It was "Silverhair" who implied I was lying, and who is not apologizing.

Article II, Clause Two: "He" (sic) (The president) "...shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint...Judges (sic) of the Supreme Court."  The framers clearly implied a duty of the Senate.

Hearings were not mandated, but began 92 years ago with Stone, The Judiciary Committee vetted all nominees since Eisenhower nominated Harlan in 1955. Convention dictated a hearing, but Grassley and McConnell defied both convention and duties by failing to render advice and consent and to advance the nomination.

Congress set the number of Justices by law at nine, in 1869.

Spare us the pretense:

In 2010 Boehner proclaimed "R"s determination to obstruct: “We're going to do everything — and I mean everything we can do — to kill..., stop... , slow...down, whatever we can.” McConnell said: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”