Brief Thoughts on Antonin Scalia, Presidential Nominations, and Republican Obstructionism from Political Prisoner, Jaan Laaman
Supreme Court Justice Scalia’s recent death has again exposed the deep divisions among the elite political managers of the U.S.A. state. The death of a close person is a time of sadness, and no doubt Antonin Scalia’s family and friends have true sorrow. Scalia, the judge, was a lifelong reactionary jurist. He was certainly against the interest and rights of women, people of color, and working people generally. While I have little admiration for most judges, I’d say any random judge or law professor would probably be at least as good, if not an improvement, over Scalia on the Supreme Court.
My thought today is not really about Antonin Scalia, rather about the public noise and its deeper meaning surrounding President Obama’s task of appointing a replacement for Scalia. As per the Constitution, the President’s job is to nominate a person for any vacancy on the Supreme Court. The Senate then has to approve or disapprove the nomination. It is very clear, and there are no exceptions to this process. The news media has been full of quotes from Republican voices, including Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, saying the Republican majority in control of the Senate would not even consider any nomination by President Obama. Their demand is that the Supreme Court seat be left vacant for almost a year until the next president is elected and takes office in January of 2017.
Republican and Democrat Party politicians always make a lot of public noise about issues and differences, and especially in election times. In recent years, we are seeing more of a different phenomenon among the political elites. The elites I am speaking about are the elected and appointed Democrats and Republicans who actually run the machinery of the U.S.A. state. We are seeing these political managers more concerned about their party and their faction gaining advantage than about the ongoing smooth functioning of the state machine itself. The flow of history is more clearly seen in hindsight. Nonetheless, I believe we are witnessing, living through, and we, the majority of the public, suffering through the decline of the U.S.A. superpower state, of US imperialism.
The unwillingness of one party, the Republicans in control of the Senate, to do their constitutionally required job of acting on the presidential nomination for Supreme Court vacancy is the latest example of a breakdown. The elite political manager class is losing its unity of purpose. This former unity of purpose was to run the political, military, and social system of the United States. The U.S.A. state has always first and foremost served the interest and needs of Wall Street, big banks and corporations. The state is still structured to serve these interests, but now it is often not doing this very well. Leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court for a year or more is probably another sign of the crumbling unity of the political rulers. This is a good time for us, the people, to keep our eyes and ears open to more meaning than just the election speeches of politicians. This is Jaan Laaman, and for more information on and by political prisoners, check out www.4strugglemag.org.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
