The nomination of Merrick Garland by Barack Obama to the Supreme Court has officially expired. That means that Republicans have now completed their theft of the decisive, open seat on our nation’s highest court. The confirmation of anyone nominated by popular vote loser Donald Trump will be illegitimate, a violation of democracy.
The New York Times editorial board said it well:
Americans must remember one thing above all: The person who gets confirmed will sit in a stolen seat.
[snip] The shameful, infuriating actions of the Senate Republicans won’t be ignored in the history books. In a desperate effort to keep a conservative majority on the court, they rejected their own professed values of preserving American institutions.
Democrats in the Senate will, I would hope, work to block any such nominee, but Republicans have the majority. If Mitch McConnell was willing to block a nominee from even getting a hearing for ten months—something unprecedented in our country’s history—does anyone doubt he’ll nuke the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees?
We need to plan now for massive public resistance and civil disobedience to any ruling decided by the vote of Trump’s nominee. Any such decision is, by definition, illegitimate. We must resist.