Sen. Lindsey Graham isn’t going to tolerate these Democratic games regarding Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he was going to attempt a filibuster of the eminently qualified candidate and is working to cobble together fellow Democratic colleagues in support. It comes at a time when Democrats have to balance the rabid anti-Trump tendency of their left wing base and the political reality at hand, which is that the party is ill-equipped to fight the Republicans on some of the big ticket items, especially the Supreme Court. They simply cannot wage total war against the Trump White House with the numbers they have in Congress. Some thought that Senate Democrats would keep their powder dry in case a second vacancy opened up, in which case the balance of the Court could turn decidedly conservative. I guess they’re giving the progressive base what they want—but the GOP isn’t going to stand idle. They could nuke the Senate rules and pass Gorsuch by a simple majority.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was not so subtle with CNN’s Kate Bolduan about the threat of the nuclear option if Democrats keep these silly antics up. Graham said he simply would not tolerate Democrats denying President Trump, the winner of the 2016 election, the opportunity to put well-qualified judges on the Supreme Court. He added that he will not play the game where Democrats get everything they want, and the GOP gets nothing. Bolduan took the heavy insinuation as a threat to Senate Democrats—and rightfully so.
Guy wrote about the laughable deal Democrats want concerning Gorsuch. They want Senate Republicans to guarantee they won’t go nuclear if a second vacancy arises in exchange for confirming Gorsuch. That could be for one reason only:
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.
Republicans should walk away from this deal. At least nine Senate Democrats have said that Gorsuch deserves a hearing and a vote. The latter part of that statement remains to be seen. Do they mean a cloture motion? In which case the ballgame would be over, the motion to end debate on Gorsuch’s nomination would get 60 votes to end debate and advance the final vote that only needs a simple majority for confirmation. Maybe they meant the Judiciary Committee vote. It remains to be seen, but Democrats have to know that either way Gorsuch will be confirmed. This isn’t the hill to die on, but if they do—filling the second vacancy isn’t even going to be a fight.