Transcripts For KMGH This Week With George Stephanopoulos 20160214

And, firing back. Youre a principal. Youre the single biggest liar. This morning, trump, cruz, rubio, kasich, all here live. From abc news, its this week. Here now, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. The news that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died swept across the country saturday afternoon. A towering figure. The courts longest serving justice. His powerful pen made him a pillar of the conservative movement. Inspired a generation of legal thought. His death leaves a divided court for a divided country. Sets up an epic battle for a successor. And strikes right at the heart of this already chaotic president ial campaign. Well hear from the candidates this morning, break down what his death means for the court and the country. We begin with pierre thomas. Good morning. Reporter good morning, george. Flags here at the Supreme Court and across the nation at half staff as the court mourns the loss of Justice Scalia. His death has enormous legal and political ramifications. Justice scalia apparently died in his sleep at a quat hunting trip at a west texas resort. His body was discovered after he failed to appear for a breakfast gathering. U. S. Marshals came to the scene. Law enforcement Officials Say there appears to be no foul play. The longest serving justice on the court, he was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1986. An astute legal mind, he became a champion of conservative causes. Republican respected even by adversaries. President obama called scalias son to offer condolences and interrupted a trip to california to address the nation. He influenced a generation of judges, lawyers, and students. And profoundly shaped the legal landscape. Reporter his body has arrived in el paso. No word this morning on memorial services. Tributes will likely come. As a colorful, largerthanlife figure is gone. George . Pierre thomas at the court. Thank you. We have the battle now over who comes next. President obama promised to nominate a successor. Republicans vowed to block his choice. So much at stake. Jon karl joins us from the white house with more on that side of the story. Good morning, jon. Reporter good morning, george. The battle lines on this were drawn before the Supreme Court officially confirmed that scalia had died, setting up a titanic fight here in washington and on the campaign trail. News of Justice Scalias death hit washington like a thunderbolt. In an unprecedented move, Mitch Mcconnell immediately released a statement saying this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. When president obama came before the cameras to mark scalias passing, he made it clear he would not be taking mcconnells advice. I plan to fulfill my Constitutional Responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. Reporter at the debate in South Carolina last night, republican candidates hoping to replace obama called on congress i think its up to Mitch Mcconnell and everybody else to stop it. Its called delay, delay, delay. Were not going to give up the u. S. Supreme court for a obama to make one more liberal appointee. Someone on this stage will get to choose the balance of the Supreme Court. We ought to let the next president of the United States decide who is going to run that people of the United States of reporter none of that will deter president obama. From moving forward in nominating a replacement. The short list of people includes Circuit Court judges Sri Srinivasan and jane kelly. Hes somebody that republicans like. He was a clerk for Justice Sandra day oconnor. He served in the administration of george w. Bush. He was confirmed 970 for his current post. That is a far cry from confirming him to replace unlikely to make much difference in a future vote. Jon, this sets up the prospect of a 44 lineup on the Supreme Court for maybe well over a year. Reporter that could mean a lot of tying votes on the Supreme Court. Nearly 30 of the decisions in the most recent term were 54. In about a third of those, scalia was the fifth justice in the majority. You could have a situation where you have many tie votes. In that case, the lower courts decision simply stands. Huge impact. Thank you, jon karl. Now to the gop debate last night. In South Carolina. It started with a moment of silence for Justice Scalia. Quickly became the nastiest of the campaign. Mary bruce was there. Reporter there are fireworks and then theres this. Youre the single biggest liar. Youre probably worse than jeb bush. That is absolutely false. Hes lying about all sorts of things. Now he makes things up. We dont even know who they are. This is just nuts. Reporter with just one week until the South Carolina primary god bless the great state of reporter the republican candidates ripped each other to shreds. The makeorbreak state living up to its reputation. For rough and tumble politics. Donald trump took on jeb bush. Jeb is so wrong. [ crowd booing ] you know who that is . Thats jebs special interests and lobbyists talking. Reporter bush punched back, seeming to get under trumps skin. This is the Standard Operating Procedure to disparage me. You want to talk about weakness, its weak to disparage women. Its weak to disparage hispanics. Im sick and tired of him going after my family. While donald trump was building a reality tv show, my brother was building a Security Apparatus to keep us safe. Ill proud of what he did. The World Trade Center came down during your brothers reign. Remember that. [ crowd booing ] they lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none. In english and spanish. Marco