Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), self-appointed "sage voice" of the Senate, apparently also considers himself the spokeman for dead Supreme Court justices. Conveniently enough, the dead justices tell Hatch that they agree with whatever his position happens to be.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch—one of the longest serving members of the Judiciary Committee—said on Wednesday that Justice Antonin Scalia would not be upset for the Supreme Court to proceed with a missing seat, saying the deceased justice "knows that the court can function with eight members."
It's not the first time Hatch has spoken on behalf of a dead conservative justice. In September 2005, Hatch argued in an interview aired on C-SPAN that the Senate should proceed with the confirmation of John Roberts because William Rehnquist would have wanted the court to open its next term with as many members as possible.
"Chief Justice Rehnquist would want it to go forward," Hatch said of Roberts' confirmation hearings. "He would want us to move ahead. He revered the court. As you know, gave 33 years of his life to the court. And he certainly would not want to take any—would not want us to take any action that would not have as full a complement of the court sitting the first Monday of October that we can put there."
Now, as political as Scalia was, he probably wouldn't want this president naming his replacement, and he'd probably be fine with the court being thrown into the disorder of a 4-4 deadlock on controversial cases, as long as it meant eventually conservatives won. Which is precisely Hatch's position.
Scalia's voice in his head isn't the only argument Hatch has for obstruction. He also says that he's only thinking of the potential nominee and the institutions of the court and the Senate, because going through a partisan and politicized (cough, cough) battle would be "demeaning." Because, of course, Hatch is all about being above politics.