Politically Scalia's death could be a quite the gift for dems. Republican leadership being so honest about not even considering a nomination is bad optics because everybody can see what shitwads they truly are. Works for me, Scalia in death may balance some of his "achievements" in life. Tie votes mean the lower courts decisions stand and that is now more liberal controlled. And than it's very possible that republicans lose both the senate and the presidency this year.
Oddly for M E M, it wasn't bad optics when Democrats did the exact same thing. The difference being, Obama has about 10 months left, and Sen. Schumer and other Democrats wanted to obstruct any W. Bush nominees, when Bush still had 18 months of his term left!
Also, then-Senator Obama voted against Roberts' USSC nomination, despite that he could cite nothing in Roberts' legal history to justify Obama's not confirming Roberts. And yet ironically, in the years since, Roberts has voted twice in favor of Obama on 2 separate cases before the USSC, in not finding Obamacare unconstitutional (despite that it is).
