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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Justice Scalia Dead? (Update — Yes)

Justice Scalia Dead? (Update — Yes)

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Valued commenter Conster mentioned a Guardian tweet saying Scalia was found dead in the open thread below. [ETA: Justice Scalia was found deceased at a resort in Texas, not in the thread below, obvs. Please excuse poor wording due to cold medication and haste.] Nothing on CNN, but now the Dallas Morning News is running a report. Wow.

UPDATE: CNN confirms it.

Reader Interactions

313Comments

  8. 8.

    Warren Terra

    I look forward to the bipartisan consensus, eagerly welcomed by the Washington Post editorial board, demanding that Obama nominate as his replacement the distinguished labor lawyer Eugene Scalia

  9. 9.

    Keith P.

    Holy shit. Well, I’m definitely watching the debate now.

    On Scalia himself, I strongly disliked a TON of his opinions, found his dependence on logic based on “24” to be horrifically naïve, but he was a pretty strong absolutist wrt free speech.

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    When Obama nominates someone and the Senate does not even allow a vote, that should infuriate every reasonable potential voter and propel them to the voting booth in November.

  11. 11.

    Percysowner

    This is going to make the election really interesting. I can easily see the Senate refusing to confirm any Obama nominee. Even if they do, suddenly the Supreme Court will be a big issue in the election. We have to get our people out because the conservatives will be out in force.

  12. 12.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @gf120581: You are understating the reaction.
    Over and under on a nominee getting confirmed. She asks, desperately.

  16. 16.

    hueyplong

    You can bet the GOP debate will feature candidates saying that they’ll appoint someone to the right of Scalia, if any such person actually exists with Bork also dead.

    You might also wager a small amount that the GOP will refuse to confirm any replacement until after the election, so the stakes couldn’t be much clearer for November.

  20. 20.

    gogol's wife

    @hueyplong:

    The very first report I saw online already had some district judge announcing that nothing was going to happen before November. On what authority, I don’t know.

  22. 22.

    Pam

    Best news for a good while. Sorry but the guy was just an absolute gob-shite fornicator and wreaked a lot of damage.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    Since the early 1970s, conservatives have controlled the Court. We now have an opportunity to have a liberal majority for the first time since them.

  25. 25.

    A Ghost To Most

    Hoo-Fucking-Ray!!11 What a great day for the United States.

    eta: as if this election couldn’t be more important (assumes Reptiles will attempt to block confirmation until after election)

    eta2:percysowner beat me to it)

  34. 34.

    Nate Dawg

    So we have an ACTUAL chance of rolling back Citizens United. A real, actual chance. Not a fairy dust magic pony wand chance, but a chance that it can happen.

    Let’s see if the Berners can organize and make sure we get control of the court with ANY DEM in 2016.

    #feelthereality

  38. 38.

    Fair Economist

    This is going to make for a very exciting Presidential campaign. The Republicans in the Senate won’t confirm anybody Obama nominates, even if he nominated Orrin Hatch or Janice Rogers Brown. Come the election there will be two or three rejected nominees and everybody will know what the stakes are.

  40. 40.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    How lovely to have a dedicated thread for this news. Reposted from downstairs, I belong to an opera group on Facebook and posted the following about 20 minutes ago:

    A lot of people here are aware of the shared love of opera between Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

    Scalia died today at a ranch in Texas. I was raised not to speak ill of people who can no longer speak back, so I will just say that the music world will surely miss a devoted operaphile. And I’m sure Justice Ginsburg will miss her seat mate at performances.

    (Some will note that I’m a bit more restrained in my political opinions when I’m chatting with opera friends than I am here at Balloon Juice.)

  41. 41.

    sharl

    RIP, Justice Vaffanculo, and sympathy for your loved ones.

    For the wretched masses who live/survive in ways unfamiliar to you – after all, it is unlikely such lives were ever the topic of an after-dinner Federalist Society talk – perhaps some good will come from the timing of your unexpected death.

  42. 42.

    Corner Stone

    @Ken:

    Anyone starting a pool on who will be first to link it to Vince Foster?

    I thought HRC was campaigning in South Carolina?

  43. 43.

    eemom

    YAY. Rot in hell, you overstuffed robe-sack of shit.

    As with Cheney (in the unlikely event that evil incarnate ever does die), this is one where any pious preachers against speaking ill of the dead can kiss my ass.

  45. 45.

    Felonius Monk

    I wonder who Donald Trump will appoint to replace him. Republicans must really be shitting bricks now.

  46. 46.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    FUCKIN’ A!!!!!

    His corpse is rotting as it should, no afterlife. I hope he was terrified in his last moments.

    Fuck him.

  48. 48.

    Shortribs

    I can’t believe the GOP can stonewall a nomination for 9 months, particularly when they only have a 50/50 chance of a GOP president coming on board.

  50. 50.

    mistermix

    This news has been out for almost 30 minutes and the NYT and the Washington post don’t have it yet?

  51. 51.

    dmsilev

    Did he die in a dramatic, indeed operatic, fashion? If so, I think someone needs to interrogate Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

  52. 52.

    feebog

    I have been saying for a long time that he was overdue to go face first into a big bowl of pasta. I hope it was angelhair because that is as close as the fat bastard will ever get to heaven.

  53. 53.

    Cacti

    Peace and comfort to all of those whose lives he tried to and did make worse with the power of his position.

  55. 55.

    Matt McIrvin

    Even if a Democrat is elected President, the Senate may well refuse to confirm anyone until control changes parties.

  58. 58.

    ? Martin

    Wow. Just… wow.

    Having this polarizing a USSC member needing to be replaced in the middle of this campaign is – I can’t even. And a debate tonight to both canonize and partisanize this whole thing.

  60. 60.

    WaterGirl

    I would feel offended if one of our beloved supreme court justices died suddenly and the right wingers were dancing on the grave, but it is difficult not to see this as a good thing for the country even while I feel bad for friends and family who loved Scalia.

