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A group of Senate Democrats is beginning to explore trying to extract concessions from Republicans in return for allowing Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The lawmakers worry that Gorsuch could be confirmed whether Democrats try to block him or not — and Democrats would be left with nothing to show for it. That would be a bitter pill after the GOP blocked Merrick Garland for nearly a year. The deal Democrats would be most likely to pursue, the sources said, would be to allow confirmation of Gorsuch in exchange for a commitment from Republicans not to kill the filibuster for a subsequent vacancy during President Donald Trump’s term. The next high court opening could alter the balance of the court, and some Democrats privately argue that fight will be far more consequential than the current one.They'll offer Republicans a smooth confirmation for a man who is obviously going to be confirmed in exchange for...a guarantee that Republicans won't interfere if and when Democrats mount a campaign of nasty, knee-jerk opposition to President Trump's next SCOTUS nominee? Cue the laugh track. The party that has been the aggressor in the Senate's confirmation wars ever since the Bork episode, and that has
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As a matter of precedent, the last two Democratic presidents each nominated two SCOTUS justices in their first terms, all four of whom were easily confirmed by the Senate. Republicans did not attempt to mount filibusters against any of those candidates, even though they knew full well that the judges the were approving would spend the next few decades handing down reliably liberal rulings. "Elections have consequences," Democrats solemnly intoned. Quite so. And now Donald Trump is the president -- thanks
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You don't need a "deal"--just don't filibuster. https://t.co/D2gYDx7rWF
— STEW ?????? (@StewSays) March 22, 2017
But Democrats recognize that they don't need very many Republicans to buy into this nonsense for it to potentially work:
If Democrats move ahead with the plan — it’s still in the early discussion phase — it would require buy-in from some Republicans, but not necessarily Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) or his top deputies. At least three rank-and-file GOP members would have to pledge not to vote to unilaterally change the Senate rules through a majority-only vote later in Trump’s term — the so-called nuclear option...Some Democrats are worried enough about the Senate losing its unique minority rights that they’ve begun kicking the tires on the potential for a new bipartisan “gang.” The current talks are limited to about a half-dozen Democratic lawmakers. They haven’t made an offer to Republicans yet, and Democratic leaders wouldn’t support one.
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The DSCC should give up asking for money for the next two years if Democrats strike a "deal" to confirm Gorsuch.https://t.co/KBOGjRD2oB
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) March 22, 2017
Conservatives might actually want to root for the Democrats' raging left-wing cauldron to get its way on Gorsuch. If Democrats follow through on their filibuster threats against such an unquestionably qualified and respected nominee, that would make Mitch McConnell's decision to impose the Reid Rule quite a bit easier. Democrats would look like a bunch of petulant, precedent-ignoring, flaming hypocrites, so Republicans could push Reid's nuke button without much of a second thought. But if Democrats took the short-term hit among their hardcore supporters by supporting Gorsuch in spite of their "deep concerns" etc., their inevitable obstruction of a future Trump nominee might at least
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Parting thought: Fast-forwarding to the next SCOTUS battle, one argument that Schumer and friends will undoubtedly employ to justify their attempted obstructionism is that the replacement of a moderate or liberal justice with a conservative one would alter the Court's ideological balance. True. Guess what? When President Clinton selected Ruth Bader Ginsburg to replace Justice Byron White (a conservative who cast a dissenting vote in Roe v. Wade), the Court shifted to the left. She was confirmed 96-3. Also, let's not forget that Hillary Clinton
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Schumer cannot support Gorsuch for SCOTUS. Affirms there will be a cloture vote. Warns against nuclear option.
— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) March 23, 2017
Whatever you say, Chuck.
Editor's Note: A version of this column is cross-posted at HotAir.com
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