resident
Obama remembered late Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday in a brief
speech that was both personal and extremely political.
The president began by honoring Scalia himself and his
legacy, calling him a “larger-than-life presence on the bench” and a
“brilliant legal mind.” Obama said Scalia had “influenced a generation …
and profoundly shaped the legal landscape.” He avoided, like other
Democrats before him, saying that the two often disagreed, preferring to
highlight how Scalia “dedicated his life to the cornerstone of our
democracy, the rule of law.”
Obama sprinkled his praise of Scalia with a bit of
personal history, noting the special friendship he shared with Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and adding that the late justice was both “an avid
hunter and an opera lover.”
But then, Obama left no doubt that he has no plans to
sit with his arms folded until he steps down and has every intention of
trying to nominate someone to take Scalia’s seat. The president spoke
after several key Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said it should be up to the next president to fill the empty seat in the highest court of the land.
“I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities
to nominate a successor in due time,” Obama said. “There will be plenty
of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility
to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are
responsibilities that I take seriously as should everyone.”
The president seemed to chastise those who suggested
he shouldn’t even try to appoint anyone, noting that would not honor
Scalia’s legacy. These “responsibilities” are “bigger than any one
party—they’re about our democracy; they’re about the institution to
which Justice Scalia dedicated his professional life.”
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