Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. I think it is a good choice. He is a moderate, an intellectual and had been confirmed easily to the appellate court before. As expected the GOP vow to deny him of even a vote. In fact most GOP senators even refuse to meet with him. So is he just a sacrificial lamb to the political process? Maybe, but at 63 years old, this may be his last chance to get on the court. So he is grateful to be given the chance. And Obama cannot be accused of sending a partisan liberal to replace Scalia.
Most likely the GOP is going to not do anything until the election. If Clinton wins, they may try to confirm Garland in a lame duck congress because Clinton may nominate someone much more liberal and younger. I don't know if the GOP is going to suffer any political fall out from ignoring this most qualified candidate, but I think they could do much worse by being obstructionists. If Garland is confirmed, the make up of the court will be similar to before O'Connor retired. Garland and Kennedy will be the swing votes instead of Kennedy alone now. But if Clinton wins, it will be a definite advantage for the Democrats. In fact, I am not sure how Trump would select his nominee if he wins. His choice may even be less palatable to conservatives than Garland!
Obama is in Cuba right now! Again, his critics will roast him for siding up to a dictatorship. I think it is the right thing to do. So many years of sanctions and isolation have not made a difference. I think engagement is the right thing to do.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
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I can't see how the senate can go 7 months without voting on the nomination. It seems absurd to me. It was a good strategic move by Obama to nominate Garland because he had been approved previously. Any other time, he would have been a great nominee because as the swing vote, he's decently moderate.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see if he gets through or has to wait or if there's another nomination from the new president. We will see.
I hope all goes well with Cuba. It'll be nice to have relations with it being so close. Hopefully things can change for the better when the Castro regime ends. I'd like to go there one day, but will wait a few years just to see how visitors are treated. Heck, I'm too afraid to go to Mexico City in fear of being kidnapped!
-LBOAYM