This is almost certainly the most important Supreme Court nomination of our lifetime, all that's at stake is the balance of political power in America. As such, I'm going to be posting to this thread a lot, just about certainly for the rest of 2016 and won't be settled until 2017, one way or another. Both Republicans and Democrats have everything to lose, or gain, in this next nomination.

Scalia was the swing vote on the Supreme Court. The current conservatives are Roberts, Thomas, Kennedy and Alito, the liberals are Bader-Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan. Earlier in this thread I said that Obama would nominate the next Justice, but I've been utterly convinced that there is less than a snowballs chance that any Obama Supreme Court nomination will be accepted by the republicans. That can only mean that we will not have a replacement for Scalia until no earlier than January of 2017, more likely not until February.

This is, of course, unprecedented in US politics. The ramifications are profound indeed, the election of 2016 will affect the balance of power in all three branched of government, obviously the Executive with the election of a new President, the Judicial with the selection of Scalia's replacement, and the process of this will profoundly affect the election of the 34 Senators and the entire House.

Now, how many of those Congressional seats will be vulnerable? That's an extremely complicated question. As of right now IDK, but that's going to be my obsession for the remainder of the year, and the Presidential race will also play a profound role on both races. Wow.

Just...wow.

What if we were to have a repeat of Bush/Gore where it came down the Supreme Court deciding who won the presidency?

That's a very good question, CV, right now I'll have to file it in the items-to-be-researched folder.

Man, this election just got real

Paul

You're right. This is huge. Obama needs to do anything it takes to get one through. I think he should even be willing to use his power as commander-in-chief to get it done. Shut down military contracts that employ workers in red states. Close unneeded military bases in America and Europe. If they refuse to give him his Constitutional due as the democratically elected POTUS then he should play just as nasty and use any kind of political blackmail at his disposal. A strong liberal in there would mean freedom for millions for decades to come. Scalia's death is the most wonderful and fortunate thing that has happened to America since I don't know when. This opportunity must not be squandered.

Obama absolutely will not try to bypass the process in that manner, which would be tantamount to an armed takeover of the US government. Nor should he. Ours is a government of laws, and both republicans and democrats need to abide that process lest the entire Constitution be rendered a farce. We must use the political process that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams envisioned, flawed as it is it is the greatest Constitution ever written. The Supreme Court will be selected after the election, and after that process I will make a decision as to whether or not to emigrate to Canada.

The scenario I described is just as legal as what the Republicans are doing.

Why the **** hasn't Obama put his first choice out there yet?

She's going to make a great VP and follow-up president for Sanders.