Reasonable Expectation?

Once again, the Majority Leader Mr. Mitch McConnell has proclaimed his unwillingness to consider the Presidents nomination to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Simply put, he has put his and his parties legislative agenda ahead of the good of the country and furthered the practice of insulting the President by dismissing him. His statement that he is holding off to “give the people a choice in filling this vacancy” shows a level of ignorance that long ago earned him the title “the most hated man in Kentucky”.

The Senate already has the power of conformation, so what harm does it do for them to hear, see, interview and vote on the nominee? After all, that is an essential part of their duties and some legal scholars are suggesting that the refusal to take the process forward amounts to a simple case of malpractice on the part of the Majority Leader. Even more interesting is the fact that the nominee, Merrick Garland is highly regarded by members of both sides of the aisle, in fact, one would be very hard pressed to find anyone that didn’t like the man. Simply put, it’s pure politics that are denying the people from a well-balanced justice system and strongly suggesting that Mitch McConnell is nothing more than an everyday bigot. Something that has surfaced many times over the course of his career.

There are a number of key cases that are before the court this and next session. With an even number of justices, there will no doubt be several dead locks, pushing the case back to the lower court where it will simply be turned around and we will have no decision for at least a year while the politics’ settle out. Isn’t it bad enough that our elected officials won’t even put in a full 40 hour work week; now they are simply refusing to work at all. I for one would welcome a “dump Mitch” movement and get in a majority leader that would at least make a fair attempt to complete the government and do their job. Simply put, they don’t have to confirm the man, but at least let him have his interviews and give him a vote.

For a country to have evolved as much as we have, seeing these tremendous leaps backward just adds more fuel to the fire as to why the United States continues to slip in the eyes of the world and our influence continue to dwindle. Thus is the downfall of a government that takes on an obstructionist point of view. The only bright spot is that there are a number of key Republicans that have figured out that this behavior can and most probably will have an impact on their own upcoming elections and very possibly the balance of power in the Senate. So strong is this situation that independent voters favor giving the nominee a confirmation hearing by a 2 to 1 margin. Something that has not escaped those vulnerable Republicans.

One can only wonder what other bone headed moves our politicians will make until the election ……