Quinn Tucker
Ms. Gordon
February 18, 2016
NBC Article Response
1. The Senate races in 2016 relate to the Supreme Court nominee in a major way. The nominee is suggested by the president and then approved by the Senate. So depending on how the Senate is divided the approval could lean one way or the other. If a Republican president lands in office but the Senate swings left then the new president would have trouble pushing through certain candidates. This applies vice versa as well. In this situation a “consensus” nominee would be someone who is at middle of the line. Obama right now would try to push through a consensus nominee because they are more likely to be approved by the currently conservative senate. However, if the Senate never approves a justice set by Obama and after the elections in November the Senate swings to the left then Obama has the option of nominating a more extreme candidate and getting them approved. This puts both sides in a sticky situation.
2. Obama gains power if he gets a liberal candidate into the Supreme Court because currently the court is divided evenly. So if Obama can get a candidate of his choosing in then the Supreme Court would become more liberal and thus fall more progressive on some major issues which are coming to the court soon. His power will get even stronger if the Senate becomes liberal in the new elections because that would allow him more flexibility in his choices on who to pick as his new nominee. However if Obama fails to get anyone into office and the next president is a republican the entire system could shift in the opposite direction then Obama wants it to.
3. A lame duck “in politics, is an elected official who is approaching the end of their tenure, especially one whose successor has already been elected. The official is often seen as having less influence with other politicians due to their limited time left in office.” There is a possibility Obama could fall into this definition because his ability to win the love of Congress has been weakened recently. Obama has always had amazing charisma which is what got him into office but recently he’s been fighting with Congress and with both parties. However, I believe that Obama is definitely able to turn the tables using his great charisma and make something happen. Lately he’s been a little radical for everyone but he could turn that around and get a nominee in. But I have a feeling he wants someone specific and Congress isn’t going to like them which would be bad news for Obama.
No comments:
Post a Comment