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Red Hat Day luncheon at Genetti’s

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Happy birthday to Mariska Lewis!

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Tuesday called on Senate Republicans to &#8220;end the obstruction&#8221; and give Supreme Court nominees a fair hearing and a timely vote.</p><p>Casey said he had one message for his Republican colleagues in the U.S. Senate.</p><p>&#8220;Do your job,&#8221; Casey said. &#8220;It&#8217;s as simple as that.&#8221;</p><p>Casey said the U.S. Constitution provides a simple and clear path to nominate a Supreme Court candidate.</p><p>&#8220;We all need to do our jobs,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Myself included. A justice won&#8217;t magically appear without our work. The Constitution tells us what to do and we should follow that.&#8221;</p><p>Casey, D-Scranton, said, as the possible announcement of a nominee nears, Senate Republicans have said they will refuse to consider someone put forth by President Barack Obama, calling it &#8220;an unprecedented level of obstruction of the high court.&#8221;</p><p>Casey hosted a teleconference Tuesday with two other participants &#8212; Center for American Progress Action Fund President/CEO Neera Tanden and Attorney Jon Pushinsky, a constitutional and civil rights lawyer from Pennsylvania.</p><p>Casey said it&#8217;s been one month since a vacancy occurred on the U.S. Supreme Court following the Feb. 13 death of Justice Antonin Scalia in Texas.</p><p>&#8220;In order for the Supreme Court to do its work, it needs to be fully staffed,&#8221; Casey said. &#8220;We have a basic obligation here, but problems will arise if we don&#8217;t do our job.&#8221;</p><p>Casey quoted an old adage, &#8220;A delay in justice is justice denied.&#8221;</p><p>Casey thought he had &#8220;heard it all&#8221; during his 10 years in the Senate, but the latest from Republicans has him more than concerned.</p><p>&#8220;Not only have Republicans said they will unanimously block any candidate, they have even said they will not meet with any nominee,&#8221; Casey said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know how you could do that as a representative of the people.&#8221;</p><p>U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Zionsville, issued a brief statement when asked to respond to Casey&#8217;s teleconference.</p><p>&#8220;The issue is not hearings, the issue is whether in less than eight months, voters should have a voice on fundamentally altering the Supreme Court&#8217;s balance for a generation,&#8221; Toomey said. &#8220;I think they should.&#8221;</p><p>Republicans feel that since the presidential election is in November, the next president should be the one to nominate the next Supreme Court Justice.</p><p>Casey said that approach &#8220;sounds great, but doesn&#8217;t apply.&#8221; He said some 17 Supreme Court nominees have been confirmed during presidential election years. He also said numerous federal judges and legal scholars across the country have voiced their opinions that now is the time to nominate a new justice.</p><p>&#8220;We must leave politics out of it,&#8221; Casey said.</p><p>Tanden said it would be unprecedented to not even consider a potential nominee and it would create an unprecedented disruption in the court.</p><p>&#8220;There is more than enough time to address the nomination process,&#8221; Tanden said. &#8220;The average time it has taken is four months.&#8221;</p><p>Tanden said justice for millions of Americans hangs in the balance.</p><p>Asked if he thought Republicans will change their minds and allow the nominating process to proceed, Casey said members of the Senate have a right to vote any way they choose on a nominee after examining the nominee&#8217;s qualifications and record.</p><p>&#8220;But rejecting even the idea of any nominee out of hand is not in the best interest of our nation,&#8221; Casey said. &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell them how to vote &#8212; just to vote.&#8221;</p><p>Casey said if Republicans refuse to consider a nominee and block confirmation until the next president has been inaugurated, a Supreme Court seat will remain vacant for well over a year.</p><p>According to the Center for American Progress, several key cases before the court could be delayed:</p><p>&#8226; Tens of millions of women live in states with laws that shut down abortion clinics.</p><p>&#8226; More than 6 million Americans have loved ones who are unauthorized immigrants fearing deportation.</p><p>&#8226; Millions of students graduating high school are unsure of whether the Supreme Court will allow states to choose affirmative action to diversify colleges.</p><p>&#8226; The court&#8217;s redistricting cases could affect millions of voters or even the entire country.</p><p>&#8226; Millions of public employees who rely on strong unions could have their economic security threatened.</p><p>&#8226; Thousands of Americans work for religious employers that argue their right to religious freedom outweighs the rights of their employees to access the contraceptive health care to which they are legally entitled.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sen. Bob Casey to GOP senators: ‘Do your job’ regarding nomination of Supreme Court justice