No Labels calls on GOP to end Supreme Court ‘blockade’

The co-chairmen of the bipartisan No Labels organization on Friday called for GOP lawmakers to consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

“Our country — and our Constitution — deserve better,” former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) and former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) wrote in a Time op-ed. “And it doesn’t have to be this way.”

{mosads}“At a time when we’re seeing increasingly bitter and troubling divisions in our country, it’s high time for the president and the Senate to show the American people that we can still lay down our partisan arms, bridge our divisions and come together for the good of the nation,” they continued. “There is no modern precedent for the blockade that Senate Republicans have put in place.

“Leaving the current blockade in place could leave a seat on the Court vacant for the remainder of this term and perhaps the next as well, which could leave major cases in limbo until 2018. This is simply not acceptable. We cannot let today’s crisis of leadership turn into a full-blown constitutional crisis.”

Huntsman and Lieberman said the Supreme Court is too vital to the country for prolonged partisan gridlock, noting poll results that show Americans agree.

“We have been heartened to see Americans of all political stripes come forward and echo our call for both sides to live up to their responsibility to ensure that we have a fully-functioning Supreme Court,” they said.

“These civic leaders and other distinguished voices have explained that this vacancy should not and does not have to be one more partisan political food fight. It’s simply about making sure our government, including the highest court in the land, can actually function.”

Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the high court earlier this month after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have insisted they will not consider any nominee from Obama, arguing that his successor should fill the vacancy instead.