went on univision in spanish and said he would not rescind president obamas illegal executive amnesty. First of all, i dont know how he knows what i said on univision because he doesnt speak spanish. [ speaking spanish ] reporter and george, the candidates are pulling out all the stops here. Tomorrow, former president george w. Bush making the first apeernts here on the campaign trail for his brother. After last night, jeb bush joked that donald trump is no longer invited. After the debate, they didnt even shake hands. George . Okay, mary bruce, thank you. Lets get to the candidates. Starting with senator ted cruz. Thank you for joining us this morning. Lets begin with that news about Justice Scalia. You said that president obama should wait to name a successor. Ronald reagan nominated Antony Kennedy with 13 months left in his term. President obama has more than ten months left in his term. Why isnt it his right to nominate the justice and the senates responsibility to give that nominee an up or down vote . The senate has not confirmed a nominee named in a final year in an Election Year in 80 years. This is a lame duck president. The only reason Anthony Kennedy was named that late was because democrats in the senate rejected two other nominees. Robert bork, and doug ginsburg. It was the democrats who had dragged it out many months to make it that way. Right now, the court is exquisitely balanced. Justice scalia, someone ive known for over 20 years. Who was an extraordinary man. Principled jurist. Faithful to the constitution. His impact to the court was phenomenal. As Ronald Reagan was to the presidency, so Justice Scalia was to the court. This is a 54 court. This next election needs to be a referendum on the court. Im glad the senate is agreeing with what i called for. We should not allow a lame duck president to capture the Supreme Court in the waning months of his presidency. Does that mean youre going to filibuster anyone, anyone president obama nominates . Absolutely. This should be a decision for the people, george. We have an election. Democrats, i cannot wait. To stand on that stage with Hillary Clinton or with Bernie Sanders and take the case to the people. What vision of the Supreme Court do you want . Let the election decide. If the democrats want to replace this nominee, they need to win the election. I dont think the American People want a court that will strip our religious liberties. I dont think the American People want a court that will mandate unlimited abortion on demand with taxpayer funding. No parental notify ication notification. I dont think the American People want a court that will write the Second Amendment out of the constitution. All of those are 54 issues but the people elected president obama, didnt they . They did. But but that that was three years ago. And elections have consequences. The people gave us a Republican Senate this last election because they were fed up with Barack Obamas lawlessness. But Justice Scalias passing has a profound impact on this primary. It underscores the stakes for the people in South Carolina. As theyre looking at the individuals on that stage, theyre asking, who can i trust . Who do i know will defend the constitution and defend the bill of rights . The pattern we have seen, youre a veteran of these battles for many years. Democrats understand the stakes. They fight tooth and nail for left wing judicial activists. Far too Many Republicans dont care about the court. Dont invest Political Capital in it. Its why so Many Republican nominees have turned out to be disasters. Let me Say Something to the veterans in the state of South Carolina. To the veterans in south balance. Justice scalias one of his biggest opinions was the heller decision. It was 54. Upholding the right to keep and bear arms. If a liberal justice goes to the court, were one vote away from the Second Amendment being written out. If donald trump becomes the president , the Second Amendment will be written out of the constitution. Because it is abundantly clear that donald trump is not a conservative. Hell not invest the capital to confirm a conservative. He says he will. The Second Amendment will go away. He says youre wrong. He says he will. He says your judgment should be questioned because you supported john roberts. Listen, number one, i did not appoint john roberts. George w. Bush did. Once the president made the nomination, i supported it. That was a mistake. I would have appointed mike very first law clerk. More importantly, you have to look at Donald Trumps history. This is a man who, for four decades, has supported liberal democrats. Jimmy carter over Ronald Reagan. Donald trump gave money to Chuck Schumer, harry reid, Hillary Clinton. Donald trump supported john kerry over george w. Bush. Let me tell you, george. Anyone that writes checks to Chuck Schumer and harry reid and jimmy carter and Hillary Clinton does not care about conservative justices on the court. Donald trump himself you know, the one person hes suggested that would make a good justice is his sister, who is a court of appealed judge appointed by bill clinton. Shes a hardcore pro abortion liberal judge. He said she would make a terrific justice. So the people of South Carolina need to know. Hes said there would be a conflict of interest and would not appoint her. But it gives you an example of the type of people he would be looking to. The type of people he would be looking to. Donald trump is not a conservative. For his entire life, hes been selfdescribed very, very pro hes supported partialbirth abortion. Yesterday, he defended planned parenthood and federal taxpayer funding for