  61. 61.

    gogol's wife

    @dmsilev:

    I think it was something like this:

    “While he is signing the document, Tosca quietly takes a knife from the supper table. As Scarpia triumphantly embraces her, she stabs him, crying “this is Tosca’s kiss!”. As Scarpia falls dead, she declares that she now forgives him. She removes the safe-conduct from his pocket, lights candles in a gesture of piety and places a crucifix on the body before leaving.”

  65. 65.

    hueyplong

    “I can’t believe the GOP can stonewall a nomination for 9 months….”

    [In a Looney Toons voice] You don’t know them vewy well, do you?

  66. 66.

    The Thin Black Duke

    To use the old joke, I’m sure there will be a huge turnout at Scalia’s funeral if only to confirm that it’s true. Still, somebody should thrust a stake in his heart, just to be sure.

  68. 68.

    Mike J

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Even if a Democrat is elected President, the Senate may well refuse to confirm anyone until control changes parties.

    At least we go from 5-4 to 4-4.

  70. 70.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Second time this week the Goddess of Justice has played her hand, thankfully. (Malheur vagrants finally out)

    Obama should have had a list ready to go of who he’d put up for appointment.

    He needs to do it NOW. He’s only got 9 months left, and Congress is gonna fight him tooth and nail. He’s gonna need to wear their asses down.

  71. 71.

    Hungry Joe

    There’s no way in hell (Welcome, Justice Scalia!) that the GOP Senate will confirm an Obama appointee, because anyone voting in favor is dead ground beef and may as well resign on the spot. They do not consider Obama’s presidency legitimate; hence, he has no right to appoint a Supreme Court justice. Case closed.

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    (Good god, MSNBC. Dershowitz? Really? Did nobody sane answer their phone on this Saturday afternoon?)

    I’ve been saying for several cycles that I can’t believe liberals aren’t more concerned about he USSC. Let’s hope this does it.

  75. 75.

    Fair Economist

    @Shortribs:

    I can’t believe the GOP can stonewall a nomination for 9 months, particularly when they only have a 50/50 chance of a GOP president coming on board.

    Why not? They’ve stalled Appeals count appointees for years, and that’s far less consequential than this. Even a thoroughgoing centrist apppointment would be a huge shift in the court, because the swing vote shifts from the staunch rightwinger Kennedy to whomever Obama appoints.

  76. 76.

    Trooptrap Tripetrope

    We all know what’s coming when Obama makes the next nomination, so let’s get ready to start saying this repeatedly: “UP OR DOWN VOTE!”

  79. 79.

    Keith P.

    The full ramifications of this are starting to come to me now. Obama nominates a principled moderate…Senate refuses to even hear it…Trump et al start pushing the craziest nominees they can come up with (that one from Texas comes to mind, although Trump pushes his sister, obviously, which then drives the right punditry NUTS)
    All these anti-Obamacare lawsuits will now slow down, as will the anti-abortion ones.
    And nothing productive happens until next Februrary.

  90. 90.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Iowa Old Lady: I have a feeling the filibuster for SCOTUS is going to go away Real Soon Now, as soon as the President and the Senate majority are the same party in fact.

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    Ok, Jeffery Toobin. When the Republican Senate says this seat should go to the next president, what basis will they have for affirming such outright bullshit?

  93. 93.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    OMG. I always thought he would die sooner rather than later but jeezus Obama appointing Scalias successor?? Oy vey.

  94. 94.

    Underpaid Propagandist

    Death to fascism. Death to Opus Dei. Death to overly reverent obituaries. The man was a human crap.

  99. 99.

    Matt McIrvin

    @WaterGirl:

    I would feel offended if one of our beloved supreme court justices died suddenly and the right wingers were dancing on the grave

    Eh, I’d just think of it as “Tuesday”.

    As for the benefit to the country, I’d feel a lot better if this happened with a new Democratic President in place and a favorable Senate. As it is, it just means that this crazy election is even more for all the marbles. Imagine who Trump is going to appoint to replace him. Himself, possibly.

  101. 101.

    kindness

    Democrats have another issue to run on. No way Republicans vote for anyone Obama might nominate. So right off the bat the next president has to name a new SCJOTUS. Don’t blow it Democrats. Use this one for every ounce it’s worth.

  103. 103.

    Mary G

    The Kochs will be breaking open their piggyback and spending unlimited corporate cash to buy the Presidency this year. The voter suppression will be brutal and every dirty trick in the book will be played. We better be ready to fight for our lives now. The market has already been falling for weeks and I wouldn’t put it past them to engineer a depression to flip the vote. Or hire some people to shoot up a mall pretending to be ISIS.

  104. 104.

    Wrb

    @catclub: I might actually prefer either of them, but I think Joe, as the lovable guy who was nonetheless the long-term chair of The Judiciary committee, presents the opposition with the most problems. How do they oppose him without seeming unreasonable jerks? So appoint him or lose votes in the pending election. Just a flash analysis, may revise later.

  105. 105.

    p.a.

    Good fucking riddance. Who has the job of disinfecting his court chair for the next occupant? Or does it have to be incinerated?

  106. 106.

    Hal

    Isn’t this a rallying point for dems? I just don’t see a 4 to 4 split or a refusal to have hearings and/ or a confirmation a benefit to republicans. It is a distraction they cannot run from, and one that I think is far more advantageous to dems than republicans.

  109. 109.

    GxB

    Well put me down on the terrible person list for saying thank god. The world has become an ever so slightly better place now that that hateful prick is gone.

  111. 111.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    I’m just back to dance an encore. A Snoopy dance.

    If celebrating an evildoer’s end is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

  112. 112.

    Mike J

    It makes sense that 3/5ths of a person is only entitled to 3/4ths of a term of office. That’s why we’ll hear the calls for Obama to not bother nominating anyone.

  114. 114.

    WereBear

    I wasn’t sorry when Gaddafi died, or Ceaucescu.

    I’m going to pretend that I’m sad when a notoriously hypocritical dickweed who reveled in his power to make others miserable for his own aggrandizement drops dead without suffering while he’s indulging in luxury?

    Sorry. Not that kind of person.

  115. 115.

