&gt; looking obstructionist to the general public<p>Could you explain why this might cost the Republicans votes? Their core voters would absolutely love them standing up to the &quot;tyranny&quot; of Obama. Even independent&#x2F;undecided voters would understand that its reasonable enough to postpone considering how close the Presidential election is.<p>To be clear, I think it would be best to have it completed within 3 months, like the previous 10 nominations to the court but I don&#x27;t think it will cost the Republicans at all to postpone it till next year.