I think he'll go moderate. We will see if they can be adults or will go on acting like petulant children....
By assuring Obama that he need not worry that a nominee will actually serve on the Court, McConnell empowered and invited the president to play radical politics with the nomination.
On the other hand, if Obama nominates a moderate judge and Republicans reject him or her, only to lose the presidential election and Senate this fall, they will have traded a slightly-liberal court for a
very liberal one, as a new Democratic president with a Senate-majority would likely nominate a true liberal next year.
Are Republicans so confident in the likelihood of one of these alternatives that they’re willing to risk the worst possible outcome? Are they so horrified by the modest liberal victories that would come with the confirmation of a moderate as to deploy a strategy that could bring the second coming of the Warren Court? And, just as critically, are they really certain that a presidential election entirely focused on the impact of the court on American life, as this one surely now will, plays to their advantage? Most Americans, after all, DESPISE C
itizens United and want to R v Wade on the books. An election that focuses overwhelmingly on money in politics and first-trimester abortion is a losing election for Republicans.
Republicans have taken the position that a subsequent election in the House or Senate nullifies the President's election. I know Republicans are strong advocates of the Constitution. I just don't know what Constitution they have in mind. I can't find the one where the Presidency ceases when majorities in the House or Senate change.