    Tim C.

    @Hungry Joe: Unless the GOP figures they might lose both the White House and Senate, in which case a moderate might be a better choice for them than a full blown liberal. But yeah, most likely we’ll have a vacancy until at least January 2017. This is actually going to stop any total disasters from happening in the Supreme Court for at least a year.

  116. 116.

    DH

    I must admit that when I saw the headline I started clapping on and on. Does this make me a bad person?

    Nope.

    May he join Justice McReynolds in Hell.

  117. 117.

    kped

    So now we will watch the media and the right pretend that Obama has to nominate someone equivalent to Scalia for fairness or some other such BS. I guarantee that by the end of the month people will think that the make up of the court is constitutionally guaranteed to be 5-4 conservative!

  118. 118.

    AnotherBruce

    I don’t want to be a terrible person, but god won’t let me not be a terrible person. (Looks up) Thanks, god!

  121. 121.

    Corner Stone

    Nothing yet from HRC’s twitter account about expropriating the appropriators or seizing the commanding heights with the next SCOTUS pick.
    IMPEACH HER!

  124. 124.

    Corner Stone

    @kped:

    I guarantee that by the end of the month people will think that the make up of the court is constitutionally guaranteed to be 5-4 conservative!

    “Center Right Nation!!”

  125. 125.

    Seanly

    I’d just put up Lefty McLefterson, grandson of Trotsky, right off the bat. Isn’t Obama out of fucks to give?

  127. 127.

    Corner Stone

    FU David Gergen! There is no fucking reason Obama should not nominate someone right away.

    ETA, Obama already has a vetted list for SCOTUS. There’s no reason to waste time.

  134. 134.

    scav

    No doubt he checked out before Valentine’s Day because he couldn’t think of having to suffer the oppression of seeing the wrong sort of people not only in love, but officially recognized as such.

  136. 136.

    D58826

    @Hal: One more argument that the GOP is not interested in governing for the good of the nation but only interested in tax cuts for the 1%. But if the voters need this as an argument to vote for the democrats after all that the GOP has done over the past decade and a half, then the quality of the electorate is even lower than I thought.

  140. 140.

    Corner Stone

    @sparrow: Huh.
    {Carefully reviewing my previous stance given that sparrow is a fucking moron.}
    No, no…still going with FUCK THAT FUCKING GUY.

  142. 142.

    Michael Bersin

    I covered Justice Scalia speaking at the University of Central Missouri in March of 2008. We were allowed to take photographs during the first three minutes of his speech and to record his speech and the Q and A after for note taking purposes. I transcribed his speech and the Q and A. The world has changed (links to the 2008 posts are at the bottom).

  143. 143.

    Baud

    The one possibility for the Senate confirming Obama’s appointee is that Republicans are afraid that this will galvanize Democrats in November. I still think it’s remote.

  147. 147.

    Calliope Jane

    Saying something nice: I feel for J Ginsburg, as they were very good friends. I feel for all of them, as the group of 9 is very small. One of his opinions was the first one I read in my Con Law class. His writing could be…entertaining albeit with dire consequences. He enjoyed Colbert’s correspondence dinner performance. He didn’t like when people were criticizing Ginsburg, etc. years ago about foreign law; he could do it, in an opinion, but he could leave it there.

    Not gleeful. My grandfather is in the hospital now, I’m not celebrating this. As for a replacement– I trust the team with the con law professor. The next term starts before the election, elections have consequences, etc. the republicans will throw temper tantrums but we can’t let them.

  148. 148.

    BBA

    Grand compromise: eliminate a seat or two on the Supreme Court, in exchange for the Republicans agreeing to put any Democratic nominee to a vote when the next vacancy arises. After all, we really don’t need to have nine judges given the court’s workload, etc.

    I don’t know if the GOP would have the chutzpah to try this. They didn’t succeed with the DC Circuit and the Supreme Court is much more visible – and it hasn’t changed in size since before the Civil War, while lower courts change sizes all the time.

  150. 150.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    Conservatives on news comment FB threads seem shocked and confused that people are responding to this death with unabashed glee and scorn. They’re whining about proper respect for the dead and standard politeness.

    I’m responding with a phrase “I’m giving the grifting, corrupt bastard the same respect he gave the people of America – all of them.”

  154. 154.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    Cruz has tweeted that for the good of the nation the next President should appoint the successor.
    Nice try, but we already have a sitting President, Ted.

  155. 155.

    Aleta

    I keep seeing a Godfather-like scene, with Justice Scalia still dressed in his medieval duck-hunting robes.

  156. 156.

    Van Buren

    Well I’m sure Marco Rubio will explain that Obama’s pick is devisive.
    If anyone is still listening to him.

  157. 157.

    randy khan

    Not that I think they can’t do it, but filibustering a sitting President’s Supreme Court nominee because you’re hoping for a better outcome after the election would be, let’s say, unusual. If the President nominates someone who’s straight down the middle – highly qualified, not considered particularly liberal, maybe black or Asian American (okay, that’s not straight down the middle, but it is twisting the knife a bit) – there are going to be real problems for the Republicans if they don’t allow a vote.

    I see the comments above about how the Republicans have stonewalled nominations for lower courts, and how the importance of the nomination could increase the incentives, but there also are incentives that work the other way. You can stonewall a 4th Circuit judge all you want and almost nobody will notice. That’s part of why they can get away with it. Stonewall a Supreme Court nomination, and it will be big news. It would be like stonewalling a nomination for Secretary of State.

  158. 158.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Corner Stone:

    Ok, Jeffery Toobin. When the Republican Senate says this seat should go to the next president, what basis will they have for affirming such outright bullshit?

    It’ll be kind of like Governor Mitt Romney’s basis for insisting that same-sex marriage should be stayed pending the possibility of a constitutional amendment.

  162. 162.

    raven

    So scotusblog says:

    There is the related question of the Court becoming an issue in the election. Before today, it was unlikely that many voters would choose a presidential candidate for this reason, given the importance of issues like the economy, terrorism, and immigration. But the fact that there is an immediate vacancy – and a vacancy that could tip the Court’s ideological balance – makes the future of the Court much more concrete.