planned parenthood on the debate stage. Have you seen a republican on a Republican Debate stage defending taking federal tax payer money and giving it to planned parenthood . He thinks they do terrific things. I dont think so. I dont think conservatives in South Carolina think so either. I have never seen you unload on donald trump like you have in the last couple of minutes. Are you concerned that if he wins South Carolina he cant be stopped . What im concerned about, george, is our country is in balance. Ive devoted my entire life to fighting to defend the constitution and the bill of rights. The heller decision, i represented 31 states. Representing heller in defending the Second Amendment. We talked about abortion restrictions. I represented a coalition of states defending the ban of partialbirth abortion. We won that case, 54. I dont want to see our my daughters, caroline and katherine are 7 and 5. I dont want to have to look at my daughters and say, the free comes to that america has had for two centuries, you dont get because we didnt step up and put back. Justice scalias passing changes the entire contours of the race. The time for the circus and reality show is over. This is a serious choice. And were talking about losing our basic liberties if we get this wrong. And its why i have so much faith in the people of South Carolina that that they value liberty, the constitution. One final point, were also choosing a commander in chief. This is a dangerous world. It doesnt make sense to appoint someone, to elect someone as commander in chief who doesnt understand the nature of our enemies. Last night, donald trump defended his calling for george w. Bush to be impeached. That is not consistent with the and those are the views of the fever swamps of the left. Thats where donald comes from. Hes supporting john kerry and saying lets impeach george w. Bush. That is not a commander in chief fit to keep this country safe. Senator cruz, you put a lot on the table there. Thank you for joining us this morning. Thank you for having me. Lets take that right to donald trump. He joins us now by phone. Mr. Trump, you just heard senator cruz right there. He says youre part of the fevered swamps of the left. Well, thats absolutely false. And this countrys made a lot of mistakes. The war in iraq was one of them. A guy like cruz wouldnt understand what a mistake is. He stands on the senate floor, he has no support from one senator. You look at his colleagues. He has absolutely no endorsements. He has no support. Hell get nothing done. Hes not a leader. Never employed anybody. Never created a job. This is the wrong guy. I will tell you. And hes nasty guy. No matter how you figure it. What he did to ben carson was disgraceful in iowa. When he made the fraudulent voter violation manuscript. Where he sent it out to voters was a fraud. He holds up the bible, he might hold up the bible. But this is not a man, who, in my opinion, should be president. I think hes done a great disservice to himself and to the republican party. On that last point he raised, you did say back in october 2008 that impeaching president bush would be a wonderful thing. Do you still believe that . I didnt endorse anything. I think he did a terrible thing when he went into iraq. We can all be nice and be politically correct and say how wonderful. And jeb bush, his brother, it took him five days before he understood how to answer the question. His pollsters gave him an answer five days late. He was mumbling back and forth. You remember that fiasco. He was gone by the time he started. When he announced, he was practically gone. Was a good thing or bad thing. Ultimately, he determined that the iraq war was a bad thing. His brother got us into that war. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There were no anything. We got into war. We destabilized the entire middle east. Obama got us out of the war in the wrong way. Because the way he did it, by announcing a specific date and not leaving people in was frankly disgusting and very, very foolish. Ill tell you, you go back to 2003, 2004, im the only one who said dont go into iraq. Youll destabilize the middle east. I was against the war even though im the most militaristic person there is. I said, dont do this war. If you do this war, youre going to destabilize the entire middle east. Thats what happened. Thats why we have the migration and all of the other problems we have right now in the middle east. In 2008, you said impeachment would be a wonderful thing. To wolf blitzer. Listen. It seemed like she was going to really look to impeach bush, and get him out of office, which, personally, i think would have been a wonderful thing. To impeach him . Absolutely. For the war. For the war. Because of the conduct of the war . Well, he lied. He got us into the war with lies. What evidence do you have that president bush knowingly lied . Ill ask the question again. Do you still believe that impeachment would be a wonderful thing . I dont even think about it. Its past time. He was he made a horrible mistake. We all make mistakes. His was a beauty. His was about as big a mistake as you can think of. I see the soldiers that died. The Wounded Warriors all over who i love, who i work with. And ill tell you what, it was a horrible mistake. We spent 2 trillion on the war and we have nothing. You know whats happening now . Iran is taking over iraq where the second Largest Oil Reserves i said on your show and many others. I said keep the oil. Dont leave. Keep the oil. Guess what . Isis has the oil. Iran will have the oil. The oil and the value and the tremendous wealth fueled isis. Then i said