Toomey opposes Supreme Court nominee going forward:

[femmocrat]

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2016/03/toomey-react-supreme-court-nominee-merrick-garland.html

Senator Pat Toomey was adamant from the start that he wouldn’t consider any Supreme Court nominee put forward by President Obama.
The reasoning was that the next President should get to fulfill the vacancy

Sen. Toomey doubled down on that view in an interview with Marc Levy of the AP.
“It might be just as well not to have a hearing that would, sort of, might mislead the American people into thinking that this is just about the qualifications of the candidate, because it’s bigger than that,” the Senator told Levy.

As a result, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Sen. Toomey rejected President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland on Wednesday.
“With the U.S. Supreme Court’s balance at stake, and with the presidential election fewer than eight months away, it is wise to give the American people a more direct voice in the selection and confirmation of the next justice. Should Merrick Garland be nominated again by the next president, I would be happy to carefully consider his nomination, as I have done with dozens of judges submitted by President Obama.”

~~~~~I'm going to contact him anyhow. Will you join me? femmocrat

[PADemD]

1. Be sure to mention Admiral Sestak when you call. N/T

[mrmpa]

2. This is my email to him.........

Senator Toomey,

How dare you use convoluted logic in your reason(s) for not wanting to confirm a new Supreme Court Justice.

You state that we should wait until after the November Presidential Election and allow a new President to make this nomination, because it would allow the voters to have more input in this issue.

Well back in November 2012, the voters did have input in this issue and elected President Obama. We have all ready weighed in on this issue.

Your hatred for President Obama is intolerable. Your unwillingness to work across the aisle is abysmal. Your whole tenure as Pennsylvania Senator is abysmal, and I cannot wait until November 2016, when you will be a lame duck.

[blue neen]

3. Well said!

[mrmpa]

4. Thank you......

[femmocrat]

8. Great email!

Mine wasn't as.... direct! LOL

[Herman4747]

5. Stupid Ant. The voters elected Obama in 2012,

expecting him to strive to fill ALL Supreme Court vacancies no matter when they came up.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I already contacted him.

And since this isn't the first (or last) time, I can tell you that he will not give a shit.

But god damn it, I will still keep telling him when he is fucking up.

[femmocrat]

7. That is how I felt, too.

If enough constituents contact him, maybe it will come to his attention. Maybe.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. I agree.

It will "come to his attention", even if he is too petty to care. But that will never stop me.

[grntuscarora]

10. Done!

nt

[femmocrat]

11. My (form-letter) reply from Toomey:

Thank you for contacting me about the Supreme Court. I appreciate hearing from you.

As you know, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away on February 13, 2016. He was a great public servant, principled jurist, and tireless defender of the Constitution. My prayers are with Justice Scalia's family during these difficult times.

With Justice Scalia's passing, there has been much discussion about how the nomination process for this vacancy should be addressed. For me, I have long believed that objective qualifications, character, and adherence to the rule of law matter more than ideology in evaluating judicial nominees. Accordingly, during my five years in the Senate, I have worked across the aisle with Senator Bob Casey and the Obama White House to fill 16 vacancies on the federal bench in Pennsylvania-14 on district courts and two on the court of appeals. Only two other states-California and New York-have had more vacancies filled during this time. I also have voted to confirm over 100 of President Obama's judicial nominees, and I supported the confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

The current vacancy on the Supreme Court, however, presents an unusual situation. In the final year of a presidency, it is extremely rare for vacancies that arise on the Supreme Court to be filled. In fact, the last time such a vacancy was filled was 1932. The vacancy created by Justice Scalia's passing is especially sensitive because it will fundamentally affect the balance of the Supreme Court for a generation or more.

Given that we are already well into the presidential election process and that the Supreme Court appointment is for a lifetime, it makes sense to give the American people a more direct say in this critical decision. I believe that the next court appointment should be made after the upcoming elections by the next president. If that new president is not a member of my party, I will take the same objective, non-partisan approach to that nominee as I have always done.

Under the Constitution, the power to appoint federal judges is a shared one. The Constitution vests the president with the power to nominate judges, and President Obama certainly has the authority to nominate someone to the Supreme Court. The Constitution vests the Senate with the power to grant or withhold its consent to a nomination. It does not require the Senate to provide any particular process or follow any particular timeframe when considering considering a nominee. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden and other prominent elected Democrats have argued that the Senate should exercise its constitutional power to withhold consent for Supreme Court nominations made during presidential election years, and that such nominees should not be confirmed by the Senate or receive a hearing. I believe this approach is as sensible now as it has been during previous presidential elections.

Thank you again for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Pat Toomey
U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania