Young Republicans, reform your party
Ding-dong, kids. After 29 years on the Supreme Court, our favorite Associate Racist — er, I mean Justice — Antonin Scalia, has sadly died. A precious vacancy and a wall of conservative partisan screaming has been left in his wake.
In the measly five days following Scalia’s passing, the Republican party has come forward at full force to demand that President Barack Obama not invoke his presidential right to appoint the justice’s successor. In a stroke of politically motivated hypocrisy and partisan enmity, the Republican Party has once again showcased their unwillingness to hold any values sacred, play by any rules or hold their tongues on any matter if doing so impedes establishment goals.
But actions like these have profound consequences. For one, they continue to alienate millennial voters and potential party members. In the coming election and moving forward into the 2018 midterms, young Republicans need to urge their party to abandon their partisan crusade, reel in their radical sects and come back to the table like the educated adults they claim to be. Otherwise, in 20 years, they may not have a party at all — or at least not one they’d want to be a part of.
Scalia wasn’t popular, that’s to be sure. It’s not hard to see why — any man who’s willing to publicly say that he recommends easier universities for black students isn’t going to win over many supporters.
It also didn’t help that Scalia was a strong proponent of constitutional originalism — a philosophy that holds that judicial review should be practiced according to the exact wording and original meaning of the Constitution. But the Constitution wasn’t built to be rigid; it was written with purposeful elasticity to avoid becoming an obsolete artifact rather than a lasting backbone of national purpose. The Founding Fathers couldn’t ever have imagined the social and economic questions we face today — affirmative action, social security, LGBT rights, the Equal Rights Amendment or abortion. They did their best with what Western culture had historically experienced, allowing fluidity for the Constitution to operate in situations they couldn’t expect. Scalia’s use of word-by-word interpretation primarily served to delay and impede the achievement of civil rights for women, gay people and people of color. It’s not hard to see why the Republican Party loved him so much.
But it says very clearly in Scalia’s beloved Constitution that the sitting president nominates Supreme Court justices when vacancies emerge. There’s no clause adding, “unless it’s a black Democrat you don’t like.” And last time I checked, the President’s term was for four years — not three and a half or until you hammer your Ted Cruz for President picket into your front lawn.
In keeping with that same originalism Republicans loved, Scalia would probably be the first person to say that Obama should appoint his successor. Unsurprisingly, the Republican Party is supporting whatever is to its own benefit, regardless of hypocrisy. Let’s be candid: the Republican Party isn’t resisting Obama’s appointment privilege because they think it’s really the “right” of the next president. They’re resisting because they recognize that the next justice will in all likelihood be liberal.
A reminder to the Republican Party: You lost the 2012 election. You had your chance. You lost. The citizens of the United States, the country you claim to love so much, chose a Democratic president — twice — and he’s going to have the privileges that come with his office. Maybe Republicans who can’t accept it should go back to kindergarten, a setting better suited for their selfish whining.
The few young voters who still support the Republican Party establishment need to act and express to their party that they don’t condone hypocrisy for the sake of partisan interests. If they detest Hillary Clinton for her embroilment in establishment, corporate politics, they should equally despise the selfish and deplorable actions of their own establishment, corporate party. If they really believe in the values they say they do — patriotism, strict morality, hard work and playing by the rules — they might want to communicate to their party, in the coming election as well as the following midterms, that they want to see those values reflected in the actions of Republican candidates and party leaders. If the next generation of Republicans doesn’t turn the party around and get control of its radical ends, the 21st century evolution of the Republican establishment might not be one they like all that much. Republicans, you’ve got issues to fix.
So get it together.
Lily Vaughan is a freshman majoring in history and political science. Her column, “Playing Politics,” runs Fridays.
Ms. Vaughn: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I respond with respect (and a little sarcasm, if you’ll excuse me) . There is so much wrong in what you say, its hard to know where to begin. First, on the appointment clause of the Constitution, a clause I’m not sure if you read carefully; there are two parts to it. The clause says there is equal power in the president and the Senate in appointing a new Justice.The President is welcome to fulfill his part anytime. The Senate is under no obligation whether controlled by Democrats, Republicans or Wickens to do its part under any time constraint. The Senate may respond in 15 minutes to the next regressive, radical leftist judge Mr. Obama nominates or it may never respond. That’s the rules we live by. And in section 5 of the Constitution it allows you to lobby your Congressmen or State representatives to amend the Constitution in any way you see fit. That is called the rule of law in our civilized society. ( I presume between leftist indoctrination sessions at USC you have learned the Constitution may be amended in two ways under section 5.) And secondly, I find it very problematic that you seem to think you speak for all millennials. Many people your age have been raised by people like me who deeply love America and our Constitution. We and millions of our children reject the leftist values you seem to embrace. This is a beautiful country. constitutional republicans now embrace the traditional great liberal values of our American founding. The left on our campuses, in our MSM, and Democratic party embrace the throw back, regressive, degrading tired and worn Marxism and socialism of the 19th Century. Thank God millions of our young people understand American values and will reject the meanness and destructiveness of the Democratic leftist party. I understand you disagree. Neither of us needs to run to safe rooms . Its the beauty of America we still have freedom of speech. I presume you and your leftist colleagues are woking hard to overthrow that liberty as well. Take care: respect you as a person but obviously deeply disagree with some of your current ideas. People do change though. I was a Democrat once. I grew up and left the child like world of leftism .
The old Republican big tent has become a freak show—a real CRASS menagerie of True Christian (TC) pro-lifers with no concern for the life of a mommy, other TC that find no room in the inn for God’s Children from south of the border, and another assortment of TC that are True Conservatives more than anything else and are willing to stuff a camel haired fat cat name Trump through the eye of a needle right into the Oval Office. And they also got a TC standing for Ted Cruz that is going around lying like hell. Meanwhile the pope of another TC (The Catholics) is not sure that needle-stuffed Trump sound much like a TC if he wants to build a wall to keep God’s’ children out of the inn.
All of this kind of stuff is enough to short circuit Robo Boy Rubio into going around stuck saying the same thing . . .same thing . . . same thing, No wonder Boy Jeb has his mommy and daddy and big brother out on the trail babysitting him with surely his old nanny soon be showing up to change his diaper—what a mess!
Obstructionism is what Republicans are about these days.
It is 80 years since there was an election year appointment and never one that would so blatantly change the balance of the SCOTUS.
The people have most recently spoken by firing Pelosi, Reid and taking the keys and the drivers wheel to the Senate and House away from the Democrats. The policies of Obama have weakened your party from the day of his inauguration.
The fact that Obama cannot even show his respect by attending his funeral of a faithful American is deplorable in many eyes but certainly not surprising after 7 years of service as POTUS.
You opine in this post with little facts.
Iis disappointing to this fellow Trojan that such trite (unoriginal, overused thought) is given such prominent exposure. DT is a newspaper for USC Trojans and not a platform for espousing and advancing the liberal agenda.
Scalia has already received far more respect than he ever deserved. He was an absolute obstructionist.
You’re critically ignorant and delusional if you think otherwise. Seems it may be time for you to visit the fantasy land in the sky and leave reality to the actual adults.
Actually Obama was elected most recently by over 5 million vote margin with a specific consideration for who would fill court vacancies. The congressional shifts have most reflected Republican prowess at gerrymandering districts for the house, and commandeering small states for the senate. The Supreme Court is a collective concern and the collective desire of the electorate was for Obama to have this responsibility.