White House floats Republican Nevada Gov. Sandoval for SCOTUS

Brian Sandoval has already been appointed as a federal judge, by George W. Bush, and confirmed by a Republican Senate. I told you Obama knows how to play this game:

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Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican and former federal judge, is among candidates being considered by President Barack Obama for appointment to the Supreme Court, a source close to the process said on Wednesday, as Obama sought to overcome Senate Republican resistance to any nominee. Sandoval, a 52-year-old Mexican-American, is considered a moderate Republican, particularly on social issues. He supports abortion rights and abandoned the state's legal defense of a same-sex marriage ban before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such bans were unconstitutional. Sandoval has supported gun rights as governor, which could prompt concerns from gun-control advocates. He was appointed as a federal judge by Republican George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor, before being elected governor in 2010.

Sandoval was in Washington today meeting with our favorite friend Harry Reid, as it would be customary for any federal judge nominee to coordinate with the senator from his own state.

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What else do we know about Sandoval?

Sandoval opposed Obama's healthcare law known as Obamacare, but opted to expand his state's Medicaid health insurance program for the poor under the law, breaking from a number of Republican governors who refused to do so. He also expressed support for bipartisan immigration legislation that passed the Senate in 2013 before dying in the House thanks to Republican opposition. In 2013, Sandoval vetoed legislation to require background checks on all gun sales in Nevada. Last year, he signed a law backed by the National Rifle Association that, among other things, expanded the defenses for justifiable homicide and repealed a local ordinance in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, that required registration of handguns.

He sounds pretty solid on the Second Amendment, and just because he expanded ObamaCare Medicaid as a governor doesn't necessarily mean he thinks it's constitutional - although to be honest the best chances to get rid of ObamaCare that way are already lost. It's going to take a Republican president and a real repeal vote now. If you're an abortion-litmus-tester, Sandoval is apparently not your guy. But before we even get to all that, what would Obama get out of a move like this, assuming he were to do it. I think a couple of things. First, he makes it really difficult for Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley to refuse to even hold hearings on the same guy they both voted to confirm for a previous nomination. The media would have a field day with a GOP Senate so obstinate that they wouldn't even hold hearings or a vote for a fellow Republican. And maybe, just maybe, resistance breaks down and they can actually get Sandoval confirmed. What does Obama get then? Aside from the political victory, he at least protects Roe v. Wade for another generation, since Sandoval is certainly no Antonin Scalia. And it's always possible Sandoval follows the path of Earl Warren, who went from conservative governor of California to liberal Chief Justice. But I think Obama's hedging here against the possibility of a Republican win and real new Scalia. If the Senate stays Republican that's a real possibility, and a youngish conservative who reveres original intent like Scalia did is a left-wing nightmare. You never know with Obama is a move is more political or more substantive - and this is a long way from a fait accompli - but they are floating it so they must be taking the idea at least somewhat seriously.

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