Democrats Target Senator for Naming Scalia as a Model Supreme Court Justice
Is Justice Antonin Scalia a liability in political campaigns?
During a debate on Monday, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., named Scalia as a model Supreme Court justice. Some in the audience booed, the Boston Globe reports, while the Republican says Brown’s pick led to cheers and jeers. Salon and Above the Law have the video.
As the crowd responded, Brown added that he liked Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. When the moderator noted Scalia and Sotomayor are different and asked Brown to choose one, Brown responded, “Listen, I don’t need to pick one. We have plenty of justices up there, and I’m proud of the ones we have.”
Brown’s challenger, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, named the school’s former dean, Justice Elena Kagan.
On Tuesday, Democrats criticized Brown for picking Scalia. In an interview with the Globe, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he “fell straight out of my chair” when he heard Brown’s statement. Leahy said Brown touts his bipartisan record but he picked Scalia, who opposes Roe v. Wade.
