The unexpected passing of Justice Antonin Scalia has added yet another layer to the incompetence Republicans display when it comes to governing. This time, however, it s not about a spending issue or an executive order they don t like; there s no looming shutdown or invented ebola crisis. This time, the GOP is threatening the very core of our democracy.Rachel Maddow is without a doubt one of the most brilliant and influential political minds of our time. Her thoughts are insightful and her opinions intertwined with logic and reason. In other words, she s the Anti-Hannity or O Reilly, Limbaugh, Beck or any other of a host of propagandists spewing the lie of the day.In this segment, Maddow breaks down why Republican obstruction of an Obama Supreme Court nominee is not only incredibly arrogant, it s also very dangerous for us as a nation. Our democracy is built on a government of three branches. When one of those branches can t function because of the ongoing threat of a tie, anything from abortion law to gun control and yes, even the outcome of a presidential election could hang in the balance.Watch Rachel Maddow make a case for just how dangerous it is to go into a national election with a vacant seat on the Supreme Court:Many of us wake up in a cold sweat after nightmares of the outcome of the 2000 election. The Supreme Court was ultimately left to decide the fate of American politics for the next four years and the result was disastrous. But, there was a result.What would happen if there was a 4-4 tie in the Supreme Court after a state like Florida was contested? The decision would then revert back to the lower court s decision, which had already been accepted for review by the higher court.The resulting circle of legal quagmire could leave us facing severe consequences, especially when Republicans figure out they can send their appeals strategically to lower court judges they know will side with them automatically.Without the 9th seat on the Supreme Court filled we can expect legal battles to arise in districts where there should be none, simply because the judges of that circuit will be able to negate the wishes of the people with no recourse from the high court.And the kooks of the right think Obama had a good reason to have Scalia assassinated?Featured image from screen capture 