Mitch McConnell in 2016: “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."
I'm curious what his argument would be for this being different.
They just won't both bother responding. I remember Adam Schiff's arguments during the senate part of the impeachment procedure - "Is there any doubt he did it?", there was no real response to this. Mitt Romney is now the radical amongst the congressional GOP.
The type of politicians who kicked the chair out from under their own leader during watergate are probably rare amongst democrats and non-existent bar one (https://youtu.be/qS-aFfJe20U) amongst these republicans.
The justification is the president and senate were controlled by different parties. You can already see that spin online. Also no joke, his argument was based on something Joe Biden said as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1992.
I still feel like that may not be easy. Doesn't take many Republicans (4?) that are skeptical about Trump being re-elected, and open to tit-for-tat to stall or halt this.
"Already, Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have said that there is not enough time to confirm someone before November.
Collins told The New York Times earlier this month that she'd oppose seating a nominee in a lame-duck session if Joe Biden wins the White House."[1]
This is the Republicans' opportunity to stack the court overwhelmingly in their favor and guarantee the end of progressive and liberal influence in Constitutional law for a generation. The repeal of everything from the ACA and gay marriage to Roe V. Wade is on the table.
They're not going to turn that down just to mess with Trump, this is way bigger than Trump.
That is compelling, but I wouldn't overlook tit-for-tat. Senators live to be re-elected, and there are lots of close races in this exact timeframe. Four "we will take a dive" promises could make a difference.
"About four-in-ten Americans (38%) approve of Trump’s job performance"
I assume that is well below the percentage of Americans that call themselves Republican. Not fully understanding your point. The language in your link seems to confirm it's a serious issue for Trump.
That depends entirely on the votes that happen this year. The point is, those republicans aren't going to risk losing almost all their guaranteed votes that come from republican voters.
That’s a bingo. Any supposed conservative that stands in the way of a conservative majority on the SCOTUS would be run out of town on a rail by their own party’s base.
