Most Ridiculous Moment – February 14, 2016

"Precedent"

It was a remarkable day on the Sunday talk shows, with primary season in full swing, 
the craziest debate yet, and an unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court, with the 
loss of one of the strongest conservatives 
in the institution's history.

Donald Trump appeared on several shows to defend his criticism of George W. Bush at the fiery debate. Trump said, “He started the war in Iraq. Am I supposed to be a big fan?” and “People can say he's popular. I don't know why he's popular.” 

Asked if George Bush kept us safe, as his brother Jeb said, Trump replied “No. Because the World Trade Center was knocked down. Look, that's another myth. I wish he did.” 

On 9/11, he said, “Absolutely, they should have known, they should have known something.”

Trump lamented, “Bomb the oil. Don’t let them have the oil. But nobody wants to listen,” and decried his opponents' lack of ethics, saying, “this is a crazy business. I deal with Manhattan real estate. These people are babies compared to the politicians.”

Marco Rubio popped up on Meet The Press, where he blamed 9/11 on Bill Clinton, saying, “I'm putting it on his decision not to take 
out bin Laden, absolutely.”

Jon Kasich insisted the U.S. should not get involved in foreign civil wars, saying he would stay out of Syria, but then said, “I would only go to Syria to destroy ISIS.” Confusingly, he said, “I would not use U.S. troops to depose Assad,” and “for the United States to be embroiled in a civil war in Syria against 
Assad I think is a big mistake,” but also said, “but I would support the rebels there”

But the most absurd moments came in discussions of the Supreme Court.

On Face the Nation, Peggy Noonan observed, “I would love to see the President hold off 
on a nominee and say, I understand 
all the facts here.”

Donald Trump demonstrated his keen grasp of the role of court, attacking Ted Cruz for pushing John Roberts “like wild,” and saying of the Chief Justice, “He had two votes, he went up, shockingly, he voted in favor of Obamacare,” and “what happened is he, twice, could have had Obamacare and 
he didn’t do it.”

Jon Kasich thinks not following the Constitution would a fun thing to try, observing, “It's unique to say that the public itself is going to have sort of an indirect vote on who's going to be a Supreme Court justice. I think that's kind of cool.”

But he really thinks Obama should stop being President already, saying, “I just think at a time when the country is so divided, it would just be great if the President didn't send somebody forward and we had an election.”

Obama is so divisive, in fact, America needs to heal, he said, “So let's just wait for an election, move beyond it and then whoever we pick as a justice and gets confirmed, we'll have broad consensus across the country and can start the healing process.”

But that standard only applies to divisive Presidents like Obama. Said Kasich, “If I were President of the United States, you know, and I could keep the Congress together, of course I would send somebody. But it probably would be a different situation.”

Ted Cruz claimed, “There is a long tradition that you don't do this in an election year,” and “we have a long tradition that a lame-duck president doesn't get to jam a Supreme Court nominee through on the very end.” Cruz argued, “If the Democrats want to replace this nominee, they need to win the election.”

When the host pointed out President Obama was elected, Cruz responded, “but that was three years ago.” Ted Cruz was also elected three years ago.

But then Cruz gave the game away, saying his principle of election year appointments applies “particularly when the court is 
five-four, is balanced, an Obama liberal nominee would dramatically shift the 
U.S. Supreme Court.”

Marco Rubio was on several shows as well, claiming it is matter of principle and precedent that “in the last year of a President's term, and in a second term especially, there should not be Supreme Court nominees,” and “in the last year, especially in the last 11 months, you do not have a lame-duck president make a lifetime appointment to the highest court.”

But like Kasich and Cruz, Rubio couldn't help himself, and when asked if the Senate had obligation to at least consider an Obama nominee, said “Correct. We will go through the motions, but not while Barack Obama's in the White House,” and said, “Here's the bottom line, I don't trust Barack Obama on the appointment of Supreme Court justices.”

So, Obama is so divisive he should stop fulfilling his Constitutional obligations, leave a Supreme Court seat vacant and let America take some time to heal; we have a very long tradition of not nominating in an election years, especially with a liberal nominee; and there is a binding precedent of not respecting Presidents in the last year in office, which applies, as long as Barack Obama is in the White House.


At that's the most ridiculous thing that happened this Sunday.