    It is the ONLY thing I care about.

  163. 163.

    Corner Stone

    There’s a great chance here the D’s can win back the Senate if the R’s do not even allow a vote on any confirmation hearing.

  169. 169.

    sparrow

    Can anyone here come up with a plausible scenario where Obama gets an appointment through? Because I can’t think of any, but I don’t know exactly what is entailed procedurally (off to google-search now…), or what kind of options Obama really has.

  171. 171.

    lgerard

    I am only sad that he didn’t somehow take Thomas and Alito with him

    Goodwin Liu would make a very nice replacement

  172. 172.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @Baud: Gosh what a surprise. O’Donnell once I recall defended Blue Dog Democrats against any criticism while saying “Liberals amuse me. I am a socialist” but adding that he was “realistic”.

  173. 173.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Dr. Bloor: And they don’t have to say they’re hoping for a better result come the election, they just have to say that everyone is monstrously unacceptable.

  174. 174.

    D58826

    @WaterGirl: I agree. It wasn’t fun when the right tore into Kennedy when he died. A moment of respectful silence a kind thought for the family and then move on. It is like the tradition of lowering the flag to half staff. I’m sure Obama will order it done (but not fast enought to satisfy the rwnjs) even thought there was no love loss between the two.

  175. 175.

    Corner Stone

    I wish CNN anchormouthperson would stop claiming how Scalia “served his country for 30 years”. He wasn’t mopping the floors in the Capitol building. He was a fucking pampered prince who had the best perks of everything. He got everything he could have ever wanted while fucking over the nation. He didn’t “serve his country”. He got fat and fucking happy being bribed in non-illegal ways.

  177. 177.

    MomSense

    Can Obama go legit tyrant and nominate himself as the replacement effective 12:01 p.m. on January 20th, 2017? That would be glorious.

  179. 179.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    Alibis, everyone. Let’s not get carried away. First things first and cheese it when the coppers arrive.

  181. 181.

    Elizabelle

    My sister and I were playing cards in the kitchen, NBC Sports on in the background. The important news is coming sound; NBC Special Report. Long delay for a news reader. We waited. Antonin Scalia is dead.

    And, good Catholic girls that we are —

    we high fived. Straight to hell, sucker.

    Very good news. I think Barack and Michelle may be having martinis at the White House tonight.

  183. 183.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I’m gonna put my bet on President Obama on this one. I think he will figure out a way to make it too hot for them not to do anything.

  189. 189.

    Elmo

    Dammit, my wife says champagne gives her a headache. I don’t want to drink the whole bottle by myself!

  191. 191.

    Corner Stone

    FU Dana Bash. If the R’s want to stonewall then you should fucking call that out. The R’s should be hoisted on this bullshit.

  193. 193.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    So of course this is the very definition of stating the obvious but here we are at the point where without any person being specified at all Republicans are openly stating that the appointee will not be fit. Which is the only justification for rejecting the appointment. “Whoever it is will be unqualified”. And this will just be accepted as oh well, what are you gonna do.

  195. 195.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    Are there any florists who would send a dildo bouquet?

  196. 196.

    Isobel

    Nominate Obama!

    This right here is why I read Balloon Juice. Y’all are too funny. Also, fuck that motherfucker, he did his country the best service of all by croaking.

  198. 198.

    PsiFighter37

    Holy freaking cow. Obama truly has a shot at leaving his mark for much longer. I know the reflexive thing to think is that the GOP will not let a vote on anyone, but there is a lot of strategy behind whether they want to do that with the Senate on the line.

    Barack – nominate Goodwin Liu and let it ride, baby…

  200. 200.

    Elizabelle

    Anybody know if Cheney is looking a bit peaked?

    Do we know for sure Scalia is not dead because he went hunting with VP Cheney? Or an ice pick in the library of the resort?

    I don’t care if a house fell on him.

    Mr. Scalia. He dead.

  201. 201.

    Wrb

    @Nate Dawg: Those of us who are older than Obama and are insulted by being referred to as Berniebros have been exhibiting amazing restraint – in my opinion – by not roaring back at the reemergence of the PUMAs. But if the Hillary supporters insist on returning to that place, I fear the consequences will get us a president Trump.

  202. 202.

    Kay

    @Corner Stone:

    That’s boilerplate obituary though.

    I’ll be mad if media promotes the idea that Obama somehow does not have the authority to appoint anyone he wants, when he wants. He does have that power. They can’t strip that from him thru pundit consensus.

  204. 204.

    Ruckus

    I don’t want Biden to be nominated. I want someone better. I want President Obama to nominate and fight for someone who is way on our side. His chances of getting conformation is about .000000001% no matter who it is so let’s go for broke. If the senate plays games that just puts the spotlight on how bad they really are and can be a teachable moment for GOTV for both the president and the senate.

  206. 206.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: I thought Obama may have been in Houston yesterday. There was a huge police escort blocking streets in downtown. I never saw the motorcade that’s how many escorts they had moving traffic.

  208. 208.

    Nemo_N

    At the risk of sounding somewhat un-PC; I hope Obama nominates the blackest, gayest woman he can find. If fuckers are going to block him, might as well go in a blaze of glory.

  209. 209.

    Marc

    The Supreme Court was going to do a lot of harm this summer with a series of nasty, big rulings. 4-4 means that the activist court can’t overturn things, so a lot of harm avoided. My sympathies to the family, but given all of the bad things that this man was responsible for and was about to do that’s all I can muster.

  212. 212.

    JPL

    I’m streaming msnbc international and I’m tired of the praise that Matthews is giving Scalia. Scalia was a bigoted man who wanted to destroy our country.

  213. 213.

    Rommie

    Since I’m under no illusion that I’m not lined up for a nice middle-management job in Hell, I have to say I’ve laughed from reading this thread more than any for quite a while.

