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Justice John Paul Stevens has sent signals that he will be retiring soon. He hired only one law clerk, when the usual number is four. Both sides are gearing up for a fight for the future of America. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) was on FOXNews Sunday today with Chris Wallace. Wallace asked Kyl if the GOP will filibuster the next Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) nominee. Kyl responded that it would depend on the nominee and his/her view of law. (see the video below)
Jon Kyle
Senator Kyl said if the nominee was not overly ideological, Republicans might vote against the nominee, but would likely not filibuster, going back to the Gang of 14's rule that you do not filibuster unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
[Kyl] I want a judge who will read the law and declare it in each case that comes before him or her as it should be — in other words, don’t have somebody coming in with preconceived attitudes — I’m going to be tough on the executive, or, I’m going to be for the little guy, or whatever their preconceived attitudes are. We’ve had too much of that. [...]
I think the president will nominate a qualified person. I hope, however, he does not nominate an overly ideological person. That will be the test. And if he doesn’t nominate someone who is overly ideological, I don’t think — you may see Republicans voting against the nominee, but I don’t think you’ll see them engage in a filibuster.
KYL: I would prefer to go back to the situation where it is not done by either party, but the Democrats won that fight. They filibustered Miguel Estrada. He never got on the court. Seven other circuit nominees. So what we need to do is, I think, apply the rule that the Gang of 14 game up with a couple years ago that you don’t filibuster except in extraordinary circumstances, and I’m willing to live by that general rule.Kyl gave a succinct answer to why a filibuster might be appropriate, or not, and it is all about ideology. He makes Senator Arlen Specter look like the Liberal he is. This is a good video.
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