BREAKING. Governor Brian Sandoval Tells Obama He's Not Interested In SCOTUS Appointment

By streiff | 2:22 PM on February 25, 2016

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FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2015 file photo, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval shakes hands with attendees after a news conference in Las Vegas. Dag Reckhorn, Faraday Future's global vice president of manufacturing, is at center rear. After a four-day special session that ended Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, Nevada lawmakers approved a $335 million incentive package to attract upstart electric carmaker Faraday Future's billion-dollar factory to North Las Vegas, a hard-hit Las Vegas suburb, even though the company has yet to unveil a concept car or bring a product to market. Sandoval, who's championed the deal as a boon to Nevada, is expected to sign the agreement. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)

AP Image AP_443958830494 — (AP Photo/David Becker, File)

The troll-in-chief in the White House had been trying to make mischief by floating the rumor that he had short-listed Republican Governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval, as a nominee to fill the seat of deceased Justice Antonin Scalia. This looked like a fun provocation for Obama. If the Senate relented and considered Sandoval, Obama was getting a pro-choice, pro-ObamaCare, big government loving Republican. (I suspect the real fun for Obama would have been confirmation hearings in which a GOP led Judiciary Committee would have provided hour of fun roasting a GOP governor.) If they refused to accept Sandoval, then Obama would use this as more evidence of consistency of purpose on the part of the GOP, of course, he would have called it intransigence and racism.

Governor Sandoval has shown himself to somewhat alive political skills and he has said he is not interested:

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) on Thursday asked President Barack Obama to take his name off its list of potential Supreme Court nominees, in an attempt to avoid becoming a pawn in the nasty partisan battle raging in Washington.

“Earlier today, I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Sandoval said. “I have also spoken to Senators Reid, Heller and McConnell and expressed the same desire to them. The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned.”

I have no idea of Sandoval’s political ambitions… I suspect his wife is required to scream “President Sandoval” on “theme night”… but he is smart enough to know that being used as a cudgel to beat the GOP into allowing Obama to nominate a Supreme Court justice is not a key to any ambition he might have.