President Barack Obama has announced he will skip the funeral for pro-life Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Now, a White House spokesman indicates Obama may go golfing instead.
During Wednesday’s White House press conference, Obama Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked if President Obama was skipping the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral to go golfing.
“The president has said that he is not always as sensitive as he should be on optics,” one reporter said. “Can you rule out that he’s going golfing on Saturday instead of the funeral?”
“I don’t know,” Earnest replied.
“There’s so much rancor and politics and partisanship that we allow ourselves to get drawn into different corners to the extent that some people actually want to use the funeral of the Supreme Court justice as some sort of political cudgel,” Earnest said.
Earnest was asked why Obama wouldn’t be attending, but never offered a specific reason for why the decision was made for Obama to skip it.
“The president doesn’t think that that’s appropriate,” he said. “What the president thinks is appropriate is respectfully paying tribute to high-profile patriotic American citizens even when you don’t agree on all the issues. And that’s what he’s going to do.”
SIGN THE PETITION: Do Not Allow a Vote on Any Obama Supreme Court Nominee
After Scalia’s death, Obama responded to promises by Senate Republicans to not allow a vote o his nominee to replace recently-deceased pro-life Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama doesn’t care about the fact that he filibustered Justice Samuel Alito’s nomination in an attempt to prevent the Senate from voting to confirm him, he demanded that Republicans allow a vote on his nominee.
After Scalia’s death, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will not take up a vote on a replacement for deceased pro-life Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia until after the presidential election.
Such a promise prevents pro-abortion President Barack Obama from selecting a third pro-abortion Supreme Court justice to follow Sonia Sotomayor and Elana Kagan, both of whom are thoroughly committed to unlimited abortions and upholding Roe v. Wade.
Democrats will undoubtedly push for the nomination and a confirmation vote for a new left-wing judge.
“The President can and should send the Senate a nominee right away,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said on Twitter. “The Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible.”
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee took a similar line.
“I hope that no one will use this sad news to suggest that the President or the Senate should not perform its constitutional duty,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Saturday. “The American people deserve to have a full functioning Supreme Court.The Supreme Court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons. It is only February. The President and the Senate should get to work without delay to nominate, consider and confirm the next justice to serve on the Supreme Court.”
Leading pro-life advocates agree the Senate should not vote on Scalia’s replacement until after a new president has been selected.
Americans United for Life President Charmaine Yoest told LifeNews, “His loss is tragic, and we hope that when it comes time for the Senate to vote on his replacement, that a worthy successor who can pick up his banner can be found after the election.”
Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel: “With the passing of Justice Scalia, the future of the High Court and the future of America is hanging in the balance. The Senate must not confirm any nominee to the Supreme Court from President Obama. The Senate must hold off any confirmation until the next President is seated. Unfortunately the presidential debates have been more theater and less substance about the real issues surrounding the Supreme Court. The election of the next President has now taken on even greater importance. The future of the Supreme Court and America now depends on the Senate blocking any nominee by President Obama and the people electing the right person to occupy the White House.”
One of the names being bandied about today by experts on the high court is pro-abortion Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
