Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Supreme Court experts have already started speculating on who Obama will nominate to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and it’s not looking good.
One prominent analyst believes Obama will nominate progressive Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who would be the first black female on the Supreme Court bench in American history.
Tom Goldstein, a respected Supreme Court analyst and publisher of the influential SCOTUSblog, predicted Monday that President Barack Obama was most likely to nominate his Attorney General Loretta Lynch to the Supreme Court.
Goldstein’s post came after he first suggested African-American Ninth Circuit Judge Paul Watford would be the likely nominee, since Democrats could use Republican opposition to his appointment to galvanize black voters. However, “the fact that Lynch is a woman gives her nomination a very significant advantage,” he argues.
“I think the President personally will be very tempted to appoint a black Justice to the Court, rather than a second Hispanic,” Goldstein writes. “His historical legacy rests materially on advancing black participation and success in American politics. The role Thurgood Marshall previously played in that effort is inescapable. The President likely sees value in providing a counterpoint to the Court’s only black Justice, the very conservative Clarence Thomas.”
Regardless of who Obama nominates, the real question at hand remains: will the Senate allow him to appoint a justice during his last year in office?
If Republicans cave on Obama’s nomination, it could be the most damaging piece of his presidential legacy. Now is the time for Senate Republicans to stand their ground and actually use their majority to protect limited government principles.
