If Gorsuch is confirmed, the legitimacy of the US supreme court won't recover- Russ Feingold [View all]

[JHan]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/20/judge-gorsuch-confirmation-legitimacy-us-supreme-court

Confirming Gorsuch would endorse and normalize unconstitutional political games. It would encourage both parties to use and expand this strategy in the future, at the expense of our highest court and its critical role in our judicial system.

This time it was the last year of a president’s term, next it will be the year before midterm elections. It won’t be long before it extends to the whole two-year presidential campaign, amounting to three years of any presidential term where a supreme court seat cannot be filled.

And it is not just the supreme court that will be affected, as the strategy will be used to block appointments to lower courts. This is a slippery slope that ends with decimating the legitimacy of an entire branch of government, and the resulting checks and balances on which our democracy depends.

*snip*

Merely delaying Gorsuch’s hearing until after an investigation into Russia’s involvement is completed is not enough. His nomination represents a completely separate threat to our country from Trump’s troubling ties to Russia. The Republicans’ judicial coup spat in the face of our constitution, and a nomination that locks that in as a precedent cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

It is not hypocritical to try to right this wrong. It would be unconstitutional not to. The Senate, specifically Senate Democrats and independents, and any Republicans who care about our constitution, must do everything in their power to block Gorsuch’s nomination and demand the legitimacy of our supreme court be restored through the nomination of a consensus candidate.