Saturday, February 13, 2016

Antonin Scalia, 1936-2016

I have to give Antonin Scalia credit: he loved injecting himself into politics, and he could hardly have had a bigger impact than dying right before an election. (No way the Senate lets Obama appoint a third liberal.) He must be chuckling now.

This is going to quickly become one of the key issues at stake--for many people, THE key issue. My first thought is that this is not going to be good for Trump. If the GOP loses this election, they lose control of the Supreme Court. Are they willing to leave that decision to a loose cannon like Trump? Are they going to risk the campaign on someone as unpopular as Trump is nationally? (His favorability nationwide is -18 to 24%, depending on the poll average.)

I wouldn't even be shocked if this helps Bush, whom party mandarins have always thought of as a capable if boring executive. Boring may look more appealing to the GOP now that the court's on the line.

No comments: