Protesters, at Graham’s Rock Hill office, call for vote on Supreme Court candidate

“I do my job, now you do yours.”

That was the refrain echoed by many of the protesters who gathered outside Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Rock Hill office on Monday, calling on South Carolina’s senior senator and his Republican colleagues to take a vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination.

Ten people waved signs outside the East Main Street office as part of the protest, one of several coordinated to take place at local Senate offices across the country on Monday by liberal activist groups like MoveOn.org, CREDO Action, Organizing For America, the Progressive Campaign Change Committee.

“Sen. Graham, your constituents in South Carolina are here today asking you to do your job and give fair consideration to a qualified nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Michele Horne, who organized Monday’s protest. “There’s too much at stake, and refusing your constitutional duties for political theater won’t fly with voters.”

Other protesters took turns passing around a microphone, stating their profession and ending with “I do my job, now you do yours.”

Graham and other Republicans have said they don’t want to approve an Obama appointee to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia before the end of the president’s term in January, and instead would like the winner of November’s presidential election to make the choice.

Graham’s office declined to comment on the protest, but referred to the senator’s previous statement on Merrick Garland, the federal judge who was nominated to fill the Supreme Court vacancy last week.

“The election cycle is well under way and the precedent of the Senate is not to confirm a nominee at this stage in the process,” Graham said last week. “I strongly support giving the American people a voice in choosing the next Supreme Court nominee by electing a new president.”

Graham went on to site the actions of Democratic senators in opposing past judicial appointments under Republican presidents.

“In this limited circumstance, I’m following the recommendations of Democratic Senators Reid, Schumer and then-Senator Biden,” he said. “It was a rare moment of clarity when they made it clear that in circumstances like these, the president’s nominee should not be confirmed.”

The group had hoped to present Graham’s staffers with a petition calling for a confirmation vote for Garland, along with an offer to enroll the senator in a “Civics 101 refresher” course at a local college. Protesters carried an oversized copy of Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, spelling out the president’s appointment powers, along with signs emblazoned with “Do Your Job” and “Fill the Seat.”

But when they got to the street-level entrance to Graham’s office, they found the door locked and a “will be back at...” sign on the door.

“They’re scared of us,” said Bobbie Harrison. “They think we’re Trump people.”

Undeterred, Wes Boone, an electrical contractor in Rock Hill, stood outside the office and called the number for Graham’s Washington office to let them know they would like to present the senator with the petition.

“His people in Washington know me,” he said. “I call them about once a week.”

Boone said he was upset to see the Supreme Court’s business held up for political purposes.

“This is supposed to be bigger than that,” he said. “The Supreme Court is supposed to be the glue that holds us together when all else fails... It’s absolutely the most irresponsible thing you can do.”

Diane Rudulph said she was so upset with the state of political gridlock that when she heard the Senate wouldn’t even schedule a hearing on Garland’s nomination, “I could scream.”

“So nothing is going to get done on the Supreme Court for a year? After nothing’s gotten done with Congress for the last seven years?” Rudulph said. “I’m so mad I can’t stand it any longer.”

Rudulph’s friend Linda Reight is a self-identified Republican, but decided she wanted to support the effort to get Garland’s nomination moving.

“Things have gotten way too political. We need to find things we can work together on more,” Reight said. “So I thought this was something we could do together.”

South Carolina’s other senator, Tim Scott, has also joined with other Republicans in opposing any action on Garland’s nomination

“Under our Constitution, replacing a justice is a responsibility shared by both the president and the Senate... The Constitution does not make the Senate a rubber stamp for any president,” Scott said in a statement after Garland’s nomination was announced.

“The last time a majority of the American people went to the polls, they elected conservatives and a Republican Senate to be a check-and-balance to President Obama and his agenda,” Scott went on to say. “The next President should fill the open seat on the Supreme Court, not a lame duck.”

Although the House of Representatives does not vote on Supreme Court nominations, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-Indian Land, has also come out against he nomination.

“After some research, it seems that the political precedent – established by ALL political parties (even those that pre-date modern Democrats and Republicans) – is that the Senate, under a divided government, does not take up such consideration in an election year,” Mulvaney said.

But others have cited numerous examples of Supreme Court justices appointed and confirmed in presidential election years. SCOTUS Blog lists six justices who were named to the court by a president less than a year before the end of his term, who received a Senate vote prior to the election.

Most recently, Justice Anthony Kennedy, now the court’s most senior justice, was named by Ronald Reagan and confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate in February of 1988, a term-limited Reagan’s last year in office.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Protesters, at Graham’s Rock Hill office, call for vote on Supreme Court candidate."