Antonin Scalia was the 3rd most right wing Justice on the Supreme Court in the last century http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/04/12/restoring-balance-to-the-supreme-court/
While we must be respectful of the dead, even those that we vehemently disagreed with, the glowing reviews on the corporate media must be tempered by remembering who the man really was. The reason we didn't agree with Scalia was not because he was conservative, it is because his conservatism was used to justify stances that were against against the constitution. For instance:
Scalia: Women Don't Have Constitutional Protection Against Discrimination http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/03/scalia-women-discrimination-constitution_n_803813.html
Here Are the 7 Worst Things Antonin Scalia Has Said or Written About Homosexuality http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/scalia-worst-things-said-written-about-homosexuality-court
Beyond that there was Citizens United and McCutcheon which legalized big money hijacking our democracy, anti-voting rights and affirmative action opinions that would negatively impact minorities, and a host of other pro-corporate stances that have been detrimental to the lives of working Americans.
He wasn't evil, but he was misguided and not a very impartial member of the SCOTUS. Now the task comes to find a replacement. This is the most ultra-conservative Supreme Court in the last century, with 4 of the 5 most far right wing Justices in the last 100 years sitting on the bench today (until the passing of Scalia), and even the "swing" vote on the bench (Kennedy) is the 10th most conservative Justice, now would be a good opportunity to get an actual progressive on the bench to balance things out (someone who has more respect for the constitution and jurisprudence than Scalia ever did). The problem of course is trying to get any nominee like that through the Republican-dominated Senate.
Brace yourselves, the far right wing Republicans will likely block any nominee this entire year, hoping to wait out Obama's presidency in the hopes that they win the presidency next year. This is going to be an issue, but if we play our cards right, we can remind Americans that the obstruction of the hyper-partisan GOP is a serious problem, and that could potentially help us win back the Senate and Presidency where we have a better shot at restoring some balance to the Supreme Court.
#RIPscalia #AntoninScalia #SCOTUS #SupremeCourt #ConstitutionalLaw