Majority Of Americans Favor Confirmation of Merrick Garland

President Obama has nominated a moderate judge (Merrick Garland) to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. But the Republicans are still determined to obstruct that nomination. They continue to say they won't even give him a confirmation vote -- inspire of the fact that he has the respect of most Republican senators (and most of them voted to confirm him to the Washington Court of Appeals).

They don't claim he is not competent to be a Supreme Court justice, because they know he is. They are just playing a political game to keep the extremists in their base happy -- those who hope the next president will be a Republican (who will nominate a right-wing extremist to the court).

But the American public doesn't agree with those obstructionist Republicans. Poll after poll has shown that the public wants the Senate to give Garland a hearing, and an up or down confirmation vote. Now we have a poll that shows a majority of the general public (52%) wants the Senate to not only give Garland a vote -- but want them to confirm him as a Supreme Court justice (while only 29% oppose his confirmation).

It is the new Gallup Poll -- done on March 18th and 19th of a random national sample of 1,019 adults, with a margin of error of 4 points.

That gives Garland a 23 point advantage in favor of confirmation. That is in line with what other justices have had in pre-confirmation polls. Kagan had a 14 point advantage, Sotomayor had a 26 point advantage, Alito had a 25 point advantage, Roberts had a 37 point advantage, Ginsberg had a 39 point advantage, and Thomas had a 35 point advantage.