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Just hours after the sudden death of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, republican leaders in congress are already publicly floating the idea of blocking any attempt by President Obama at filling the seat before he leaves office. The ongoing obstructionism by the republicans, which has featured everything from a government shutdown to delayed cabinet confirmations, has known very little bounds. But the singularly unique gravity of a Supreme Court vacancy means the republicans can’t outlast Obama this time around.
The already eight month long campaign to replace President Obama has created the illusion that he’s nearly on his way out of office. But the reality is that Obama has around eleven and a half months remaining in his tenure. The republicans are of course beating their chests today and insisting that the next President should fill the vacancy, in the hope that they end up with a republican in the White House. But despite their bluster, they know they can’t hold out that long, and for one simple reason.
When the Supreme Court has an even number of justices, as it does with the remaining eight members, it’s not in a position to function. In the instance of a constitutional crisis that needed an immediate ruling, it wouldn’t be able to hold a decisive vote, meaning the United States effectively has no government right now until Scalia’s seat is filled. If the republican party were to drag it out for a full year, Obama would succeed in convincing moderate voters that the republicans are willfully burning down the nation for political purposes.
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