More Thoughts On Obama's Nomination To Scotus

++Greta Van Sustern reminded Fox viewers that the President "shall nominate" not may nominate Supreme Court Justices. The GOP hardline got tougher today as vulnerable GOP Senators like Ayotte and Johnson came out for delaying the nomination. 

++Tom Goldstein at SCOTUSBLOG.Com weighs in by saying Ted Cruz will dominate this discussion because he actually knows the ramifications of another Obama nominee to the whole right-wing judicial agenda. He says Cruz will actually intimidate the GOP Senators,even though they hate him. Cruz' "popularity" rose when he filibustered Obamacare and closed the government down, even though the GOP as a party played a price. 

++He claims as do other writers at SCOTUS that President Obama will weigh who brings the most benefits to the nomination and how big a price he can make the GOP play. Goldstein says the ideal age is around 50 and that an Hispanic would be ideal. But he says President Obama is very sensitive to including the African-American community more into the political system. And that will be one part of his legacy. There are several African-American candidates but some are vulnerable because either they had advocated for Obamacare or served as advocates for the National Security Council when the Senate torture debate was going on. 

++Goldstein says that Judge Wadkins,a mid-40s African-American male,is well respected and would be confirmable. But he believes the candidate is Loretta Lynch,the Attorney General, because she has just been through a confirmation process and that as a life-long prosecutor she can not be considered "liberal". The downside is that she is 55, about 5 years older than the ideal age. She would also have to recuse herself from the work of Attorney General, which could be handled by an assistant AG. 

++This is the correcting history vote. President Obama would like an African-American counterweight to Clarence Thomas, who was selected to replace Thurgood Marshall. The side benefit would be to energize the African-American community during this election year. 

++The only period in American history we had a year go by without a justice was the civil war. There have been 12 justices selected during election years. I forgot that Kennedy was selected in Reagan last year but that was after the disasters of Judge Bork and Ginsburg. Eisenhower appointed Brennen as a recess appointment in his last year. 

++The Republican reaction shouldn't be accepted. The odds are that the next President would nominate three more Supreme Court justices. It seems the GOP is suffering from triumphalism. Besides the press have already brought up all the statements of Mitch McConnell and Senator Grassley on Supreme Court nominees must be given speedy hearings and an up and down vote. 

++But if Barack Obama's own budget director can't get a hearing on the president's own budget, why expect any respect on this issue. The GOP believes "original intent" means that an Afrivan-American gets 3/5ths of a term.