President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, delivers a statement announcing Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland as his nominee to the United States Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden of the White House, March 16, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

By Mark Finkelstein | March 16, 2016 | 9:11 PM EDT – MRC Newsbusters

On today’s With All Due Respect, NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg broke some news, saying she thought President Obama “got a message from Republicans via backchannels that they would probably move this [Supreme Court] nomination after the presidential election.”

Let’s game-plan this out. If it means that Senate Republicans would move to confirm President Obama’s pick of Merrick Garland even if a Republican were elected president, it would be a huge backstab of the Republican base. But if Republicans would only move Garland if a Dem wins, thus depriving Hillary or whomever of the chance to nominate an unreconstruced radical, then it could be a crafty maneuver. Totenberg added that once Obama got such a concession, Dems would “work very hard” to get other concessions, forcing a hearing and a vote… read more here