CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is concerned that the Democrats are engaging in a wasted effort on a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Why, he asked Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Monday, don't they save their energy for when they are going to need to find a replacement for liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
“If you go all in on Gorsuch, what about when Anthony Kennedy resigns?" he asked Blumenthal. "What if Ruth Bader Ginsberg runs out of gas?”
Many pundits have wondered how many more years Ginsburg, who is 84 years old, will continue serving on the Supreme Court. Yet, most of them have not put it quite so bluntly as Cuomo.
He is, of course, correct. Gorsuch is going to be confirmed this week the easy way or the hard way, as Guy detailed this morning. If the Democrats choose to filibuster the nominee, the GOP can use the nuclear option, which will only require Gorsuch to need 51 votes. The Dems would be left with nothing to show for their failed partisan crusade. They would, however, make history for engaging in the first ever partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court selection.
Will Democrats abandon their doomed filibuster and take Cuomo's advice?
Unlikely. Blumenthal told Cuomo that Gorsuch is "nowhere near" 60 votes.