44 Democrats and two independents, Democrats don’t have the votes to confirm Obama’s picks. Pushing the decision off to the next president, McConnell hopes that whoever becomes the GOP nominee they prevail on November 4.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid blasted McConnell for typical GOP obstructionsim. Reids’s partisan remarks won’t persuade too many voters growing increasingly fatigued of Obama’s presidency. Ruling by fiat hasn’t won Barack too many GOP fans on Capitol Hill. Had he spent his two terms building relationships and working with Republicans, he’d be in a different place. Senate Republicans won’t dishonor Scalia’s legacy allowing Obama to replace him with a liberal or moderate-leaning jurist. GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) threatened to filibuster any attempt to confirm Obama’s Supreme Court pick should it get that far. “The Senate has a duty to advise-and-consent,” said GOP Cruz. “We’re advising that the lame-duck president in an election year is not going to be able to tip the balance on the Supreme Court.” Opposing Obama’s picks to replace Scalia won’t have fallout, as Democrats war, on the November election.
Heaping praise on Scalia from across the political spectrum should alert Obama that any pick to the High Court must be a conservative or nothing. Despite retaining some token conservatives in his Cabinet, including former Defense Secretaries Robert Gates and Chuck Hagel, Obama picked liberal Cabinet members and appointees to the federal bench. When all is said-and-done, Obama lacks the political capital to get anyone confirmed to the Supreme Court. “We need to start thinking about the decisiveness that is going on in our country,” said GOP presidential candidate retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Whether admitted to or not, ramming Obamacare down Republican throats made it impossible for Obama to get anything done once the House and Senate turned Republican. Turning Republican Nov. 5, 2014, the U.S. Senate hasn’t cut Obama any slack.
Blowing all his political capital March 23, 2010 on Obamacare, Obama must be content to ride out his term in one of the most divisive periods in U.S. history. Promising to lead as a post-partisan president, Obama disappointed voters looking for a change. Had Obama been more conciliatory with Congress, it wouldn’t have led to the rise of Democratic presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or GOP front-runner real estate mogul Donald Trump. Both candidates mirror the public’s disgust with today’s partisan gridlock. However narrow Scalia’s Constitutional interpretations, he became the country’s conservative voice on the High Court. When the new president is sworn in Jan. 20, 2017, Obama will no doubt spend time pondering what could have been. Satisfied perhaps that more U.S. citizens have health care, Barack can’t be happy with the way things turned out.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