    This really is a Biden-FD though – 4-4 prevents a lot of bullshit decisions that are up this time, the nomination process will expose rank partisanship right when the GOP doesn’t want to do so, it’s a major issue for all the presidential candidates to answer, and it might even prompt a second need for a nomination (Dog forbid, but 4-3 is a disaster because it easily turns into 6-3 if one of the schmucks debating tonight is the next president. It could change someone’s mind about retiring NOW)

  216. 216.

    trollhattan

    @max:
    Will simply send my fondest wishes to Notorious RBG for a long, long period of health and well-being. We need you now, more than ever.

  217. 217.

    Corner Stone

    @Gopher2b: She seems to have been fairly meaningful using her voice so far.
    And I hope she does live 20+ but you’ll note how far behind Scalia she is in years. No guarantees but a 45 or 50 year old makes much more sense.

  218. 218.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: “If I were the President, I would nominate a candidate at the end of the week.”

    nodding my head in agreement.

  219. 219.

    ? Martin

    @sparrow: Depends on how this gets played. Obama could put up someone like Leondra Kruger. African-american female, currently on the California Supreme Ct and was a deputy Solicitor General under Obama.

    3 months is a long nomination process. The Senate would need to demand a full year – 11 months before the next president takes office, then a nomination, then the usual confirmation process. Putting forward a clearly qualified person, and moreso one that if the Senate dragged their feet would be easily construed as discriminatory against the candidate due to her gender or race would become increasingly politically damaging to them.

    Sure, they could do it, but probably at the expense of costing them the Presidency that they think would get them out of this, at which point a Dem president would just nominate the same person.

    I just don’t see how they could work the politics on this one without great cost.

  221. 221.

    Brachiator

    @Fair Economist:

    The Republicans in the Senate won’t confirm anybody Obama nominates, even if he nominated Orrin Hatch or Janice Rogers Brown. Come the election there will be two or three rejected nominees and everybody will know what the stakes are.

    There is no reason to drag this out, and certainly no reason to have more than one nominee.

    Has the White House signaled its intent yet? I suppose the Senate might want to delay any appointment until after the election, but I hope that Obama looks in the bag, sees no fvcks to give and just says, “It is my duty as president to nominate someone to fill this vacancy on the Court.”

  222. 222.

    p.a.

    In a thread yesterday I said we have to win this pres. election then hope for a Legionnaires outbreak at the Federalist Society convention to take out the Gang of 4. I was too optimistic, BUT I’LL TAKE THIS HAPPILY.

  224. 224.

    Nate Dawg

    @Wrb: Im a former Obot actually. You aren’t a BB so don’t take offense.

    I’ll stop. Since we can all agree this is good news for John McCain.

  225. 225.

    sharl

    Evan Smith @evanasmith

    Express News says Scalia died at Cibolo Creek Ranch — which is halfway between Marfa and Presidio

    Evan Smith @evanasmith

    Exclusive resort/ranch, owned by John Poindexter, a Houston-born multimillionaire http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-man-in-the-white-hat/

    ~
    Sounds like Vaffanculo died at the ranch of a “soul” mate. From that Texas Monthly link:

    The Man In the White Hat
    John Poindexter insists that he can restore 46,000 acres of Big Bend Ranch State Park to its original splendor. If only he could persuade the state to sell— and the angry conservationists to trust him.

    February 2006 By John Spong

    …Poindexter’s way—the solemn, split-hair precision of his thoughts and his habit of walking the listener through each step of that thought process—is not of the desert, though it has served him beautifully in business. His company, which originally specialized in leveraged buyouts of manufacturing businesses, now counts the world’s largest maker of hard-bodied delivery vans among its holdings. It saw almost $700 million in revenues last year. But as the company’s sole owner, Poindexter sits alone at the top and freely admits to having a tin ear when it comes to how his statements play to others. He has historically avoided the press, claiming to have neither the capacity, desire, nor need for anything resembling publicity.

    But at the end of August, Poindexter found himself in an uncomfortable place: the headlines. He’d been in quiet negotiations throughout the summer with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to purchase 46,000 acres of Big Bend Ranch State Park for around $2 million. But the day before the TPWD commissioners were to receive their staff’s recommendation for approval—in a closed executive session that would be followed the next day by the deal’s only public hearing—the Austin American-Statesman announced in a front-page story that the state was considering selling off “one-sixth of its flagship park.” (The figure was off, but negligibly so.) The opposition from conservationists was Bork-like in its intensity and organization. In an editorial the day of the hearing, the Statesman decried the deal’s secrecy and “fire sale price.” That afternoon, Poindexter was vilified in public testimony for being a poor neighbor and an insensitive steward of the land he already owns and for wanting to close the park to all but the rich guests who stay at his resort. The commissioners rejected the deal. In the end, Poindexter felt as bushwhacked by the outcry as park lovers had been by the suddenness of the hearing. Pinched for time, he was unable to convince his detractors that the deal was as good for the state as it was for him.

  226. 226.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: No idea where he is/was. Just saying we had a yoooge and classy police motorcade in Houston on Friday afternoon and I have no idea why/who.

  227. 227.

    BBA

    William Howard Taft moved from the White House to the Supreme Court, so there is precedent. Obama would have to gain a few hundred pounds and grow a mustache, though.

  229. 229.

    Matt McIrvin

    There will be a lot of calls for Obama to appoint a right-winger, for some convoluted moral reason. Obama will, of course, ignore these.

  231. 231.

    Pete Downunder

    De mortuis nil nisi bonum. Of the dead nothing but good should be said.

    Scalia is dead

    Good.

  232. 232.

    Heliopause

    I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think if there is anybody worse than Scalia that President Trump could nominate. Robert Bork and Ayn Rand are both dead. Maybe his quid pro quo with Sarah Palin was for this? Nah, she’d be bored to tears by the job and would quit after a couple of weeks. How about Cliven Bundy?

  233. 233.

    moderateindy

    Let’s face it, besides his consistency on free speech issues Scalia was less judge than he was an ideological political hack. Ignoring precedents never seemed to bother him. His dissents were often nothing more than political screeds. He was not corruptable, because he already shared the viewpoints of the rich, powerful, and uber religous, and would side with them on nearly everything. He was the epitome of the right wing boogeyman, the dreaded activist judge.
    My sympathy goes out to those that cared about him, but I feel real joy that his presence on the SCOTUS has been purged!
    I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say I believe his death has the potential to make this country a better place to live.

