UNITED STATES—This weekend sad news rocked the nation, as it was announced that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died in Texas on February 13. Scalia died of natural causes. He sat on the Supreme Court for more than 30 years and was considered one of the most conservative justices of the court.
While many of us are taking time to mourn the loss of such a pivotal figure, the politicians have already begun the mud-slinging which is a travesty if you ask me. Instead of taking time to show respect to such a great man, regardless of rather he was pro this or against that; he served on one of the highest courts of the country, one with the power to make epic shifts in the legal arena. Right now Democrats and Republicans are at odds over the fact of rather the current President of the United States, Barack Obama should appoint a new justice or if he should save that duty for the next commander in chief.
Here’s the problem: it’s a political power grab. The Democrats and Republicans both want to maintain the level of power for the US Supreme Court. I mean currently it was more conservative, but with Scalia’s passing, it’s evenly split (four conservatives, four liberals). What the Republicans and Democrats are failing to realize is that once again they are showcasing to the public they have no interest in their wellbeing, they only care about what is politically correct or what will give them momentum when it comes to power grabs.
This argument that the POTUS should allow the next person in office to make the appointment is just absurd. Hello people, US Supreme Court Justice Scalia died on President’s Obama watch, this man still has more than 10 months in office. It’s not like Scalia died a day before or after the new President of the United States was elected. That argument being made is silly baloney, and hearing that the Republican controlled Senate is expected to do everything in their power to halt the appointment just shows how childish both political titans are.
Grow the hell up people; stop looking out for your own personal needs. The public can see what you’re doing from a mile away. The Republicans are hoping to get one of their candidates into office this way they can solidify the appointment of a more conservative judge to the highest court.
The Democrats are focusing on putting a balance in power in the US Court. To be honest, it is indeed President Obama’s duty to appoint a new member to the court, for him not to do so would be unsettling. He is the POTUS and he should rightfully have the ability, the power and the opportunity to do so, even if the establishment is slightly upset about the issue.
Yes, it’s an election, so what, he’s still in office and that doesn’t change anything in my perception. However, Americans can expect this to be a hot button issue as the campaign race continues. We’ll hear Republicans candidates dissect what should and shouldn’t happen and the same will occur for the Democrats. Unfortunately, we’ll hear a ton of this take place during those debates which seems to take place every week. I can’t recall the last time we had so MANY debates when the race for the presidency was up for grabs.
I frankly wish both parties could come to a consensus to realize that a pivotal figure that held a lot of power is no longer with us. A vacancy is evident in the US Supreme Court and it has to be filled, we can’t sit around and wait. God forbid, something happened to the POTUS, would we just wait to appoint someone because it’s an election year? Of course not, so why are we even debating this issue.
