Moments after learning that long-time Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died in his sleep, Congressional Republicans were already vowing that they would spend the next 361 days preventing Obama from appointing a new justice   as is required in the Constitution.Sen. Ted Cruz, who bills himself as a  constitutional scholar,  boldly demanded that the country wait a year before appointing a new justice simply because he doesn t like Obama.Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement.  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 13, 2016A staffer for Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) also swore he would never allow President Obama to fulfill his job of appointing a new justice. In a series of shameless tweets, sent almost immediately after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed his 79-year-old colleague had passed away, Conn Carroll said there was a  less than zero  chance that Republicans would let Obama pick a new nominee.What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia?  Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) February 13, 2016If anything this will put a full stop to all Obama judicial nominees going forward.  Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) February 13, 2016Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also endorsed the idea of preventing Obama s nominee:McConnell goes there: "this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President."  Rick Klein (@rickklein) February 13, 2016For anyone who has followed politics in recent years, the idea that Republicans would openly express a desire to prevent President Obama from doing his job is nothing new. However, with the Supreme Court, the stakes are even higher than usual. Until today, the court was divided 5-4 in favor of Republicans. This meant that things like Citizens United and the infamous Hobby Lobby decision went in favor of conservative interest groups. With Obama s chance to appoint a new justice, the court is poised to flip. Liberals, for the first time in years, will have the majority.For a bit of perspective, the longest Congress ever took to confirm a nominee is 125 days. If Republicans succeed in preventing President Obama from his right to make an appointment, it will clearly be due to obstructionism and political underhandedness. Already we see they are vowing to not confirm his choice   and they have absolutely no idea who it is yet. That s a level of partisanship that should shock and disgust you, regardless of what side of the aisle you re on.Feature image from Flickr/Flickr 