The GOP wants to block whatever Supreme Court appointment the president might put forward. That's nice. How cute of them.
I believe there are only two key points here. First, politicians will be politicians. They are only doing what comes natural to them. And second, the GOP clearly has the upper hand and can block the appointment if they want to. If we were in the middle of this Congress, the president could simply wait for the recess and make the appointment without their approval. But there is no recess in sight until after the general election. So, they are in a position to block an Obama appointment if they so choose.
The only thing that can be done to change that fact, is to make blocking an appointment less attractive. You do that by focusing on how ugly it is, and how it could easily backfire on them. Do they really think they have a shot at the White House this cycle? Apparently, they do, but how realistic is that in the face of the evidence? Evidence like a field of contestants that resembles a circus act. Evidence like polls indicating their nominee--whomever it is--would lose to EITHER Sanders or Clinton. Evidence like a souring of public opinion for conservatives that will only be increased at a time when they are vulnerable to lose their Senate majority.
So, in effect, they have two choices. They can vote (they don't even have to approve, just VOTE) on an Obama selection. Or they can face a stronger chance of losing the Senate as well as being down-graded as a viable political party in today's world. No White House. No Senate majority. And further dissipating public support. Yeah, that sounds like a real plan, doesn't it? And all for what? For two things:
1. Keep their record of obstruction intact. Seven years is not quite enough.
2. Bank on beating the very tall odds by getting a Republican in the White House to make a conservative choice for the new SCOTUS member.
For those two possibilities, they are willing to further risk giving up:
1. Credibility (they don't have much left, but could lose even more)
2. The Senate majority (which is a big deal, since the Senate takes the vote on the next SCOTUS member)
3. Obama's more moderate selection: giving up a conservative or even moderate court (Bernie Sanders appointing a far-left justice)
The GOP is in deep trouble. They realize they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. If it were not for gerrymandering, the party probably would have folded by now. But guess what? One of the more unlikely scenarios has arrived. More to the point, the Millennials have arrived. And the remarkable thing about that is they appear to be UNEXPECTEDLY ENERGIZED TO VOTE! They now constitute the largest voting bloc in the electorate--a larger group than the Baby Boomers. That's bad news for a party whose demographic is shrinking noticeably. It is bad news for a party that cannot attract voters from significantly growing minorities. It is really bad news for a party that seems bent on alienating vast segments of society.
It would serve them right if Sanders won the Oval Office by virtue of the Millennial vote, and then made a considerably more left-leaning appointment with the approval of a Democratic Senate majority. But, by all means, block the president's selection. Block away. Block, block, block….
