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By Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin February 15 at 8:34 PM  

President Obama

Conservative and liberal advocacy groups are gearing up for a ferocious political brawl over President Obama’s pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the weekend death of Justice Antonin Scalia, and already the battle is spilling from the presidential campaign into some of the nation’s most hotly contested Senate races.

White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz repeated Monday that the president intends to “fulfill his constitutional responsibility” by nominating a new justice and predicted that Senate Republicans, despite their current loud opposition, will ultimately hold a confirmation hearing and vote for the nominee.

“This is not the first time the Republicans have come out with a lot of bluster only to have reality sink in,” Schultz said. “We need a fully staffed Supreme Court.” more