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Originally Posted by Lisnaholic
That's overstating things a little, I think. The GOP carry the bulk of the blame, because it is their active machinations for years that has led to today's corrupt the Supreme Court.
Pro-choice sympathisers who didn't bother voting are just a lesser version of Dem politicians who have not wanted to bite the bullet imo. That blame game goes back at least as far as the Obama era, when they let Bitch McConnell break the law with impunity. As I understand it, Congress "shall" debate and vote for Supreme Court candidates nominated by the sitting President. That means they have to, and when McConnell said no, Obama should have said, "Ok, you waive your right, so merik garland goes straight to the Supreme Court without a hearing". Instead, like the non-voters you criticise, for the Dems it was a case of, "What the GOP is doing is wrong, but I don't have the energy to fight for what's right."
Historically, that's not a very courageous position, and after the proud Civil Rights era of the 60s, today's America is not going to look so good, I fear.
PS: Another "good guy" I would call out is Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who should've guessed that she might not outlive the next uncertain, up-coming presidency. But instead of retiring in a timely manner during the Obama presidency, she put her own vain hubris above the good of the Supreme Court and so let Trump get another perjurous judge nominated in her place.
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I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I don't think there is a rule that says the Senate cannot stall a judicial appointment, even by way of never holding a hearing. In any event, a President cannot simply put someone on the Supreme Court without Senate approval, otherwise you have a dictatorship.
As far as RBG, yes, she should have retired long before she died, probably under the Obama administration (her health had been poor for at least a decade). Retiring during the Trump era would have been counterproductive as they simply would have shifted the court sooner. Maybe she had counted on Hillary winning in 2016 a little too much.