title:  This Is Why Obama Is Already Winning The War To Replace Scalia
text: The kneejerk response of Republicans to the death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia was a blanket statement refusing even a basic hearing for a replacement candidate submitted by President Obama, despite his Constitutional duty to do so.Now, only a few days later there are signs that the right s solidarity is turning to Jell-O before the eyes of the world.A series of statements from senior Republicans contradicted their own previously expressed views and seemed to question whether rank-and-file Republicans were completely on board with the plan from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to do nothing on a Supreme Court nominee this year and let the next president make the nomination.Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told Iowa radio reporters that he had not determined whether to have hearings before the Judiciary Committee, which he chairs.  I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decision,  Grassley, the committee chairman, said.To add insult to injury, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), told a conservative radio host that  we fall into the trap if we just simply say  Sight unseen,  we fall into the trap of being obstructionist. President Obama amped up the pressure in his press conference on Tuesday, noting that he would be proceeding with a nominee and that the Senate had ample time to consider his submission and give him or her a fair up or down vote in front of the full Senate.As the conservative ranks get worn down, the left has expressed solidarity despite the testy primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Both candidates have made public remarks indicating that it is President Obama s right to make a nomination, and for that candidate to get a vote.Conservatives who insist on continued obstruction of a vacant Supreme Court seat will have to prepare themselves for at least nine months of public pressure asking why they refuse to fully staff America s highest court   or as seems to already be happening, giving in bit by bit.Featured image via Flickr