Death of Scalia Ignites Heavy Differences Between GOP Candidates

Death+of+Scalia+Ignites+Heavy+Differences+Between+GOP+Candidates

Noah Brown

The 2016 republican GOP debate of who should appoint our new Supreme Court justice, started off with a respectful moment of silence for Antonin Scalia, whose death was confirmed on Saturday. Quickly, the debate turned into a brawl. The weapon of choice amongst the candidates, accusations, personal attacks and name calling. There were even multiple times where a GOP candidate has lied. This occurred one week before the South Carolina republican primary took place, which is known for its raw politics.

The candidates started the debate by praising Scalia. They had a general agreement towards the next president nominating a new Supreme Court justice. Popular front runner, Donald Trump believes that the current president, Barack Obama, would appoint a Supreme Court justice whether anyone liked it or note. He stated, “It’s called delay, delay, delay”. Texas senator, Ted Cruz, stated that the United States is “one justice away,” from the Supreme Court rejecting acknowledgment of decisions on issues such as abortion and Liberty of religion.

John Kasich walked into this debate with a high head, coming from a second place finish in New Hampshire. Jeb Bush agreed with the other candidates about how the next president should appoint a new justice. Bush believes that the president does have the right to nominate a new justice, but that whoever is picked by Obama would not have the support required for a Supreme Court justice.

Marco Rubio claimed how justice Scalia was “One of the great justices of the history of this republic.” He also agreed how the new president should be the one to appoint the next Supreme Court justice. The agreement ended there and Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz went face to face on the subject of their own immigration reforms. Ted Cruz stated how there was a “sharp difference on immigration”. He stated this when he was asked about his idea of how he wanted to prevent and stop illegal immigration.

The agreement of the GOP debate for the republicans didn’t last. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz’s first clash was only one of many that lasted for two hours. The next couple of hours fought about issues such as immigration, foreign policy, even the legacy and the impact brought to the U.S by the hand of the former president George W. Bush.