While nearly every Republican on the face of the earth is now lining up in opposition to President Obama naming a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, it was refreshing to turn on CNN earlier this morning and hear former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales say the President does indeed have an obligation to fill the empty chair on the high court.
Gonzales, who served as AG for George W. Bush from 2005-2007, told Chris Cuomo:
“I know there’s a big debate going on right now about whether or not Obama should nominate someone. From my perspective having worked at the White House and the Department of Justice, there’s just no question in my mind that as president of the United States, you have an obligation to fill a vacancy.”
I could not agree more with Gonzales. The Constitution actually says the nominating of federal judges is part of a president’s job. It’s one of the most important things he does as part of his duties.
The former AG also noted:
“The bottom line from my perspective, is the president has to do his job in nominating a qualified individual and then the Senate does it’s job in assessing whether or not this person is qualified for a lifetime appointment on the court based upon experience, based upon ideology and based upon integrity.”
While the GOP may try and pretend that it’s perfectly normal for a president in the last year of his term in office to leave a seat on the highest court in the land empty, history suggests otherwise. SCOTUSblog reported this weekend that:
“The historical record does not reveal any instances since at least 1900 of the president failing to nominate and/or the Senate failing to confirm a nominee in a presidential election year because of the impending election.”
Featured Image Via CNN Screenshot
