Back when Nixon was nominating racist Republicans to fill SCOTUS vacancies, the objective was not to actually get one of those guys confirmed, it was to build the base. Same with the Reagan/Bork melodrama. At least that’s how I see it.
And part of the calculation in these earlier episodes was that the confirming votes were just not there to do any real damage, so why not make whatever political gains the situation made available. Throw a ton of shit on the wall, and whatever came out of it was going to be better than not making any effort at all.
I mean, hell, even mere hours after a left wing god came down and dumped this golden opportunity in our laps, right wing know it alls of every “intellectual/ideological” persuasion are preaching the gospel that Pres. Obama has to keep his hands off. That this one ain’t his prize. That it’s just too political for a “failed President” to stake any of his legacy on. That the very future of collaborative democracy dictates that we basically run the highest Court in the land short handed for almost an entire year.
So, yeah, there is a near universe of left wing jurists who could not and should not have their names sent to the Senate. But to capitulate just because Limbaugh,etc. are going to scream to high heaven demanding it?
First of all, that ain’t who the guy is at all. And secondly a deal this sweet may never have existed in the history of the human race. It simply is not to be wasted. Think of it, neutralizing Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts is a realistic outcome of this very timely demise. Why on earth would the President (and I believe this to be true for any president in any comparable situation) not invest any and every available resource to moving society into a very much more safe and sane place than doing nothing would leave us at.
Michelle Obama is a lawyer. She is as respected, right now, as any person in our country. If she can’t get confirmed, she might well be as happy as, or happier than she would be if she does. She has a husband who will very shortly be perfectly able to take over her child rearing responsibilities. What’s to lose?
You know what, she might actually be one of the best Justices that this country has ever had. And can you imagine the fun of watching every wingnut in this country tied in knots trying to think up some way to keep a wildly popular young black woman from being treated politely and respectfully through what would, by far, be the most interesting SCOTUS confirmation process that any of us have ever been through.