WASHINGTON, D.C. — Merrick Garland has been nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. A visibly emotional Garland, who is presently chief judge of the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia, said it was the “highest honor of his life” to be considered for the top court.
Garland was tapped to replace the late Antonin Gregory Scalia, who served on the Supreme Court from 1986 until his death earlier this year. But Republican leaders have argued the next president should pick Scalia’s replacement.
Democrats screamed a bit less loudly about GOP obstructionism as the public discovered they had done pretty much the same thing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell went so far as to call the GOP’s refusal to vote on an Obama nominee, “The Biden Rule,” citing statements then-Senator Joe Biden made about a George W. Bush court pick in an election year.
Obama said he’d pick a “consensus” candidate, and from a Democrat's view, Judge Garland is about as consensus as it gets. Born in Chicago in 1952, Garland has an impressive resume: Harvard grad, clerk for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, federal prosecutor for the Oklahoma City bombers trial and current DC chief appeals court justice.
Which is all well and good, but are both sides just playing games? The GOP says they won’t vote, and there’s little evidence that stance will change. Garland isn’t a true “liberal,” some progressives argue, and at 63, he’s “old.”
Does Obama even want Garland on the court? Or is he using him to make Republicans look bad? Either way, the GOP will need to start some serious thinking about the corner they’ve painted themselves into. Would it be better to confirm Garland rather than risk a possible Hillary Clinton pick? Both sides are committed and will play hardball all the way til November. But do you think either side is truly acting on principle? Or are we just being treated to more pointless political theater?
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