Politics

Idahoans are split over whether the U.S. Senate, controlled by Republicans, should vote on Democratic President Barack Obama’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, or should the Senate wait for the newly-elected president to nominate early next year, a new Idaho Politics Weekly poll shows.

Pollster Dan Jones & Associates asked the question after Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly on Feb. 13.

But Jones’ poll was finished before Obama put a face to his nominee –announcing on March 16 that Washington, D.C., federal appeals court chief judge Merrick Garland should move up to the high court.

Thus, the respondents to Jones Idaho poll knew of the Supreme Court vacancy, knew the GOP Senate didn’t want to vote on the nominee but didn’t know who the Obama nominee would be.

Both GOP Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have said they don’t want to vote on Garland but wait for the new president to make the nomination.

However, there appears to be a bit of crack in the GOP Senate’s opposition to Garland, with some leading Republican senators saying they may be willing to take up the Garland nomination after the November election – with the general belief that should Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton win, she would send up a nominee more liberal than Garland, who is considered a moderate in judicial terms.

In any case, a plurality of Idahoans want the U.S. Senate to do their duty and at least act on Garland this year.  Finds Jones:

• 47 percent say the Senate should vote Obama’s nominee up or down – at least act on the nominee before year’s end.
• 33 percent say the Senate should wait for the nominee of the new president.
• 9 percent say the Senate should do what it is doing, ignoring Obama’s appointment altogether.
• And 11 percent don’t know.

As you might expect, Obama’s Supreme Court action falls out along partisan lines.

Jones finds that 45 percent of Idaho Republicans say wait for the new president to make an appointment, don’t do anything before then.

Fifteen percent say the Senate should just ignore Obama’s appointee.

Still, 32 percent of Idaho Republicans say Garland should be voted up or down this year.

Democrats are just the opposite -- 70 percent say vote Garland up or down, 17 percent say wait for the new president and 2 percent say ignore Obama’s appointment.

Political independents still stand with the president on this one:

• 58 percent say vote Garland up or down.
• 26 percent say wait for the new president.
• And 8 percent say ignore Obama’s pick.

Jones polled 601 adults from Feb. 17-26. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

The nine-member high court was generally split 5-4, conservatives to liberals. Scalia was definitely a conservative, often writing scathing opposition opinions when the court split 5-4 along ideologically legal lines.

Should a Democratic president get to pick the next justice, the court could take a conservative/liberal swing to more progressive, judicial activism, some analysts say.