By SAVANNAH TILLMAN
Student Reporter
The fight between liberals and conservatives has heated up since the sudden death of United States Supreme Court judge, Antonin Scalia.
Since his passing, there has been much debate regarding who his successor will be and who will appoint him/her.
Appointing judges has always been a topic of previous presidential races; however, with the vacant spot on the Supreme Court, the push for a new one is a great concern.
According to The Frederick News Post, the highest bench in the American government may be forced to operate with only eight jurists for the rest of the year until a new president has taken office. The Republican Party is attempting to avoid a third Democratic Supreme Court judge, and with their GOP being immensely strong, they can reject any of President Barack Obama’s nominations.
President Obama nevertheless plans to name a nominee. “I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor, in due time. The issues at stake are bigger than any one party. They are about the institution to which Justice Scalia dedicated his life,” Obama told The New Yorker.
The constitution states that the President has a right to present a candidate to the Legislature to vote on when there is a vacant spot in the jurisdiction.
“I hope to see President Obama choose a moderate candidate that can be voted through and give the courts a political equalizer,” said Jordan Evans, senior history major at Northwestern.
While the feud between both parties continues, many believe Scalia was not given ample time to be remembered for the man he was and celebrated for his life given to what he believed in.
“Scalia was the longest serving Justice, and since he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, he dedicated himself to combating the notion of a “living” Constitution that evolves in step with the nation,” according to the New Yorker.
“It’s a travesty that we as a nation went straight into politics of the court before Scalia’s body was even cold,” said Corey Shirey, a freshman political science major at Northwestern.
The loss of such a dominate part of The Supreme Court system has brought about a huge vacancy that will have to be filled; however, with emotions running high, the challenge has become quite substantial.