recently. Bomb the oil. Not recently. Over the last three years. Bomb the oil. Dont let them have the oil. Nobody wants to listen. We have politicians, all talk, no action. And a guy like ted cruz would be an absolute disaster. And hes not a leader. Lets turn to the Supreme Court. You heard senator cruz say you cant be trusted to make a Supreme Court pick. He cited your praise of your sister saying she would be a phenomenal Supreme Court justice. Your response . Well, look. Just so you understand. I said it jokingly. My sister is a brilliant person. Known as a brilliant person. Obviously, a conflict. I said, oh, how about my sister, kiddingly. My sister, also she also happens to have a little bit different views than me. It was all lots of fun and everything else. I would say total conflict of interest as far as my sister. Somebody like diane sykes from there are some great people out my sister would not be the right person. Its a conflict of interest. How will you convince people that your appointees would be conservative . Let me tell you about appointees. Justice john roberts gave us obamacare twice. He could have foiled it twice. He had two votes, went up shockingly, voted in favor of obamacare. He got there because ted cruz pushed him like wild. And by the way, jeb bush pushed him through the brother. They were close. And jeb bush and cruz pushed Justice John Roberts and now we have Justice John Roberts. What happened is, he twice, could have ended obamacare and he didnt do it. Because that was among the worst appointments i have ever seen. We have obamacare because of jeb bush, ted cruz, george bush. Let me ask you a final question. The same question i asked ted cruz. They really seemed to be piling on you last night. You heard the boos from the crowd as well. You think this is all happening because the other republicans have figured out if you win South Carolina you may not be stopped . The reason it happens is because im selffunding. Putting up my own money. I built a tremendous business. I dont need anybodys money. Im going to do what is right for the people of the country. In that room were many people that i know very well. Theyre all lobbyists and they gave a lot of money to jeb this guys wasted 140 million. Running failed campaign. Hampshire and came in fourth or fifth. First by a lot. This is the kind of guy you want as a president . You what, the republicans are in trouble. And they will never beat Hillary Clinton. Im the only one that will beat Hillary Clinton. Theyll never beat Hillary Clinton. Mr. Trump, thank you for your time this morning. Okay. Thank you very much. And we have much more ahead. Senator marco rubio and john kasich will join us. The roundtable as well. And a look back at the legacy of Justice Scalia. Antonin scalia. During its first year, a humpback calf and its mother she lifts her calf to its first breath of air, then protects it on the long journey to their feeding grounds. One of the most important things you can do is help the next generation. At pacific life, we offer Financial Solutions to accomplish just that. Ask a Financial Advisor about pacific life. I was not aware of how much acidity was in my diet. That it was damaging the enamel. I wanted to fix it right away. My dentist recommended pronamel. He said pronamel can make my teeth stronger. Pronamel is helping me lead p the life that i want to live. Hey, remember the game when i set the rookie passing record . I mean, you only mentioned what, 50 times. 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The presidency is the toughest job in the world and shes the one wholl make a real difference for you. Im Hillary Clinton and i approved this message. And were back now with senator marco rubio coming off the debate last night in South Carolina. Thank you for joining us this morning. Lets begin with the debate. Getting nasty out there. Do you think as governor kasich suggested that you might be hurting each other and helping the democrats . Sure. I said that before. I always try to avoid that sort of engagement. It got me into trouble a week ago. I had a bad moment because i chose not to go after governor christie. Its kind of a catch 22. In the end, im not running against any of these other republicans. Im running because i want to be president of the United States. If youre attacked, its important to respond. So if im attacked at a debate, im going to respond. Last night, you saw a situation with ted cruz. Ted is saying things that are not true habitually. In the last week, hes not told the truth about my position on planned parenthood. Marriage. He doesnt tell the truth about his previous stance on they need the be addressed. He said earlier this morning he would filibuster any choice president obama made. Are you taking the same position . Yeah, but he wont have to because Mitch Mcconnell has already made it very clear. Were not going to move forward until theres an election. It think its i think its the right decision. The court can function with eight justices. Within the last few months of the president s term, we should not be appointing justices. The president can nominate whoever he wants. The senate shouldnt move forward on it until after the election. Well have an election in november. One of the key im sorry. So if youre elected president , will you promise not to make an appointment in your final year . Im not saying the president cant do it. Im saying were not moving forward on it in the senate. He shouldnt . He shouldnt. He has the legal right to do it. And as president , i would recognize that precedent. And the precedent thats been set over the last 80 years, in term, there