  234. 234.

    Corner Stone

    @Capt. Seaweed:

    He was never the same after the gay marriage decision. Thanks, homos!!!

    That’s one hetero marriage ruined by mandated gay sex marriage. Book it, libtards!

  236. 236.

    Tehanu

    @Cacti:

    Ding dong the witch is dead, witch o witch, the wicked witch.

    Too soon?

    Not hardly. And I’m with you on wishing “Peace and comfort to all of those whose lives he tried to and did make worse with the power of his position.”

    (Nitpicking: btw, that’s “which old witch? The wicked witch.”

  237. 237.

    Gopher2b

    @Corner Stone:

    But what has she actually accomplished?

    The SC desperately needs an anti-corporate figure. I had no idea she was 66 though. Thought she was in her 50’s. Still don’t care about age.

  240. 240.

    p.a.

    @Elizabelle: No. First report is he choked on his own arrogance.

    At first I thought saying how I really felt would bother me. Wrong again; this is fun!

  243. 243.

    Kay

    @Matt McIrvin:

    for some convoluted moral reason.

    That they all just invented. A “norm” that will apply to only one President.

    I just told my husband and he said “Hah! Good.” He’s approaching this with his usual measured caution :)

  244. 244.

    Corner Stone

    @D58826:

    who follows the Koch/Chamber of Commerce playbook.

    Wonder how much money they will be spending, ramping up spending, to influence how this open seat nomination ultimately goes down?

  248. 248.

    D58826

    @? Martin: Given that the GOP has reached the point that as Trump said he could shot someone on Times Square and not lose a vote, I would not be surprised at anything the GOP does or says.

  249. 249.

    RAM

    @p.a.: That’s what Mr. Google says, too: “If the Court divides 4-4 the lower court opinion is affirmed without creating any Supreme Court precedent,” said Jeffrey Fisher, a professor of law at Stanford University.

  251. 251.

    Shortribs

    @Fair Economist:
    @efgoldman:

    Yes, but holds on ambassadors and lower level court appointments aren’t visible to anyone but insiders. A SC nominee will show up on everyone’s feed and 8 months of the GOP blocking every nomination Obama puts forward will do nothing but bring more Dem voters to the election. I just don’t see an upside when chances are they can take a moderate (most likely) nominee now from Obama or risk a possible moderate or slightly more liberal (if Dems take Senate) justice under a Clinton (most likely) presidency. Plus, I don’t think they’d want to give a Dem president a SC nomination right off the bat, it’s an automatic win for the next President but preceeded by 11 months of bad-optics for the GOP.

  252. 252.

    ? Martin

    The solution to the problem is right in front of us – Obama nominates Hillary to replace Scalia.

  253. 253.

    NotMax

    Where’s the rush of evangelical preachers yammering about this being God’s judgment on American conservatism?

    (crickets)

  254. 254.

    Corner Stone

    @Nemo_N:

    At the risk of sounding somewhat un-PC; I hope Obama nominates the blackest, gayest woman he can find.

    Hardcore seconded to the ultimate power. With the add that I hope that nominee is impeccable on the bench. Otherwise…

  255. 255.

    scav

    Oh, and for all the people acting shocked! and surprised! at the cackles of joy at his demise? He often specialized in being the loudest and most annoying dissenting voice in the room. Seems a more than approproate response to send him off with the same courtesy. (only problem is we’re locally a majority opinion. But he was probably loud, proud and rude in those too, so no matter.)

  257. 257.

    Timurid

    When Fat Tony is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his decisions under the knife, so Fat Tony will know his precedents are wiped out forever.

  260. 260.

    sharl

    @moderateindy:

    …Scalia was less judge than he was an ideological political hack. Ignoring precedents never seemed to bother him. His dissents were often nothing more than political screeds.

    ~
    Yep, pretty much. Even to this non-lawyer, his “original intent” doctrine was obvious self-serving bullshit. My non-belief in an afterlife doesn’t prevent me from enjoying this tweet:

    Ed Baptist ‏@Ed_Baptist

    “@rothmanistan: I guess Scalia gets to ask James Madison what he really meant.”

    More likely he will tell Madison what Madison really meant.

  261. 261.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Heliopause: There are lots of people worse than Scalia. Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are arguably worse than him already.

    The most obvious Trump SCOTUS appointee is Trump himself. There’s no constitutional ban on somebody holding both offices at the same time. Failing that, he could appoint Vox Day or the Return of Kings guy.

  262. 262.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @Ella in New Mexico:

    Obama should have had a list ready to go of who he’d put up for appointment

    There is not the tiniest scintilla of doubt in my mind that he has an excellent list, and has had from Day One.

  263. 263.

    Dr. Bloor

    Going to be fun watching the candidates trying to outdo each other in their pledges to nominate the most radical, bugfuckiest right-winger evah after they’re coronated next January.

  265. 265.

    moderateindy

    @? Martin:

    I just don’t see how they could work the politics on this one without great cost.

    I’ll tell you how, by relying on the fact that a huge part of the electorate doesn’t understand what the ramifications are when it comes to the makeup of the Supreme court. So my guess is it mostly only matters to politically active, and partisan voters. I pray I’m wrong (OK I won’t because, you know, the whole non believer thing, but if I thought it would work I could always go back to being a Lutheran…..I’ve always enjoyed a good pot luck dinner) But I’m not sure it will cost them that much politically.

  268. 268.

    Gopher2b

    Blocking a nominee for 11 months has consequences.

    Illinois, PA, Ohio, NC Iowa and NH all have incumbent GOP Senators up for election.

  269. 269.

