Obligations

A great man has left us. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has passed. May he rest in peace. His life and achievements are being extolled throughout the media, as is deserved. I am concerned with what is next.

It is the obligation of the President to select a candidate for replacement to the court. There is no question that Mr. Obama will observe this obligation. It is fitting and proper.

It is the obligation of the Senate to review this candidate's life and qualifications leading to an up or down vote to ratify this selection. The Senate should observe this obligation. This is also fitting and proper.

While the President has been surprisingly tepid in his remarks, some of those running for that office have been less so. This is less than fitting and proper.

Mr. Obama has already had two nominees to the Supreme Court approved. Both were very liberal women. While a branch of government as important as the Supreme  Court should not have a political agenda, it is the politicians who make and approve these nominations. Bad for the country, good for their agendas.

With the turmoil going on in the country today, we need, more than ever, to go through this process as if we were being led by actual statesmen. There are sound and qualified legal minds out there that all parties could accept. Men or women that know, love, and accept the Constitution and the laws that have sprung from it.

The nomination of a great legal mind with no political agenda would serve our country well at a time when we really need greatness. Unfortunately, I don't believe that our President can let loose of his agenda long enough to initiate this process. 

So we will most probably enter a period where rancor and bitterness further take away from allowing government to actually improve the lives of people and bring our country back from the edge. One of these fine days, we may find that we have gone beyond the tipping point.