An unexpected, numbing loss for those who respect traditional values and the rule of law.

Terrible loss for family and country. Absolutely irreplaceable.

Any realistic fear of recess appointment?

Assuming Obama nominates someone generally considered qualified for the seat (e.g., a circuit judge confirmed without serious GOP senate opposition), I wonder if you would urge the GOP-run Senate to refuse to even hold hearings/vote on the nominee.

I personally believe all Senators are entitled to vote for or against any nominee on any ground he/she desires, but I also strongly believe there ought to be up or down votes for every nominee. I am very eager to here views of C&C bloggers and readers on such matters.

Douglas,

I agree with you in a vacuum.

Unfortunately, we live in no such environment.

Bork and Thomas (not to mention, the lower court appointments blocked at the end of the W Administration) give Democrats not a single bit of moral authority to demand an up or down vote.

I would not give it to them until they A) Give a full mea culpa (especially about Bork); and B) Gave a good faith act to a Republican nominee. For example, a lame duck SCOTUS appointment in a Republican administration.

Tab: If I was McConnell, there would be no recess to make such an appointment. Pro forma sessions until Obama leaves office.

I believe Obama will nominate Sri Srinivasan.

The GOP-controlled Senate will be hard-pressed to refuse an up or down vote, given that they voted 97-0 to confirm his nomination to the D.C. Circuit.

I would be interested to know what Bill, Kent and Prof. Berman think of Judge Srinivasan regarding criminal justice issues?

From what I can gather (from reading some of his opinions), Judge Srinivasan's appointment will move the Court to the left (when compared to Justice Scalia) on many constitutional issues.

Tarls: I understand fully your continued grumpiness about the Bork and Thomas hearings, but both nominees got up-or-down votes. Especially if Obama nominates this coming week a relative "moderate" who has aready been cleared by and confirmed by the Senate, I would be especially troubled if the Senate were to refuse to even vote on the candidate for 10+ months.

I do not know, paul, much about how Sri Srinivasan would approach criminal issues. I have heard Sri and Ted Cruz are buddies, and that might be another reason why Prez Obama might believe he could have a real chance of getting an up-or-down Senate vote.

I am hopeful that Prez Obama makes a nomination this week so that I can start reading up on everything criminal-justice-related of the nominee. On that front, I am rooting for Senator Grassley's freind, Judge Jane Kelly of the Eight Circuit. She was a federal public defender in Iowa for more than a decade.

Douglas,

The "they got an up or down vote" line is a red herring and entirely irrelevant. Judicial obstructionism is judicial obstructionism whether done with an up or down vote or "Borking."

"Robert Bork's America" was one of the most shameful speeches ever delivered on the floor of the Senate.

Not only have they never paid a meaningful price for it, they rammed their own nominees threw the Senate at the expense of the filibuster.

Republicans are both legally and morally right to stamp D.O.A on the forehead of any Obama nominee.