Letters: Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland deserves hearing

ISSUE | SUPREME COURT

Conduct hearings

Senate Republicans have refused to consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to replace deceased Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia until the next president takes office ("Phila. lawyer urges hearings," Sunday). The Constitution is clear about how appointments must be made, and the rules have been followed for more than 200 years. Former federal judge Tim Lewis said he put his ideological differences aside and testified on behalf of conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. because he was a "good person and a fine judge" and "it was the right thing to do."

That's what is missing in the U.S. government today: the selfless act of doing the right thing for the good of the people. The Republican majority in Congress is refusing to do what is required of it, as it's done with most of the legislation President Obama has put forward.

I voted for Obama, who has the right and responsibility to select a capable candidate for the Supreme Court. By refusing to hear the merits of Obama's choice, Republican senators are taking away my vote. Voters must hold those members of Congress accountable for their obstructionist actions. We must do the right thing in November.

|Ronnie Pratt, Malvern