Claudia Anthony "Who should get to pick the next justice?"

After the death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, there has been a debate over whether Obama should be allowed to appoint a new justice in the next ten months, which would cause the Supreme Court to have a liberal majority. The president spoke on Saturday, saying that he will move forward with his "constitutional responsibilities" and name the next Supreme Court justice. The Supreme Court has been divided by 5 Republicans and 4 Democrats for sometime now. If the Senate allows Obama to appoint the new justice, the Supreme Court would have a majority of liberal views, which would most likely affect the Court's view on corporate power, abortion policy, and affirmative action. This has created a large debate between the parties. Democrats argue that Obama has more than enough time left in office to choose the next justice, but Republicans think that job should go to Obama's successor, who they hope will be a Republican. 

I think Republican candidates and the Democrats could have treated this subject more sensitively, especially since Scalia has died so recently. This is similar to Reagan's nomination of a new Supreme Court justice in 1987, when there were just 13 months left of his presidency. I think if Obama does of the constitutional right to nominate the next justice, then he should. Republicans should not stop him merely out of fear of losing dominance in the court. 

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