Some African Americans see the flap over replacing Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as one more slap at the nation's first black president, according to an article published by the New York Times.
Almost as soon as the news spread that Scalia had died at a Texas ranch, Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell said Scalia's seat should not be filled until a new president has taken office.
From the questions about his birthplace and religion to a South Carolina Senator calling out "You lie!" from the House floor, it's just one more insult in a long line of insults to President Obama, New York Times reported.
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In Charletson, S.C., Edward Gadsden said the only reason for the opposition is Obama's race.
“They’ve been fighting that man since he’s been there,” Mr. Gadsden, who is African-American, said of Mr. Obama, before pointing at his forearm to explain what he said was driving the Republican opposition: “The color of his skin, that’s all, the color of his skin.”
The article concludes with a note about the consequences for the outrage caused by McConnell and the GOP's position on the Supreme Court nomination:
The anger and outrage that Mr. McConnell's position has touched off among African-Americans could have implications for the presidential election. Leading African-American Democrats are trying to use it to motivate rank-and-file blacks to vote in November, the first presidential election in a decade in which Mr. Obama will not be on the ballot and in which Democrats fear black participation could drop.
"Anger becomes action when it's directly tied to a moment, and the moment now is the election on Nov. 8," said Stacey Abrams, a Democratic state representative from Georgia and the House minority leader there, adding that Mr. Scalia's death meant that this presidential campaign could no longer be construed as a mere "thought exercise."
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