Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, shot back Thursday after Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, made disparaging remarks about Grassley Wednesday on the Senate floor. Reid’s displeasure with Grassley’s stance that the committee not hold any hearings on nominations made by President Barack Obama on replacing Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Feb. 13, turned personal and Grassley called it a tantrum that his friend, former Senator and Vice President Joe Biden would label “a bunch of malarkey.” Grassley referred back to a speech made by Biden in 1992, boiling it down to two fundamental points. First, the President needs to exercise restraint and not name a nominee until after the November election is completed. Second, if he does not adhere to that tenet, then the Senate should not consider the nomination. Grassley said, Biden’s speech stated plainly it’s the principle, not the person that matters. Grassley is using Biden’s own words to support his stance that it is up to the American people to decide whether we preserve the legacy of one of our great jurists. This is a debate that should be held and a debate the American people should be a part of, he said.
