William Bolick: The people voted for Obama

Regarding the Feb. 14 news article “Scalia’s death plunges court, national politics into turmoil”: By what stretch of the imagination does Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell believe the vacancy created by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death “should not be filled until we have a new president”? Oh, that’s right, “because the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice.”

How many times since Americans elected Barack Obama have McConnell and the GOP claimed that this administration is illegitimate and not what the American people want? Obama’s objectives were clear when he campaigned for the presidency in 2007 and again when he ran for re-election in 2011.

The outcomes: A majority of American voters chose Obama. He was not appointed by the Supreme Court; he was legitimately elected to two four-year terms.

Democrats twice voted to confirm conservative justices during the Bush administration. There was no “voice of the people” claptrap because Democrats believe in the continuity of governmental responsibilities, not the obstruction or destruction of them.

Obama is the voice of the American people for another 10 months. The American people expect him to nominate, and the Senate to confirm, his choice for Scalia’s vacant seat.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "William Bolick: The people voted for Obama."