Gorsuch and SCOTUS

I typed this out on Facebook this morning, but wanted to present and preserve it in another medium that is more easily accessible after the fact.  Last night, a second candidate was nominated to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States created when Justice Antonin Scalia died.  Here are my thoughts on that nomination.

I feel so very, very torn about this. On the one hand, Gorsuch is qualified for the position. He is, in terms of his view on legal interpretation, a good choice as a successor to Scalia. Given some of the other nominations that have come from the fledgling Presidential administration, this is a surprisingly good one. Do I agree with Gorsuch on his interpretations of things? Not all of them. Not by a long shot. But is he qualified? Yes. Without a doubt, he is qualified. Would he do a good job? I haven't looked into him too much, but what I've seen has shown me that yes, I think he would work well as a Justice. Do I want him to be appointed? There's the sticky part. It should have been Garland going through this process. Scalia's vacancy should be well on its way to filled by now. Instead, vicious obstructionist party tactics kept it open, despite a lawful nomination by a duly elected sitting president. So do I want him nominated? No. No, I don't. But it's for petty reasons. I can't have what I really want (Garland), so I'm inclined to deny the option that has been presented.

But where does that lead us? Can we then only fill a SCOTUS vacancy when there are enough similarly-affiliated folks to shove through a confirmation along party lines? Do we explicitly politicize the Court? There was always a political aspect to the process of nominating and approving a Justice, but not like this. Not a complete denial to even speak with the nominee. But what good does it do to respond to stupidity and disruption with more stupidity and disruption? Where will it end?

Do I like Gorsuch as a nominee? No. Will I like the types of decisions and interpretations he will make? Likely not. So what should we do?

Grill the ever-loving crap out of him during the confirmation. Make him give as many commitments as you can wring from a lawyer that he will follow and uphold the rule of law. I haven't seen anything that says he won't, but make him promise to do it. Then make him promise again. Make him do it publicly and repeatedly and then hold his feet to that damn fire for the rest of his life (or until he retires).

If he's confirmed, I'm going to deal with him as a Justice the same way I dealt with Scalia - viscerally disagreeing with the foundations and conclusions of a lot of his work, but nevertheless in awe of the artistry he uses to get from A to B. But I don't know that I'll ever get over what could have been, and what I see as the theft of a proper nomination in the name of violent partisanship.