    Brachiator

    I loved this, from CNN:

    It also places Republican Senate Majority Mitch McConnell in a delicate political position. The grass-roots of the Republican Party are already in open revolt against the party leadership in Washington — that fury is one of the factors behind the rise of outsider presidential candidates like Donald Trump and conservative Sen. Ted Cruz. So any decision to permit the confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice appointed by Obama could send destructive political forces tearing through the Republican Party. There was no immediate comment from McConnell’s office.

    Could the GOP become even more extreme? What’s crazier than bat shit crazy?

    If the Senate signals that it would deny any Obama replacement a chance at a vote, it becomes imperative that Hillary Clinton have a slate of judicial appointments ready to be sent to the Senate as soon as possible after her election.

    Sorry, Berniebros. As far as I am concerned, you have now all been kicked to the curb, to roll along into the dustbin of history.

  270. 270.

    b1narys3rf

    So, in the age of polarization, I think Obama’s best move is to nominate someone so opposite in views and identity from Fat Tony that the GOTP has to embarrass themselves on a daily news-cycle basis far worse than ever.

    I hate to admit it, but it’s far easier to get people to vote against something than for something – so make sure the cowardly MSM covers every GOTP person on Capitol Hill as being the white-supremacist, closeted homophobic, xenophobic assholes many of them are, when they come out against his nominee. They put up a big fight on Sotomayor? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

    Get da yoots and the gays and the minorities and the wimmins so pissed off that they’d vote for Hillary or Bernie, QED.

  271. 271.

    Ajabu

    I was half watching TV with my wife when the announcement came on and jumped up saying “Hal-a-fuckin-lujah!! The motherfucker is finally dead!”
    She, who doesn’t follow politics that closely, looked at me in shock so I pulled a few of his quotes and showed them to her.
    She’s still not cheering – not her nature – but she understands where I’m coming from.
    FUCK THAT SLIMY POS. I’m thrilled that he’s dead. Don’t they come in threes? I’m hoping for Cheney & Alito.

  272. 272.

    Aunt Kathy

    @Tim C.: Marcia Coyle on PBS just answered that very question for me. If a SCOTUS decision is 4-4, the lower court’s decision stands, whatever that was.

  273. 273.

    NotMax

    @RAM

    “Affirmed” is a bit of a stretch. The lower court decision stands, but as there is no precedent is able to be revisited by the Supreme Court should they accept a later challenge to the decision.

  275. 275.

    Brachiator

    @? Martin:

    The solution to the problem is right in front of us – Obama nominates Hillary to replace Scalia.

    Interesting idea, but no. Republicans would jump at the chance to end her political career by voting down her nomination.

  276. 276.

    moderateindy

    @sloan:

    My pick from the nominee:

    WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON

    That would be interesting because it would be a good indication of how much Obama resents the crap the Clintons threw at him in 08. Because if Bill actually accepted (and you never know we are talking about Bill here) it would cripple Hillary’s candidacy I just don’t see Obama being that spiteful

  278. 278.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    Our very own Omnes Omnibus is an experienced judge. Time for some Balloon Juice representation on the Supreme Court.

  279. 279.

    Heliopause

    And for those of you worried about celebrating “too soon,” the RW didn’t even wait for Scalia’s corpse to cool off before declaring “hell no” to any senate confirmation before the election.

  280. 280.

    Brachiator

    @raven:

    Obama is too classy to rush anything.

    Time’s a’ wasting. And these dirt bags are still sitting on judicial and executive department nominees.

  281. 281.

    Felanius Kootea

    @Shortribs: I’m sure they will try.

    I am ashamed to say that I screamed with excitement when I saw the news and called my husband immediately to rejoice. Then I felt kind of dirty.

  284. 284.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: Anybody who says Obama somehow owes it to Scalia to appoint a conservative to replace him, you can just come back with “Clarence Thomas”. End of argument.

  286. 286.

    Brachiator

    @moderateindy:

    That would be interesting because it would be a good indication of how much Obama resents the crap the Clintons threw at him in 08.

    And yet, Obama kept Hillary Clinton’s political career and presidential aspirations alive by appointing her Secretary of State.

  287. 287.

    NotMax

    @TG Chicago

    Agreed. I am gleeful at his removal from office, not at his death. Some of the comments dancing on the corpse have been in the poorest of taste.

  288. 288.

    Redshift

    @debbie:

    I too have difficulty rejoicing in anyone’s death, but damn, I’m glad he’s off the bench!

    I agree with the sentiment of the apocryphal Mark Twain quote: “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.”

    The world is a better place without him.

  291. 291.

    NotMax

    Not necessarily someone with whom I agree in toto, but wouldn’t be averse to a nomination of Laurence Tribe, a legal heavyweight, as a center-left choice .

  292. 292.

    Aleta

    Someone educated in environmental sciences and law would be a huge relief, given the challenges to public land and water that are coming down the pike.

  295. 295.

    Cooki126

    @Iowa Old Lady: @Iowa Old Lady: I’m feeling ashamed of my reaction too. I can’t help it. He always came off as anti-women, anti gay and racist I try to tell the kids I work with that voting is important because it’s not really about the president., it is about who he or she appoints to the Supreme Court. The upcoming election was already entertaining and crazy but this takes it to another level.

  297. 297.

    D58826

    @NotMax: I was linking more along the lines of given the 5-4 vote to delay the clean air plan that is isn’t nice to fool with mother nature.

  298. 298.

    moderateindy

    @Brachiator:

    Sorry, Berniebros. As far as I am concerned, you have now all been kicked to the curb, to roll along into the dustbin of history.

    In fact it brings up a compelling argument for voting for Sanders. After all who would appoint the more progressive judge? Considering her own moderate positions, her beliefs on incrimentalism, and her pragmatism, I would imagine Hillary would opt for the safe choice, Whereas Sanders would see it as a chance to be transformational, and build a new foundation of progressive ideals.
    Also, I think it removes all doubt as to whether or not Hillary supporters will turn out for Sanders. On the other hand, many of the newer younger Sander’s voters may not get the import of the Supreme court, so it may not be as big a driver for them to go vote
    Explain to me why I am offbase on those assessments

  299. 299.

    Jack the Second

    @Just One More Canuck: God yes.