should not be an appointee put in place. This will be an issue. The voters will choose a new president and that new president , who i believer will be me, should then fill that vacancy for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. Donald trump says he doesnt think about impeachment of george w. Bush anymore. Hes not backing off the comments he made last night about president bush lying about weapons of mass destruction in iraq. Given those statements, is donald trump still a nominee you could support if republicans choose him for the nomination . Well, i would have hoped last night donald would have repudiated those comments last night. His unwillingness to walk away is disturbing. Hes not going to be the nominee. Im going to be the nominee. I dont think george w. Bush lied. I think george w. Bush acted based on the information way, was also shown to congressional leaders like nancy pelosi. It turned out not to be accurate information. Thats unfortunate. That being the case, he didnt lie. A lie is when you know whats true and you Say Something different. I know you hope to defeat donald trump. My question is, will you support him if hes the nominee . Im going to support the republican nominee. I know the republican nominee is going to be someone who holds views like mine. I dont share all the views that donald trump has. I think ultimately, he wont be the nominee. But ill support the republican nominee, because no matter who it is on the stage, will still be a better choice than Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Senator marco rubio, thank you for joining us this morning. Thanks, george. Governor john kasich joins us now. Thank you for joining us. Quite a night last night. It doesnt sound like from the sound of the debate that anybody will take your suggestion to bring down the negative ads. You know what, george. Going around the circuit. I tell you what i found, george. Lly at a barbecue joint. About 500 people there. It was stunning. Taking pictures, grabbing on to me, wanting me to sign things. They said, please stay positive. Please stay positive. So i kind of get my fuel from ideas. I dont get my fuel from the negative side. I dont disagree with rubio. You have to defend yourself. You know. But i want to climb out of that as quickly as i can and tell people what im for, rather than spend my time prolonging a back and forth in a debate. By the way i think the debates are ridiculous. This is not a way to pick a president. If you really want to pick a president , come to a town hall. Watch an interaction between a candidate and the public for 30 minutes or 40 minutes. This whole business of who has most clever thing they said. I mean, its just silly, george. I dont think harry truman could become president through this process. But its what we got and well deal with it. Lets talk about who youre for for the Supreme Court. What kind of justice would you appoint . And do you agree with senator cruz and donald trump on the pretty severe criticism of the chief justice, john roberts. No, im not here to criticize john roberts. Look, ive picked well over 100 judges to the court in ohio. I have even picked a ohio Supreme Court justice. Shes turned out to be a great justice. I would look for a conservative. Somebody who doesnt make law. But somebody who will interpret the law. And we pick somebody who is sort of above reproach. What is their record . Their history. Thats how ive done it in my state. So, you know this is not an unfamiliar process to me. So, obviously, it would be somebody who is a constitutionalist and not interested in making law. You know what i said about the president. Hey, look. The senate will do nothing. My sense is, youre going to have a president ial election here. People will in a very unusual way, indirectly sort of pick the next judge of justice of the Supreme Court. Its pretty interesting. It is pretty interesting. This sounds like a new rule now. A rule that a president cant pick a Supreme Court justice in his or her final year . Well, george, you know how polarized everything is. We have to be real about things. I dont want to see more fighting and recrimination which is what were going to see. Lets face up to this. We are very divided between president obama and the congress. And its you know, and look. When you have that kind of division, its really hard to get things done. If i were president of the United States, you know, and i could keep the congress together, of course i would send somebody. It would probably be a different situation. Running for president. You know, theyre republicans and democrats in most cases before theyre americans. But the divisions are real. So lets just wait for an election, move beyond it, then whoever we pick as a justice and gets confirmed will have broad consensus across the country and can start the healing process. Divisions are real inside your party by looking at the stage last night. This nomination will take a long time, wont it . I think it will take a long time. My daughter, emma, said to my wife, after we did so well in New Hampshire, well, im really happy about daddy doing so well. But whens he coming home . And, im actually going home for valentines day. But its going to take a long time. Im headed to michigan tomorrow. I i know were going to be back here in South Carolina. Were, you know, preparing all across the country. I think it will take a long time, george. Interesting. I hope we can raise it, raise the bar and have a little higher brow conversation about what we want to do. Governor kasich, thank you for your time this morning. Thank you, george. Up next, well hear from the