The presidential election just became even more important. The Republican controlled Congress will never allow Obama to put some left wing socialist liberal on the Supreme Court. The next president will choose. In the mean time, the libs will have the upper hand without Scalia’s dissenting opinion.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, 79, has died during a hunting vacation in Texas.
Scalia was the leading conservative voice on the court, and his death will set off a mammoth fight over who should replace him in the heat of a presidential election cycle.
There is likely to be significant pressure on the Senate, which is in Republican hands, to hold off on confirming anyone nominated by President Obama, who is in his last year in office.
A spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a conservative who sits on the Judiciary panel, immediately sent a message on Twitter that no nominee from Obama should be considered.
Replacing Scalia with a liberal justice could change the balance of the court under Chief Justice John Roberts.
If a new justice is not confirmed under Obama, this is something both parties are likely to trumpet as the 2016 contest continues.
It would mean the election of the president could immediately determine the direction of the Supreme Court.
Two local news outlets first reported the news of Scalia’s death, which the San Antonio News and KVIA said was from natural causes.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement calling the conservative justice an “unwavering defender” of the Constitution.
“He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution,” Abbot wrote. “His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans.
