Opinion | Fill Ginsburg’s Seat Now. Signed, the Democratic Senators of 2016.

Ricardo Santos

This opinion piece was assembled using statements from Democratic senators in 2016 as they were pushing to have President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. With the election still months away, Democrats argued it was the Senate’s responsibility to hold hearings.

There is a big difference with the current vacancy, after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Last time they were arguing against an unprecedented move by Republicans, nearly eight months before an election; this time, just a month and a half before Election Day, they’re arguing it’s only fair to follow precedent.

Even still, Republicans could use comments from Democrats in 2016 as ammunition today. See the Republican response here.

Hover over each line for more information.

One of the Senate’s most important and solemn responsibilities is to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees.

We urge our colleagues to allow senators to do their jobs by considering the forthcoming nominee without further delay. He or she deserves a fair hearing and a timely vote — anything less is an abrogation of our basic duties.

Not every senator has to agree on a particular nominee, but we should all be able to agree to do our jobs as senators. We hope that our colleagues will join us in supporting the next step in this process and give the American people the chance to hear from the judge.

The job, first and foremost, is for the president to nominate and for the Senate to hold hearings and go through the process. The idea that the president should not be able to make a nomination is totally absurd, when the Constitution is 100 percent clear.

Article II Section 2 of the Constitution says the president of the United States nominates justices to the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate. We can’t find a clause that says, “except when there is a year left in the term of a president.”

Meeting with the eventual nominee is also a basic courtesy. We don’t even know who the president is going to propose. Every senator should agree to shake his or her hand and sit down to meet with him or her. We have the responsibility to be fair. Ask the important questions, go through the hearings.

A refusal to consider the nomination means the Supreme Court will be weakened and unable to fulfill its constitutional role, leaving the court with only eight members. So what does that mean? The court is not going to deadlock in every case, but the potential for deadlock is greatly increased when the court has only eight members.

That is unacceptable and harms our constitutional democracy.

This is why, as President Ronald Reagan said before Justice Anthony Kennedy was confirmed, “Every day that passes with the Supreme Court below full strength impairs the people’s business in that crucially important body.”

We are given a job to do by the Constitution of the United States, a job that the American people want us to do.