Former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died over a year ago now, and his seat on the court has been vacant since. Now this wouldn’t be the case had Republicans in Congress just done their jobs last year and confirmed President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland, but instead we were treated to a politicized version of “The Maury Show.”

Turns out history repeats itself, and now Democrats are having their revenge, obstructing the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer announced that he will oppose Gorsuch, and has set the floor for a potential filibuster, according to National Public Radio.

Gorsuch is certainly qualified for the position, touting degrees from Harvard, Columbia and Oxford universities on top of a litany of legal experience. But, then again, Garland was qualified, as well. If the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice were purely based on merit, I might be able to swallow the Gorsuch pill. Unfortunately, like many other issues in Washington, it is all about politics.

So, why don’t we examine Gorsuch’s record a bit? He’s written a book opposing assisted suicide and backed religious freedom complaints against the Affordable Care Act. There were also two occasions where he sided against employees and with their employers. The first case involved a Kansas State professor who was fired because he asked for additional leave after being diagnosed with cancer. The second case involved a truck driver who abandoned his broken-down truck after spending three hours in freezing temperatures with a broken heating system at his employer’s request, according to Vox.

This leaves me to wonder why Democrats would not oppose Gorsuch’s confirmation. Considering the obstruction by the Republican Party in Garland’s confirmation process — and the entire Obama presidency for that matter — it’s only fair the GOP gets a taste of its own medicine.

Supreme Court nominations, and the high stakes that come along with having a lifetime appointee in your corner, always seem to bring out the worst in politics. But the precedent was set just last year for these hearings. There’s too much at stake for the years to come if conservative ideology dominates the highest court in the land. Think of how much damage the current administration could do with a Republican-controlled White House, Congress and Supreme Court. I hope, if nothing else, this confirmation process — and the rest of this presidency — is a stark reminder about the importance of voting.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and are not representative of The Slate or its staff as a whole. 

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