End of term Supreme Court picks for Trump, Obama are different

This is column 1 of 2, featuring a letter by Butler County Republican Central Committee's Eddy Justice. A Democratic response will appear in column 2.

Here we go again. With the passing of Justice Ruth Ginsburg, the circus that had been so frenetic around the nomination and hearings regarding now Justice Brett Kavanaugh had been temporarily put to bed and we were able to focus on things that captured our imaginations, our fears and our hopes. Now, that that circus is back in town, it seems the number of clowns involved has only increased with its short absence.

One of the first clowns that showed their bespeckled face was the clown crying “hypocrisy” at the prospect of President Trump nominating a judge for review prior to the election in November. When previous President Obama had just a short time left in his second term, he nominated Judge Merrick Garland for consideration. It caused quite the uproar among the American politically engaged and the Republican Party saying he should wait and let the next president nominate a prospective judge.

Some have come out saying the two situations are the same and those wanting Obama to hold off on his nomination are now the ones supporting a Trump nomination and a quick vote to ratify the nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Unfortunately, too many are more transfixed and blinded by their hatred for a single man than to let logic and common sense penetrate the curtains of their minds and begin the process of enlightenment.

The two situations are vastly different and here is why. President Obama was a lame duck president when he nominated Garland. He had no terms left and was not on the ballot for re-election. Completely different situation from President Trump, who not only can run for re-election but is.

Next, when President Obama nominated Garland, his own party was not in the majority in the Senate. Had the Democrats held the majority, the nomination of Garland would have hardly been a subject of conversation and would have sailed right through. Today, President Trump has the majority of the Senate and there are benefits that come from that. To let this opportunity pass by without fulfilling the powers granted to the president, while having his own party as a majority in the Senate, would be a failure of not only opportunity, but of responsibility. The voters sent President Trump to DC to fulfill his duty, not to shirk it.

But there are other clowns that will vie for our attention over the next several weeks. There will be the mainstream media clowns that will try to distract us from what is actually happening with sideshows and stories backed by unidentified sources and uncorroborated claims. There will be the clowns that make accusations to ruin an individual’s life without concern for whether there is evidence or whether they will later reveal it was never true, but will justify their lies because their intent was right in their own eyes.

And this entire circus will not have been for the betterment of America, or for the economic benefit of our future generations or for the salvation of our nation from cultural decay or for the protection of the constitution. It will all sadly be spawned from the mouth frothing hatred for a political outsider that dared to keep his campaign promises and appoint judges that will uphold the U.S. Constitution as written.

Eddy Justice is a member of the Butler County Republican Central Committee.