democrats, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders is going to join us as well. Senator Chuck Schumer. The number two democrat in the senate. A member of the judiciary committee. And the political fallout with our powerhouse roundtable. Your heart loves omega3s. But the omega3s in fish oil differ from megared krill oil. Unlike fish oil, megared is easily absorbed by your body. Megared. How was your commute . Good. Yours . Good. Xerox real time analytics make transit systems run more smoothly. And morning chitchat. Less interesting. Transportation can work better. With xerox. Thank you for calling. Well be with you shortly. Xerox Predictive Analytics a better and faster hello mr. Kent. Can i rebook your flight . Im here Customer Care can work better. Wait im here Bernie Sanders is up next. Plus our powerhouse roundtable. Well hear from some of the people who knew Justice Scalia so well on his life and legacy. 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Breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. Breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Do not take breo more than prescribed. Does not improve or gets worse. Ask your doctor if 24hour breo could be a missing piece for you. See if youre eligible for 12 months free at mybreo. Com. It is outrageous that republicans in the senate and on pledged to block any replacement that president obama nominates. Barack obama is president of the United States until january 20, 2017. That is a fact, my friends. Whether the republicans like it or not. Hillary clinton weighing in on the battle to replace Justice Scalia. This issue rising to the top of the campaign agenda. And just after the news broke yesterday, my this week colleague, Martha Raddatz sat down with Bernie Sanders and started off by asking him about the republican plan to block nominees. I dont think Mitch Mcconnell has it right on this one. The constitution is clear. Its the job of the president of the United States to appoint, nominate members to the Supreme Court and the Senate Confirms. President obama, in my view, should make that nomination. Possible. And i hope that the Senate Confirms and begins deliberations as soon as possible. Do you imagine that will happen . I surely hope so. I just dont think it looks good that for very overtly political reasons that the republicans would deny this president the right to exercise his constitutional responsibility, which is to appoint members to the Supreme Court. I dont think the public would look kindly on republican actions to try to thwart what hes supposed to be able to do. Youre talked about Supreme Court nominees a little bit on the campaign trail. What would you look for in a nominee . What i have talked about is one litmus test. Im not a great fan of litmus tests. But i think the Campaign Finance Citizens United Supreme Court decision of six years ago that i would never nominate anybody to the Supreme Court who is not prepared to overturn that allowing billionaires to buy elections and which is undermining american democracy. Thank you to martha and senator sanders. Lets get more on this now from the number two democrat in the york. Committee. Senator cruz says hell Mitch Mcconnell says its not you only have 46 votes in the so theres not going to be a nominee here. Well, the job first and foremost is for the president to nominate and for the senate to hold hearings and go through the process. You know, the constitution, ted cruz holds the constitution when he walks through the halls of congress. Let him show me the clause that says the president is only does this mean we dont hold hearings . The president shouldnt nominate cabinet ministers . Republicans should not repeal obamacare in the fourth year. We go through the process. And see what happens. You know it wont happen. Im not sure thats true. The kind of obstructionism Mitch Mcconnell is talking about. Hes hearkening back to his old days. He said recently, i want regular order. But in 2010, right after the election, right during the election, he said, my number one job is to defeat barack obama, without even knowing what the president is going to propose. He says no, were not having hearings. To leave the Supreme Court vacant for 300 days at a divided time. This kind of obstructionism is not going to last. And you know, we democrats didnt do this when, we voted 970 for Justice Kennedy in the last year of president reagans term. After voting down justice yes, but we had nominations. We had hearings. Many of the main stream republicans, when the president nominates a main stream nominee will not want to follow Mitch Mcconnell over the cliff. You think the president should do that. Send a powerful message about the direction he wants to send the court in . I dont think the American People like the obstruction. That wont fly. A lot of the mainstream republicans may say, i may not follow this. Second, i think the president , past his prologue, will nominate someone who is mainstream. Is that a suggestion . No suggestion. His nominees in the past have gotten republican votes. Okay, senator schumer. