Will Scalia’s Death Change the Presidential Race?

Rick Klein: “Justice Scalia’s death sets up an extraordinary, even unprecedented moment for a dysfunctional federal government. A constitutional crisis – starting with a selection process and continuing through an all-but-certain congressional slow-walk to a possible filibuster – will unfurl against the backdrop of a election cycle that will determine the future of all three branches of government. It raises the stakes for the race; the senators on the GOP side joined those calling on President Obama not to make a pick, and Hillary Clinton added a decrying of those Senate vows to her stump.”

“It will be easy enough to lampoon or urge on a broken Washington system over these next few months. The fight over Scalia’s replacement will no doubt galvanize the parties’ respective activist bases. But a wearying fight – with its utterly predictable outcome – won’t necessarily reward the loudest candidate. Given the likeliest of an ugly ride, voters might look to someone who can get things back on course.”