One has to wonder why Democrats are fond of shooting themselves in the foot. The nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court will not shift the balance of the court. He is a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia. Yet Democrats, in their ever-growing inability to “get it” are going to filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination.
From The Washington Post:
Gorsuch “declined to answer question after question after question with any substance. … All we have to judge the judge on in his record,” Schumer said.
Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) — one of 10 Democratic senators facing reelection next year in a state that Trump won — also announced on Thursday that he would oppose Gorsuch and join other Democrats in filibustering him.
Schumer’s vow to help block Gorsuch with a filibuster did not include calls for the rest of his chamber to join him in opposition — a sign that he is leaving political space for more moderate Democrats, especially those facing reelection next year, to potentially side with Republicans under political pressure sparked by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign bankrolled by conservative groups in hopes of securing Gorsuch a filibuster-proof vote tally.
But growing Democratic opposition will anger Republicans who are hoping to swiftly confirm Gorsuch before a two-week Easter break.
Senior Republicans have vowed that Gorsuch will be confirmed no matter what — a veiled threat to Democrats that they will upend Senate tradition and change the chamber’s rules so that a Supreme Court nominee can be confirmed on a simple majority vote. The so-called “nuclear option” was used by Democrats in 2013 to change Senate rules and make it easier to confirm executive branch nominees and picks to serve on lower federal courts. But Supreme Court nominations were not included in that rules change.
McConnell will be under tremendous pressure to go the nuclear route if Democrats are successful in blocking Gorsuch’s nomination from coming to the floor for a vote. If Republicans do that now, it will be the same for any other SCOTUS nominations while Trump is President.
It is possible, Schumer is just doing what he loves to do and preening for the camera, but something tells me these bozos will do exactly what they’ve threatened.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member