Without a hint of irony, McConnell descries high court obstructionism
Without a hint of irony, McConnell descries high court obstructionism
Steve Benen
MSNBC
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Rachel on the show this week that he’s “absolutely” prepared to hold open the Supreme Court’s vacancy, agreeing that Republicans effectively “stole” a high-court seat with their partisan blockade last year.
The comments did not escape the attention of his Republican counterpart.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed a pledge from his Democratic counterpart to block President-elect Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, insisting “the American people simply will not tolerate” such a move. […]
“Apparently there’s yet a new standard now, which is to not confirm a Supreme Court nominee at all,” McConnell said, adding: “I think that’s something the American people simply will not tolerate, and we’ll be looking forward to receiving a Supreme Court nomination and moving forward on it.”
Ahead of Election Day, three Republican senators suggested they were prepared to block all Supreme Court nominees, regardless of merit, until 2021 at the earliest. Two of the three senators were on the ballot in November. Both won.
The American people “simply will not tolerate” senators refusing to confirm a high-court nominee? It’s a nice idea, and there may have been a point at which I even agreed with the assertion. But McConnell, who somehow managed to make this argument with a straight face, has already provided all the proof we need to know how very wrong he is.
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