Obama's Two-Part Scalia Strategy: Shame and Credible Nominee

The White House is mounting a two-pronged strategy to force through a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: relying on allies to shame the Republicans for their obstruction while showing President Barack Obama in high-minded deliberations over the next nominee.

In the latest glimpse of the counter-offensive, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada blasted Republicans on the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, while Obama published a blog post on an influential, non-partisan legal site describing his criteria for a Supreme Court nominee.

Reid said on the Senate floor that the Judiciary chairman, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, had "surrendered every pretense of independence" and adopted "a narrow, partisan mission of obstruction and gridlock." Grassley’s committee would vet and hold hearings on any nominee.

Obama, meanwhile, wrote on SCOTUSblog that the court decision is one "to which I devote considerable time, deep reflection, careful deliberation, and serious consultation with legal experts, members of both political parties, and people across the political spectrum."

The goal, according to Democrats and liberal advocates allied with the White House, is to ratchet up pressure in particular on Grassley and Senate Republicans who are vulnerable in elections this November.

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