Barack Obama Makes His Supreme Court Pick

DOES IT MATTER?

U.S. president Barack Obama has nominated the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the death of conservative icon Antonin Scalia last month.

Obama’s selection of 63-year-old Merrick Garland sets up a battle with “Republican” leaders in the U.S. Senate – who have vowed not to take up the nomination.

We support them in their effort – which as far as we can tell is the one and only time they appear to be serious about standing up to Obama.  Will they remain firm in their opposition now that Obama has called their bluff?

We shall see …

Typically they don’t.

The mainstream media is hailing Garland as a “moderate,” while liberal U.S. Senators are referring to him as a “bipartisan” choice.  Meanwhile Garland himself pledged his fidelity to the rule of law – something Obama has shredded at his convenience since taking office in 2009.

Also “neoconservatives” – a.k.a. warmongers – may be inclined to support Garland because he had former president George W. Bush‘s back during the debate over Guantanamo Bay.  In fact the liberal Washington Post reported in 2010 that Garland “showed great deference to President George W. Bush’s indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”

An appointee of former president Bill Clinton, Garland has consistently ruled in favor of Washington bureaucrats – well, except when he was siding with liberal environmentalists.

“On environmental law, Judge Garland has in a number of cases favored contested EPA regulations and actions when challenged by industry, and in other cases he has accepted challenges brought by environmental groups,” a Newsweek review of his nomination noted.  “This is in fact the area in which Judge Garland has been most willing to disagree with agency action.”

Garland is also considered weak on Second Amendment rights – having voted to reconsider a ruling that struck down Washington, D.C.’s unconstitutional handgun ban.

Frankly, we don’t care where Garland is on the issues … this fight is about the man appointing him.

Whether Garland is the moderate the left claims he is – or the closet leftist we suspect he is – the GOP should stick to its guns (for once) and defer a hearing on his nomination.

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