Valorius

What i would do, if i was trump, would be to proceed with naming, vetting and hearings, but say "We won't take a final vote til after the election."

This will ABSOLUTELY ENSURE 100% R turnout.

Even the Never trumpers will come home if a SCOTUS seat is on the line.

Bocajnala

That's a good point.

-Jake

RobertSubnet

And so will the democrats. RBG's death has energized the democrat voters, the confirmation should be done before the election.

Valorius

We saw in 2018 that after the R's seated Kavanaugh, R enthusiasm waned, and R turnout was unable to match the left, who was foaming at the mouth angry (plus they also cheated).

I think at this point, left wing turnout should be expected to be record breaking. Whereas 24 hours ago, it was likely to be disappointing. So whatever Trump can do to maximize turnout- not a bad idea at all.

And either way, even if Trump loses the election, his seat and McConnell's majority are intact until Jan 21.

So they can hold the final vote and seat RBG's replacement anyway.

The only argument for seating a new justice before the election is also a very strong one though- and that is so that the 9th justice will give Trump a 6-3 majority in event that this election is decided before SCOTUS, as it was in 2000.

Which is a very real possibility.

Either way, there will be a 6-3 majority on the bench.

There is no realistic way for the dems to stop it, short of assassinations.

elkman30

Lot of chatter about this issue on other boards. If Trump appoints a Justice before or after the election, the Dems will energize, turn out in droves, etc. Whatever Trump decides to do, the Dems will use it to turn out their base. All of these never Trumpers should wake up to the fact that Trump isn't just going to appoint RBG's replacement. He's also going to appoint Thomas' replacement as well since Thomas would like to step down. Short sighted people go ho-hum about this stuff but both of those replacements will likely sit on the bench for 20-30+ years. Same goes for replacing Alito. Thomas and Alito are both solid conservative Justices but if they could get replaced by 2 more solid conservative Justices, you would see the court tilt right for 30+ years. Yeah, the economy is important but so is the SC.

Valorius

I agree, if this doesn't bring the Never Trumpers home, these self aggrandizing scum bags will be responsible for the communist take over of America.

And I agree about Thomas I was really hoping he'd step down before the election as well.

C. Davis

That's a tough one. Out of all the justices, Thomas is the only one I have 100% confidence in to preserve our Constitution. I know he won't live forever but how do you replace him? Especially when it only seems to be Republican presidents who ever nominate clunkers.
My hope is that we have a buffer to get away from the lone justice that is always the swing guy. It used to be Kennedy. Now it is Roberts. I do not believe the founders intended for 9 men or women to have total say so, and to me having it always to come down to one "swing" justice is even worse. If Trump gets a real constitutionalists justice confirmed, and it does appear to be a 6-3 majority, I see at least one of the justices, probably Roberts go farther left.

C. Davis

rockport

If the Senate takes a vote before the election the Democrats will have a full blown melt down and act like complete fools showing millions and millions of Americans who they really are. Specifically those in the middle/on the fence.

While it would motivate their "base" I believe it pushes everyone else away.

Tough call but I think I would back them into that corner. The things they say and do to stop it will turn out the republican base and alienate lots of independents IMO.

CalHunter

I agree. Get a conservative Justice approved before the election and prepare to appoint a few more in the next 4 years. Usually Republican Presidents tend to appoint closet liberals (Roberts is definitely headed that way). Trump seems to try to avoid that which is a good thing. I agree on Thomas being the best of the bunch but he's been saying he wants to retire for a while now. Like Ginsberg, he may know something about his health that he's not sharing. Regardless, he would likely retire within the next 10 years either way. I think Trump will get reelected for 4 more years. I'm not so sure about who might get elected after Trump is out of office. I'd prefer to replace an A-list Justice like Thomas when we have a President who wants a conservative and not some hybrid RINO like Bush or some socialist like Obama appointing Thomas' replacement. Tough call but sometimes you have to look at your hole cards and make your best decision.

Gm54-120