Mitch McConnell intends to have this Senate vote on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement for the Supreme Court. Trump is planning to announce a nominee as early as Monday before RBG is even laid to rest.
This is in direct opposition to statements that Senator McConnell and other Republicans made in their defense of the historic blocking of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.
Of the many statements made to justify their unprecedented (yet legal) stonewalling, only one needs to be brought forth as evidence of the clear hypocrisy, dishonesty, and inconsistency of the means the GOP used to attain its ends:
“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,” McConnell said.
This was 11 months before the 2016 election. The 2020 election is already underway.
Many Republicans expressed dismay at the dangerous precedent it would set to not only block the nominee, but to refuse even a debate. Lindsay Graham said, “I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”
There is bad faith here. There is deceit.
If McConnell and the GOP are more focused on war and victory than peace and compromise, they will be sad to learn that those who live by the sword also die by the sword.
Consequently, if a Trump Supreme Court pick is rushed through the confirmation process before the next Presidential inauguration, and the Democrats win back the Senate and Presidency…
The 2021 Democrats should balance the Supreme Court and appoint two additional Justices. They should also approve statehood for The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to gain four more senators. These are legal maneuvers and turnabout is fair play.
Similar Read: The Legacy of Notorious RBG – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg