Of 160 Supreme Court nominations, only 36 weren't confirmed, seven in my lifetime. Some were rejected by Senate vote, while others were withdrawn due to low support.
The last five failures (three rejections) were nominated by Republican presidents with Democrat-controlled Senates. All four nominees of Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were confirmed.
No Democratic president's nominee has been rejected since 1894, when President Grover Cleveland nominated Wheeler Peckham. That rejection was by a Democrat-controlled Senate. The last Republican-led Senate rejection was in 1881, 135 years ago, of Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes' nominee.
In recent history, only Democrat-controlled Senates have rejected nominees. Why are Democrats crying foul now about a possible Senate rejection of a President Obama nominee? Is it only OK when Democrats reject nominees?
Present attacks on Republican senators are hateful and have no legal justification. They serve to intimidate and influence people who don't understand the Constitutional justice selection process.
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Our president and others are calling for a Supreme Court nomination process where the Senate should simply confirm and not reject the president's nominee even though Democrat-controlled Senates have rejected past nominees.
If they really care for our whole country, they should cease the accusative rhetoric and work with the Republicans to find an acceptable nominee. If they cannot, they need to either accept a senatorial rejection or defer the nomination to the next sitting president.
Raymond Hicks
Rochester
