This may not be quite as satisfying as Gorsuch's response to Sen. Feinstein's "why don't you ever side with the little guy?" flop, but it's pretty close. When Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin raised this exceedingly weak criticism of Gorsuch -- which was leveled by a former student who also just so happens to be a former professional Democrat (a relevant fact omitted by New York Magazine and NPR) -- the Supreme Court nominee was ready. Rather than alluding to the accuser's partisanship or objecting to the distortion, he calmly explained the context of the supposedly 'problematic' discussion at issue. He happily accepted Durbin's nothing-burger and feasted, seizing the non-controversy to present himself as a defender of women in the workplace. Impressive:
Gorsuch is putting on a clinic, and the Trump administration's team is thus far offering an exquisitely-executed textbook lesson in how to get somebody confirmed. The media's verdict on the performance is virtually unanimous, even on MSNBC and CNN:
there is no chance under the sun that Democrats defeat Gorsuch nomination. he makes extremely strong case for himself
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) March 21, 2017
I'll leave you with Sen. Ben Sasse explaining that Gorsuch holds a healthy and constitutional view of the judiciary's role in American law, and opining that Trump's pick ought to be overwhelmingly confirmed:
"I think there are a whole bunch of Democrats on the committee who frankly want a judge to be a super-legislator. That's not what our founders wanted. It's not what the constitutional duty is. It's not what the oath is that a judge takes. And it's not what the American people want...The reality is there's a guy in front of us now who knows what a judge's job is and he should be confirmed and, frankly, I think he should be confirmed 100-0."
That may sound wildly far-fetched in today's hyper-politicized age, but remember that it wasn't ancient history when the Senate approved uber-liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg by a count of 96-3.
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