General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm told "If you ever want a balanced SCOTUS, set your values aside and shut up and vote for HRC." [View all]1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)First, Scalia was tapped, and confirmed, after the Bork fight ... it was a different day in politics, when there was a measure of comity in the Senate. The Democratic confirmation votes were more about fence-mending with republicans, so that the Senate could go on with the business of State; rather, any agreement with Scalia's conservatism;
Secondly, Scalia's record while in the lower courts, though staunchly conservative, did not displayed any of the partisan, results-oriented, willingness to violate precedent. I can live with a principled conservative jurist because they respect legal reasoning.
Lastly, the point of my contributions to this discuss is to highlight the importance of controlling the nominations ... No Reagan Presidency; no scalia or thomas. No bush presidency, no roberts or alito.
This is not to say controlling the nomination will give/have given us 4 RBGs; but, it would have/will limit the damage.