On the Republican pledge not to hold confirmation hearings for Obama's nominee to replace Scalia on

In the last paragraph of this post, I outlined how I saw, and continue to see, the nomination of Antonin Scalia's replacement playing out. Let me take this opportunity to break it out into a numbered list.

1. Republicans pledge to do everything they can to keep the seat open until after a new President is sworn in on January 20, 2017


2. Republicans pin their hopes on winning the White House in 2016.


3. After Clinton wins the White House and the Democrats take the Senate, Republicans continue to obstruct any nominee that Clinton offers up.


4. Majority Leader Schumer breaks the gridlock with a "Nuclear Option" (or as Democrats will call it, a "Constitutional Option.")


5. SCOTUS has a new 5-3-1 progressive-conservative-moderate split for a generation or two, with shocking consequences.

Today, we saw stage one play out.