If Supreme Court Justices could have groupies, Justice Antonin Scalia would have had his fair share. I can't recall a time when the death of a Supreme evoked such heightened emotions in Americans, especially among those of us who admired his pugnacious brilliance and indomitable spirit in maintaining the original intent of the Founding Fathers. Some of that emotion is misguided, as I'll get to in a minute. But Justice Scalia was an impressive man among a very limited group of impressive people.
Justice Scalia, whether you loved him or hated him, was brilliant. His brilliance shone through due to his analytical ability, his wordsmithing and his ability to simplify the law down to its most elemental parts. I've read some of his opinions and have been left slackjawed by the enormity of his intellect. His ability to present his argument, castigate his opponents and do all of it with incredibly intricate language just floored me.
That his two best friends on the Court, Justices Ginsberg and Kagan, speaks volumes. He often differed with them, yet they were his closest friends on the Court. As he noted, you hate the position, not the person, something we all too often forget these days. Illiberal liberals are having great fun at his passing. Social media, known for bringing out the trolls, is alive with people who are dancing on the Justice's grave. Cringeworthy posts such as "Please make sure to separate Scalia’s head from his body before burial," "I hope Scalia died from gay sex," and "Don't even try to enforce the inapplicable don't-speak-ill-of-the-dead "rule" for the highly polarizing, deeply consequential Antonin Scalia," are but a couple of examples of the vitriol sent the Justice's way.
Let's not forget: This man served his country with great distinction. I wonder how liberals would feel if this kind of rhetoric were expended for one of their own.
Republicans, meanwhile, are beside themselves. Calls for the President not to follow his constitutional duty and nominate someone to fill Justice Scalia's now-vacant seat on the Court are overreacting. First, there's no way the POTUS will step aside and allow his successor to make the nomination. What's more, he won't nominate anyone who would make Republicans happy. He's going to push for his agenda to be extended long after his term ends. A Republican president would do no less. To ask the President to wait eleven months and burden the Court with a less-than-complete line up would be a disservice to the country.
Republican senators, of course, could drag out the confirmation process. They could reject the President's nominee and push the issue past inauguration. I'm not sure that's what's best for the country, but as the President has his role to play, so does the Senate.
But doing this is dangerous. Unless Justice Ginsberg retires early, as has been rumored, or if Justices Thomas or Kennedy do the same, the next president will likely have three nominations to make. Any damage done by President Obama can be undone by the next president. What is looking right now as a 5-4 liberal majority could easily become a 6-3 conservative majority in a couple of years. The hysteria of this president's choice to fill Justice Scalia's seat is unnecessary. Grandstanding isn't what's needed. A push to get more Republican senators and to ensure a Republican president is elected is what's needed, not a showdown over one nomination. If the Republicans do pitch a fit, it might encourage Judge Ginsberg to retire early, which would lower the 6-3 potential conservative majority to 5-4 at best. And lest we forget, the Warren and Roberts nominations that conservatives so loudly cheered only to rue later on could portend similar outcomes in the future.
Justice Scalia would probably look at all of this with bemusement. He'd easily pick apart both side's arguments and ask everyone where in the Constitution it says his replacement has to be a conservative.
Then he'd invite Justice Ginsberg out for a drink and laugh the night away.
QDEP Justice Scalia.
You will be sorely missed.
(c) 2016 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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