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Well be right back with and we have so much to talk about this morning. Lets bring in now matt dowd, our political analyst. Along with Cokie Roberts and bill kristol, editor of the weekly standard. Matt, lets start with you. In a campaign full of surprises, surprises yet . Absolutely. We have talked for almost 24 hours. It throws a huge wrench into the entire system. Not just washington, d. C. , where but the entire president ial campaign. I actually think the republicans have made a mistake in the reaction to the the initial reaction to it. I think a better tack would have been, listen, the president has a constitutional duty to nominate somebody to the Supreme Court. And the u. S. Senate has a duty to decide if they approve that person. The senate may not approve that person. Day probably wont. But they shouldnt actually say the president shouldnt nominate. I think the tack should be, the president has a duty. He should nominate. The republicans have a duty to decide what they want to do. Does matt have a point . Not really. I mean, first of all, its such terrible news about nino scalia. Such a giant of the Supreme Court. A conservative hero. I knew him reasonably well. A wonderful man. No. The democrats destroyed bob borks chances in 1987. When president bush nominated Miguel Estrada for the d. C. Circuit court, there was a filibuster. Be Supreme Court nominee. He would be the first hispanic put on the court by george bush. Honestly, turnabout is fair play. Maybe Mitch Mcconnell should have been more coy. The president is entitled to nominate whoever he wants. The republicans need to explain why we do not want the Supreme Court going in the direction of president obama wants it going in. The Senate Debate will be a bit of kabuki theater right now. Hard to imagine how the president , not impossible, but hard to imagine hell get someone through. Meantime, this makes the Supreme Court, right at the center of the president ial campaign, it could be one of the first times ever. Absolutely. It really raises the stakes in the president ial campaign, george. It focuses the mind. People realize, wait, were voting for someone who could name a justice that will be there for decades. Keep in mind, gerry ford was the president of the United States for about 2 1 2 years. John paul stevens, his nominee, decades afterwards. Ant Antonin Scalia, a reagan appointee. You have a very Important Message sent to the voters. Whoever you vote for will have an effect for many years to come. And i think the effects of that will be that the question of electability becomes much more important in the voters minds. That has been Hillary Clintons strong point in her debates. In her elections so far. Let me bring that to matthew dowd. Cokie suggesting this could help Hillary Clinton on the democratic side. Do you agree . And what about on the republicans side . Does this fall to any candidates benefit . I think when the Supreme Court nominations, which i agree, will be part of the conversation, it really is a conversation that goes on with the very left and very right. Most of Middle America will look at it and not get the whole nuance of who is more electable whats happening. Its a very left and very right argument. I have to say, on the Hillary Clinton makes that, clinton. Rating. He won the New Hampshire primary by 22 points. If Hillary Clinton continues to pursue the electability argument on her side, its problematic to her against Bernie Sanders. I think it will affect the republican side on this. The only time in the debate last night, where there seemed to be agreement, was lauding Justice Scalia in the course of this and paying homage to him and saying we want to put a conservative on the court. That was the only consistency. Across the stage last night. Something akin to a food fight. Ted cruz said this is the time for the circus is over right now. Does it make the debate on the republican side somewhat more help any particular candidate . Yes, look two things a president does that he does uniquely. He nominates judges and is commander in chief. Health care, education policy, tax policy, Congress Plays a huge role. Is president ial debate on the republican side, the choice will now focus much more on who will put good judges on the Supreme Court. Who has the knowledge. The temperament. The background. Where voters can be confident that theyll get good conservative constitutional judges. And the commander in chief issue, which donald trump raised squarely last night by saying that george bush knowingly lied us into the war in iraq. The republican primary. Its one thing to say that the war was a mistake. Knowingly lied us into war in iraq. Are republican primary voters going to accept this. I believe Donald Trumps candidacy i said this before and ive been wrong. I believer last night could be a moment where finally, Republican Voters say enough of enough of being engaged. Trumps interesting. Hes saying things i like. Hes sticking it to the politicians. Hopefully, people will focus on of the United States . And i think the republican primary voters will say no. Cokie, those predictions have imperiled people before. What youre seeing here in South Carolina is an awful lot of ads against him. That is something that has not been as prevalent before. Whether that makes a difference, just next saturday in the primary, well see. Last nights debate was remarkable in its childishness really. It was basically everybody saying, liar, liar, pants on fire. Im not sure after the entertainment value of that that voters feel tremendously comfortable seeing those candidates go after each other. Meantime, matthew dowd, were going to see president george w. Bush on the campaign trail tomorrow really for the first time. What difference does that make in South Carolina . Hes very popular here. Loss in 2000 in New Hampshire he came back and won here and went on to win for president. Im not sure how much of that president. Hampshire. Very popular president. Didnt seem to help hillary race in New Hampshire. It could have impact on the margins. 