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twovests OP wrote

Explanation:

Scalia was one of nine Supreme Court judges in the US. They are important because they have the final say in interpreting the US constitution, and they hear cases that may or may not be important.

Presidents are supposed to be able to pick these judges. They usually serve for life, so a president who picks a judge has a long influence on US politics. Some are liberal and some are conservative. So far, Trump has had two.

Four years ago, Scalia died while Obama was in office, and the GOP blocked Obama from nominating a new Judge to the supreme court, since it was so close to the end of his term. That's bullshit, but it worked.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a liberal judge who is very great and generally well loved. And she's also very old (86 years!) For the past four or so years, there's been a lot of anxiety. It'd be sad for someone at 86 to die, but not surprising. But if RBG dies while Trump is in office, then Trump would get a third judge, which would have bad, bad consequences.

She's had four hospitalizations for cancer (twice within the past few months) and had a fall last year that broke three ribs, so the fear has been especially real. She's an extremely hard worker, recovering and working through her hospitalizations. Read her Wiki article to understand why she's so thoroughly loved. When she dies, it will be a great loss.

But February 13th, 2020 has passed, marking the four year anniversary of Scalia's death. If she dies now, the precedent should be that Trump can't elect a new judge to replace her unless he is re-elected.

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Dogmantra wrote

as if they give a shit at all, if there had be a republican president when scalia died, they would have immediately picked someone

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flabberghaster wrote

McConnell said that if there were a supreme Court nominee now he'd pass them. They don't care at all -- his agenda is to pack the courts.

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neku wrote

if the gop gives an ounce of a shit about precedent

They do not

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toasthaste wrote (edited )

the gop does not care even a tiny bit about precedent or consistency or integrity, they are cartoon villains who would seem unrealistically stupid and petty and cruel if they were characters in a fictional story

incidentally this is why I'm hardline "vote blue no matter who" in general elections. the sc judges a president will appoint matter so so so much more and have such longer-reaching consequences than any individual president

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