Do Your Job!
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Before the flags were lowered to half-mast to honor Justice Scalia, Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans had drawn a line in the sand, saying they would not even hold hearings for any Supreme Court justice nominated by President Obama in his last year in office. It’s as pathetic as it is hypocritical.
Confirmations are part of the job, and GOP senators swore to the American people they represent that they would do their jobs.
Sponsored by
To:
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
From:
[Your Name]
You were elected to do your job in Washington.
I cannot think of a more fundamental responsibility for a senator than upholding the U.S. Constitution and putting aside partisan politics. The Constitution clearly states that the president shall nominate justices to the Supreme Court “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.”
This does not give you veto power over the president’s role in selecting and nominating a candidate. The Senate’s duty is to evaluate a nominee’s fitness and qualifications; this duty is not optional depending on a your opinion of the president who is making the nomination.
It would be a serious dereliction of your constitutional duty to handcuff the Supreme Court. Senate inaction on filling the Supreme Court’s current vacancy would cause a constitutional crisis that would shake the very foundation of our democracy.
Our legal system is based on the rule of law and requires stability and certainty. The course charted by you and your GOP colleagues means that a new justice would not be confirmed until well into 2017 at the earliest. Shackling the court for two terms would undermine the rule of law, leave legal questions unresolved, and hamper the administration of justice across our nation.
Again, I urge you to do your job. Refusing to consider any nomination by the president, including holding timely hearings and votes, directly repudiates your duties under the Constitution. I believe in upholding the Constitution. So should you.