    I would love to see a pledge from both Clinton and Sanders to nominate Obama if the seat is still vacant when they take office.

    If nothing else, that’s bound to make the Senate surprisingly amenable to Obama’s nominees.

  300. 300.

    moderateindy

    @Brachiator:

    And yet, Obama kept Hillary Clinton’s political career and presidential aspirations alive by appointing her Secretary of State.

    True that is one way of looking at it, the other being Obama is a shrewd pol that wanted to unite the party, and giving her that position helped sew up support from her supporters.

    What I actually could see Obama doing is making a deal with Repubs that he would nominate someone moderate as long as they put his nominees for other judgeships on a fast track. There is, after all, an argument to be made that having a framework of liberal judges in the lower courts may be more important than having a left leaning Scotus with a conservative Chief Justice

  302. 302.

    Aleta

    Have any other SC justices provoked as many calls for impeachment? (Probably.) But I think that’s part of the elation — he couldn’t be removed from office unless he resigned or died. The lack of ethics, apparent corruption, boorish superior morality, displays of disrespect to the President were unworthy of the position Justice Scalia held.

  304. 304.

    Brachiator

    @moderateindy:

    In fact it brings up a compelling argument for voting for Sanders. After all who would appoint the more progressive judge? Considering her own moderate positions, her beliefs on incrimentalism, and her pragmatism, I would imagine Hillary would opt for the safe choice, Whereas Sanders would see it as a chance to be transformational, and build a new foundation of progressive ideals.

    I don’t see Sanders as transformational. He’s just an old fart who sat in a corner nursing rigid fantasies about political utopia for the past 25 years.

    Also, I think it removes all doubt as to whether or not Hillary supporters will turn out for Sanders.

    I don’t see Sanders as going much further, so this is a moot point.

    On the other hand, many of the newer younger Sander’s voters may not get the import of the Supreme court, so it may not be as big a driver for them to go vote

    My college age niece and nephew understand the importance of this, and I don’t think that they are outliers.

    I think Bernie Sanders is a nice man. I am just not interested in what he has to offer. By the way, I do not think that Hillary Clinton is the ideal candidate. Not by a long shot. But by comparison, Sanders doesn’t even come close to her.

  306. 306.

    Brachiator

    @moderateindy: RE: And yet, Obama kept Hillary Clinton’s political career and presidential aspirations alive by appointing her Secretary of State.

    True that is one way of looking at it, the other being Obama is a shrewd pol that wanted to unite the party, and giving her that position helped sew up support from her supporters.

    Hillary’s supporters had made some noise about Clinton becoming VP. This was never going to happen. At this early point, he could not trust her. But the deal was made not only to mollify her supporters, but also to make sure that Bill Clinton would support and campaign for Obama, instead of sulking and criticizing him.

    What I actually could see Obama doing is making a deal with Repubs that he would nominate someone moderate as long as they put his nominees for other judgeships on a fast track. There is, after all, an argument to be made that having a framework of liberal judges in the lower courts may be more important than having a left leaning Scotus with a conservative Chief Justice

    The Republicans will not make a deal. They will bow to the madness of the Obama haters. They have nothing to gain by being reasonable.

  309. 309.

    SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel

    @randy khan:

    I heard someone on either CNN or MSNBC say that Obama already has someone in mind, youngish (40s, I think), Indian-American, named Sri Something-Something. Ring any bells for anyone?

  310. 310.

    Brachiator

    @SiubhanDuinne, Annoying Scoundrel:
    RE: Sri Something-Something. Ring any bells for anyone?

    Padmanabhan Srikanth “Sri” Srinivasan (born February 23, 1967) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 97–0 on May 23, 2013.

    Or maybe the Apple iPhone Siri.

    The solid confirmation vote could be thrown in the Republican’s faces. Another plus:

    “After law school, Srinivasan worked as a law clerk for United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III and then was a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.”

    Might not be seen as liberal enough.

  311. 311.

    moderateindy

    @Brachiator:

    I don’t see Sanders as transformational.

    Oh well gee there’s a really good argument. Are you also one of those deluded people that think Hillary is more progressive, you know because of her record which doesn’t indicate that at all? It doesn’t matter if you think Sanders is transformative, what matters is that he sees himself as such, and nominates a prospective judge accordingly. In comparison to Hillary and what type of judge a self proclaimed moderate would nominate.

    I don’t see Sanders as going much further, so this is a moot point.

    That’s another stellar argument you got there. It’s based on what exactly, past results in the primary and caucus? National polls from six months ago? Cripes why don’t you break out the grandaddy of all reasons that has no evidence to back up your assertions, the trumps everything “JUST BECAUSE”

    My college age niece and nephew understand the importance of this, and I don’t think that they are outliers

    Well it’s the trifecta of worthless arguments the “I know 2 people” anecdotal evidence gambit
    First the argument made constantly on this blog is that Bernie is trying to be too transformative. So I’m certain he would never try to pick a serious progressive for a position where that person could have decades of influence.
    Second, your position is basically that; the idea that “Hillary supporters will turn out for Sanders, but some of Sanders are there, because they are aligned with him, and not the democratic party, and thus may not turn out for her” isn’t worth addressing cause your crystal ball says Sanders won’t get that far. Not really certain that you understand part of a rebuttal includes refuting theories that were put forth in the original argument. Your response wasn’t actually a response merely a poor excuse for a deflection of the question.
    Finally, historically the average voter does not consider the Supreme court an important reason to vote for a candidate. Yet you want me to believe that a bunch of young kids that are constantly portrayed by Clinton supporters as foolish and uninformed will suddenly be highly motivated by an issue they traditionally could care very little about.
    Seriously, all your responses are totally devoid of any logic or even cursory facts or statistics, save your niece and nephew. Instead of actually addressing my arguments about why the SCOTUS opening may make Bernie a better option as a candidate, and then President, you posit a bunch of vapid statements about how you feel and barely touch on anything that would be considered a defense of your position why Hillary is the superior choice, except of course for your massive in depth survey of 2 of your relatives.

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