1, 2, 3 possibly. I think when we look at donald trump in South Carolina right now, and bill may will right. Though hes predicted trumps fall along the way. In the course of this. If donald trump, after last night, wins South Carolina, and all of the ads, and he wins South Carolina after attacking Lindsey Graham and george w. Bush and saying george w. Bush lied about the war, if he wins South Carolina, how does one stop donald trump . That is an excellent question. That is really the question. It certainly is. The life and leg phone ringing by ignoring it. But thats how some president ial candidates seem to be dealing with social security. Americans work hard, so our next president needs a real plan elephant noise donkey noise hey candidates, answer the call already. My constitution is a very flexible constitution. You think the Death Penalty is a good idea . Persuade your fellow citizens and adopt it. You think its a bad idea . Persuade them the other way and eliminate it. I have my rules that that confine me. I know what im looking for. When i find it, the original leaning of the constitution, i if i believe that the First Amendment meant when it was adopted that you are entitled to burn the american flag, i have to come out that way. Even though i dont like to come out that way. Though im a law and order type, i cannot do all of the mean conservative things i would love to do to this society. You got me. Justice scalia setting out his philosophy of the constitution. Lets talk to guests who know him well. Paul clement, clerk for Justice Scalia. Former solicitor general. Kate shaw, our Supreme Court analyst. And terry moran. Who has covered the Supreme Court for us as well. Mr. Clement, you clerked for Justice Scalia. You argued before him. How will you remember him . Well, ill remember him just like in that clip. I mean, he really believed in the constitution. He believed that the constitution had to be interpreted in a way that couldnt impose their own personal policy preferences. Ill remember him from oral argument. He completely changed the way the Supreme Court handled cases and handled oral argument. Before he came to the court, it was quite common for advocates to make their argument and not get a single question from the justices. Or at most, a handful. He got there, he started asking questions from day one. Even the colleagues who had been there for awhile said, were not going to let this new guy ask all of the questions. They got involved. Its fundmentally changed the way the court holds arguments. Changed the way the court approaches statutes and constitutional law as well. Let me ask you quickly. He has such a unique pen. What was it like to write a draft for him . We used to joke in the chambers the only reason he asked for drafts from his law clerks is because he wasnt quite sure how to format a word perfect document on the computer. Because that voice you see in the opinions, that is all him. He just had a gift. The constitution in the court. Because, left or right, most students, the first thing they do is pick up the scalia even if its a dissent. Opinion. He was that gifted a writer. Thats where the impact is. Less impact in moving his i think theres no question that he was the intellectual leader. He was not always victorious in advancing his positions. I dont know if the views were too extreme. I dont know if it was a question of sometimes abrasive style. He didnt always win in particular cases. And nonetheless, he had a transformational effect on the law. Terry moran, his biggest victory . I would think the most memorable victory, a piece of philosophy, the great Second Amendment triumph in the chicago where Justice Scalia, writing for a majority in the court, said the Second Amendment is an individual right. That well regulated militia clause doesnt interfere with the individual right to bear arms. That was in keeping with his sense that the federal governments powers needed to be limited, needed to be checked. Get back to the original intent. You know, george, a lot of people, in society, have great big grand ideas. Very few of them make them as contagious as Antonin Scalia made his, through his writing, his personality, the fights he picked. The fights he loved to pick as dahlia, lithwick, one of our colleagues put it, he made the founders cool again. And in many ways, his influence goes outside of the law into a whole way of looking at the kind of country we are. Well said. Thank you to all of you. Thats all for us today. Your sunday with us. The son of a polish immigrant who grew up in a brooklyn tenement. He went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began fighting injustice and inequality, speaking truth to power. He moved to vermont, won election and praise as one of americas best mayors. In congress, he stood up for working families and for principle, opposing the iraq war, supporting veterans. Now hes taking on wall street and a corrupt political system funded by millions of contributions, tackling Climate Change to create cleanenergy jobs, fighting for living wages, equal pay, and tuitionfree public colleges. People are sick and tired of establishment politics, and they want real change [ cheers and applause ] Bernie Sanders husband, father, grandfather, an honest leader to give us a future to believe in. Im Bernie Sanders, and i approve this message. A sad morning in washington d. C. As we mourn the death of scalia. Hii death brings a fight between republicans and democrats over who should take his seat and a shift in the ideals of the court. The republicans and support. Weve got a look at who could knock on your door. Good sunday morning to you. It is nice to have more clouds out there this morning and we do have some wiidy