Friday, February 19, 2016
Scalia’s Death Offers Best Chance in a Generation to Reshape Supreme Court
With the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, an opening in the supreme court has presented itself. The court now has four conservative justices and four liberal justices, meaning whoever the president nominates could determine if the court is held by a majority of liberal or conservative justices. The Supreme Court has been controlled by conservatives for several decades, and now Obama has a real chance of changing that, stating that, "The court is now divided on many issues. This would be a deciding vote." If a liberal justice joins the Supreme Court, it could make a huge difference in cases like Citizens United, which passed with a 5-4 vote. This would also help to shape cases like abortion laws and gun rights in the future. Many experts, however have pointed out that any change will be gradual. This is a huge decision for Obama, and further complicates the current presidential race. Do you think that the Obama will choose to nominate a moderate or a liberal judge. Also, do you think that the Senate will decline his nomination, should he nominate someone liberal?
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I think that Obama will nominate a moderate candidate, as a sign of (attempted) bipartisanship and in the practical sense that a liberal justice has no chance of being appointed by the Senate. GOP leaders have called for the Senate to decline Obama's nomination, before he has even nominated anyone, but I think that if he nominates a moderate justice, the Senate will at least have vote on it. Republicans are saying that Obama does not have the right to nominate a justice in his last year, but they say this assuming that they will gain the white house in 2016, of which there is a good chance of not happening. If the GOP manages to restrict Obama from putting a justice on the supreme court, and then loses the presidential election, they could face even more heavy backlash.
ReplyDeleteI think it is safe to say that Obama will nominate a moderate candidate to replace Scalia. I think he knows that there is no chance that a liberal candidate will get appointed by the Senate. The Senate will most likely decline Obama's nomination regardless of if the candidate is moderate or liberal.
ReplyDeleteI think Obama will first nominate a liberal judge. However, the Senate will likely reject this nomination, and if they do, Obama will probably then nominate a more moderate judge. The Senate will be more likely to approve this nomination because if Republicans in the Senate reject Obama's first choice, they'll see it as a victory, even though the nominee isn't conservative.
ReplyDeleteI think Obama recognizes the desperate need to work toward a more bipartisan government; therefore, I think he will nominate a moderate judge that cannot be argued against by the Republicans. Choosing a moderate judge would be the best decision for our country at the moment and would be a strong addition to the Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteI think Obama recognizes the desperate need to work toward a more bipartisan government; therefore, I think he will nominate a moderate judge that cannot be argued against by the Republicans. Choosing a moderate judge would be the best decision for our country at the moment and would be a strong addition to the Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteObama will nominate a moderate judge in order to ensure that the Senate has no grounds to delay the vote or reject the nomination. Replacing Scalia with a moderate judge will be in the direction of restoring ideological balance to the court. The sooner Obama nominates someone the better.
ReplyDeleteThe more moderate judge makes more sense. A more moderate judge is more likely to reflect the opinions of the public. The Senate will prolong Obama's nomination for as long as they can. If they have the chance to push aside the chance of putting a judge nominated by Obama in court, they will.
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