Supreme Court Vacancy: The Republicans Go Off The Deep End

I’ve been absent here for several months. I got tired of the political rhetoric coming out of the Republican Party. So much craziness was coming out of the mouths of Donald Trump and the other candidates that if I started writing about it, it would never end.

But the death yesterday of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was the tipping point for me. Not his death per se, but the Republican response that says President Barack Obama should defer making his recommendation for replacement and leave that for the next president. Some Republicans stated openly that they would not vote on, or they would block, any appointment that President Obama recommended.

This is garbage, pure and simple.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the Supreme Court." This means President Obama is well within his rights to put forth his nomination for Scalia's replacement. Members of Congress swear to uphold the Constitution. If the President makes his recommendation, Congress should vote on it. Of course, they do not need to approve The President’s selection, but in my opinion, NOT to vote on it should not be an option.

Those Republicans who want to block or delay the appointment of a replacement Supreme Court Justice in order to allow the next president to do so should remember that there are no guarantees a Republican will win the next presidential election.

I grow tired of Republicans, who are behaving like petulant children who throw tantrums when they don’t get their way. Those already in Congress should be aware that they represent the people - ALL the people, not just their own party or their own self interests. And those candidates running for president who are not currently members of Congress better get used to the fact that, if elected, they also have to represent ALL people AND uphold the Constitution.


The Republican presidential candidates continue to make themselves look more foolish by the day. It’s embarrassing.



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The Frequent Critic, here.

Congress: Little Excuse for Missed Votes

Recently, the Washington Post published a list of those members of Congress who missed votes. I have a list below from the Washington Post web site showing some of the top "offenders" of the 110th Congress who have missed a significant number of votes. I’ve eliminated those who missed a large number of votes due to major illness or death. With the exception of those reasons, there should be little reason for members of our Congress to miss so many votes. In my opinion, campaigning for the office of President of the United States is not a valid reason. A person running for the highest elected office in the country should have a better record than those listed below. It is understandable that come campaign commitments would cause them to miss some votes, but it shouldn't be as many as you will see below.

Our tax dollars go to the salaries of these people, who are supposed to be earning that salary by representing their constituents. Imagine if you had an employee that was absent 20% of the time. You’d fire them, wouldn’t you?

Still, most people remain fairly ignorant of our voting and performance records of our elected officials. So, take some time to look at the list of names below. Do you want these people representing you? If you would like to further explore the complete list, it can be found on the Washington Post web site,here.

Senate:

55.7% Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Representing: Arizona
Votes: 261 votes missed (55.7%), 208 votes cast

38.8% Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)
Representing: Illinois
Votes: 182 votes missed (38.8%), 287 votes cast

37.3% Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Representing: Delaware
Votes: 175 votes missed (37.3%), 294 votes cast

35.4% Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
Representing: Connecticut
Votes: 166 votes missed (35.4%), 303 votes cast

29.0% Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Representing: Kansas
Votes: 136 votes missed (29.0%), 333 votes cast

27.1% Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Representing: New York
Votes: 127 votes missed (27.1%), 342 votes cast

10.2% Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Representing: Hawaii
Votes: 48 votes missed (10.2%), 421 votes cast


House:
52% Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY)
Representing: Wyoming, At Large
Votes: 651 votes missed (52.0%), 602 votes cast

33.4% Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
Representing: Louisiana, District 1
Votes: 395 votes missed (33.4%), 788 votes cast

30.9% Rep. Julia Carson (D-IN)
Representing: Indiana, District 7
Votes: 359 votes missed (30.9%), 803 votes cast

30.1% Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Representing: California, District 52
Votes: 376 votes missed (30.1%), 874 votes cast

27.7% Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
Representing: Texas, District 14
Votes: 339 votes missed (27.7%), 887 votes cast

27.5% Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
Representing: Colorado, District 6
Votes: 337 votes missed (27.5%), 889 votes cast


19.4% Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL)
Representing: Illinois, District 18
Votes: 242 votes missed (19.4%), 1007 votes cast

17.2% Rep. Eddie Johnson (D-TX)
Representing: Texas, District 30
Votes: 215 votes missed (17.2%), 1035 votes cast

17.0% Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Representing: Alaska, At Large
Votes: 208 votes missed (17.0%), 1016 votes cast



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here.