As President Obama and Democrats continue their partisan push to put in the place what The New York Times says would be the most liberal Supreme Court in 50 years, Republicans continue to push back and show why this power grab by the President is not in our country’s best interest.
American war hero and Senator Bob Dole served as Senate Majority Leader twice and knows the institution as well as anyone. In a Des Moines Register column this weekend, he highlighted why the Senate is absolutely fulfilling its constitutional responsibility and commended Senator Grassley for standing up for the American people:
Senate Leadership and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley have chosen to do just that — to withhold their consent — to this president’s third Supreme Court nomination. Their decision is entirely consistent with the Senate’s constitutional role as a check on executive power. It’s also entirely consistent with the Senate’s tradition of defining its own rules and practices. And it’s the right choice.
On top of Senator Dole’s piece, The Atlantic wrote a straightforward article explaining why the Senate has no constitutional responsibility to act on a Supreme Court nomination. Diving into constitutional text, the author debunks any claim that the Senate is required to take up a president’s Supreme Court nominee and notes that Senator Grassley and other Senate Republicans are well within their rights to ignore President Obama’s attempt to fundamentally alter the make-up of the Supreme Court:
Critics—who concede that the Senate can refuse to approve Supreme Court nominations—argue for an atextual requirement that the Senate must refuse its consent through formal procedures. But nothing in the Constitution requires this, and the Senate’s longstanding practice has included many failures to take formal action on nominees.
Despite intelligent arguments coming from credible sources, there is no doubt that President Obama and his liberal allies will use any means necessary to push forward this Supreme Court fight and try to allow the President to cement his failed liberal legacy on the nation’s highest court. Fortunately, Senate Republicans continue to remain committed to ensuring that the President does not get the opportunity to set our country back even further than he already has.