With the passing of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, VP Joe Biden said her replacement by the president and the senate should wait upon the presidential election given how close we are to the election.
While an array of prominent Republicans have agreed with this proposition in the past, they would rather replace Justice Ginsburg with a judge who will dishonor her legacy and they fear they won’t get to do this, as Trump appears likely to lose re-election — and they won’t get a choice to continue stacking the court if they don’t act now.
So you may consider what they’ve said in the past — that they are prepared to disregard now.
First up, and this is ironic, as he has been proposed in Trump’s list as a likely nominee.
2016, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): “It has been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you don’t do this in an election year.”
We have the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
2018, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election.”
2016, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): “I don’t think we should be moving on a nominee in the last year of this president’s term — I would say that if it was a Republican president.”
We’re waiting Marco.
2016, Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.): “The very balance of our nation’s highest court is in serious jeopardy. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will do everything in my power to encourage the president and Senate leadership not to start this process until we hear from the American people.”
Moscow Mitch doesn’t want him doing anything like that this year.
2016, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa): “A lifetime appointment that could dramatically impact individual freedoms and change the direction of the court for at least a generation is too important to get bogged down in politics. The American people shouldn’t be denied a voice.”
Chuck is a past chair of the Senate Judiciary committee.
2016, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.): “The campaign is already under way. It is essential to the institution of the Senate and to the very health of our republic to not launch our nation into a partisan, divisive confirmation battle during the very same time the American people are casting their ballots to elect our next president.”
Really, Tillis, is this election divided enough for you?
2016, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.): “In this election year, the American people will have an opportunity to have their say in the future direction of our country. For this reason, I believe the vacancy left open by Justice Antonin Scalia should not be filled until there is a new president.”
Shouldn’t the vacancy left open by Justice Ginsburg be left open for the same reason?
2016, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.): “The Senate should not confirm a new Supreme Court justice until we have a new president.”
Good call Roy.
2016, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Col.): “I think we’re too close to the election. The president who is elected in November should be the one who makes this decision.”
Right on.
2016, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio): “I believe the best thing for the country is to trust the American people to weigh in on who should make a lifetime appointment that could reshape the Supreme Court for generations. This wouldn’t be unusual. It is common practice for the Senate to stop acting on lifetime appointments during the last year of a presidential term, and it’s been nearly 80 years since any president was permitted to immediately fill a vacancy that arose in a presidential election year.”
I believe that’s the best thing as well.
2016, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.): “I strongly agree that the American people should decide the future direction of the Supreme Court by their votes for president and the majority party in the U.S. Senate.”
Okay.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
Mitch McConnell, March 2016
Hey Moscow Mitch, what has changed your mind?
I don’t expect much from this gang of liars.
I don’t think the nation does either, and that’s why we’re going to flip the Senate in this election.
JPF
link...
74
Responses