Justice Antonin Scalia had not yet been given the last rites of his beloved Roman Catholic Church when a political firestorm brewed up over whether or not he should be replaced under an Obama administration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw down the gauntlet when he said that the Senate should wait until a new President is elected before confirming a replacement for Justice Scalia, saying, “The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) agreed, saying “The fact of the matter is that it’s been standard practice over the last 80 years to not confirm Supreme Court nominees during a presidential election year.”

The issue was one of the first brought up at the Republican debate in Greenville, South Carolina, when Ted Cruz also stated that such confirmations hadn’t been made during an election year in 80 years.

Moderator John Dickerson challenged Cruz on his assertion, and was promptly schooled by the senator.

And naturally the Democrats are all for replacing Justice Scalia with another liberal Obama appointee.