Rallies urge GOP senators to back Supreme Court vote

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A coalition of liberal groups staged rallies around the country on Monday targeting Republican senators who oppose confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.

Within hours of Justice Antonin Scalia's death on Feb. 13, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said there will be no Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for any Obama nominee and no confirmation vote by the Senate.

With the Senate on a two-week break, liberal groups focused on GOP offices back home and such senators as Portman; Iowa's Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey.

The protesters delivered copies of the U.S. Constitution to the senators and, in some cases, offered to enroll the lawmakers in a community college civics course.