I agree 100% with what you just wrote. In fact, I said back when the RATs were filibustering Gorsuch that it was a terrible miscalculation on their oart.
Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski would be a lot less likely to pull the trigger on the nuclear option to get rid of the filibuster for SCOTUS nominations if it was to permit the confirmation of a conservative to replace Kennedy and (hopefully) become the fifth vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Democrats basically made it easy for the two pro-abortion Republican Senators to vote for the nuclear option when the filibuster was taking place not to protect Roe v. Wade, but to stop the confirnation of a qualified, likeable conservative to replace someone just as conservative and thus something that would not affect the balance of power. The nuclear-option vote is the difficult one, because once the filibuster is gone there is no way that a qualified conservative will lose the up-or-down vote given that too many Democrats in conservative states will end up voting for such nominee (whereas such Democrats could vote against the nuclear option much more freely because it was about “process” and “Senate tradition” and not about a qualified conservative judge).
The Democrats had one chance to filibuster, and they used it up too early and on the wrong nomination. The only explanation, apart from a combination of hubris and fear of primary challenges from the left, is that Democrats thought that the next confirmation battle (be it for Kennedy’s or Ginsburg’s seat) would come after the 2018 midterms and that Republicans would be likely to have more than the 52 Senators that they had in 2017. Instead, the confirmation fight will take place before the midterms, and the GOP only has 51 Senators (one of whom is terminally ill, has not been in DC for over a month and may not be available to vote), which would have made it a lot more feasible for the Democrats to (i) get their 49 members plus a couple of Republicans to vote against the nuclear option and then (ii) get 41 Democrat Senators to filibuster the nomination (Schumer could give permission to up to 8 Democrats to vote for cloture and still have an effective filibuster). But, because of what the Dems did last year, they can’t even try to filibuster President Trump’s nominee.
That was a terrible unforced error by Senate Democrats. I hope that their memories of the pats on the back that they got from Leftist activists during the Gorsuch confirmation hearings will serve as consolation for the pain that SCOTUS will send their way for years to come.
Well said. If the filibuster rule were still in place, it might be tough to get enough votes to do away with the filibuster now, in today’s political environment, and with very tight 50-49 split.
I’m assuming that the Republicans are down 1 for the indefinite future, since nobody seems to know what’s going on with John McCain.
Well said. If the filibuster rule were still in place, it might be tough to get enough votes to do away with the filibuster now, in today’s political environment, and with the very tight 50-49 split.
I’m assuming that the Republicans are down 1 for the indefinite future, since nobody seems to know what’s going on with John McCain.
Yep, you are right. That was the Scalia seat which needed to be filled by Trump. Had they let Trump have his way then, they would get good public support for a moderate now. Instead they have nothing.
Good thing they screwed up, good thing indeed!
So who would guys choose?
Bill I believe you were in favor of Senator Lee’s brother last time.