It's already ugly. RBG's body wasn't even cold before Trump and his enablers were crowing about her replacement. Funny how with 10 months left to Obama's term McConnel wouldn't agree to vet his pick for the Court because he felt the next president should make that call, but with less than two months to the end of Trump's term, it's OK for them to hurry up and get his pick approved.
It standard procedure. If the Sen is the same party as the Pres. They move forward. There have even been lame duck appointments. Mid term elections have consequences as well. And Reps increased the majority in the Sen in 2018. I for one was happy to send McCaskill packing in my state.
I will say the same thing I said last time. The Sen should have voted on Garner. They were all free to vote NO. And that is what they should have done.
This is no surprise. Four years ago the Democrats were telling the Senate 'do your job' and the Republicans said it should wait until the election. Now both sides are changing their views. Frankly, the fact that the Republican are pushing this with so little time before the election tells me that they are assuming they have little chance of winning. They think that getting another conservative appointed will be an accomplishment they can use to campaign with.
I agree with you. I believe the Dems back then were telling the Senate to do their job because there were 10 months left to Obama's term. That isn't the case now and they're petrified that the Dems will win. Trump has done just about everything in his power to scare people away from voting. Because the only way he wins is if he cheats. Anyone who can't see that just doesn't WANT to see it. His new decree about teaching "1776 History" is the slippery slope towards fascism.
The Republicans made their bed by refusing to even vote on Merrick Garland. Now they seem very hypocritical. The comments from senators at the time were fairly unambiguous about disapproving of SCOTUS appointments during an election year. So it's going to be very fraught. I'm sure we will see a lot of obstruction. Furthermore, even if the Republican nominee gets through, if the Dems get control of the Senate, they may expand the size of the Court, etc. so it may be a long-term loss for Republicans.
Yes both sides have exchanged talking points. I think the Rep should have voted in 2016 and just voted No. I could be wrong but I think packing the court is a losing issue to run on.
This post was edited by my2cents at September 20, 2020 2:01 PM MDT
This thing has already become an out of control travesty. The idolatry of Justice Ginsburg and her legacy has begun and we haven't even had the funeral. We're seeing a vulgar travesty being shaped from Ginsburg's legitimate contributions to the court and jurisprudence. Regardless of where you happen to be on the political spectrum, Justice Ginsburg deserves more respect than the cheap and indecent way she's being used as a political pawn. It's a real shame. If this thing had a chance to come up for confirmation BEFORE the election, voters would have had another marvelous opportunity to watch Democrats show their ass on television. This would have made the Kavanaugh hearings look like an ice cream social. With today's defections in the razor thin GOP "majority", a Senate vote before November is out of the question. Even with the confirmation of a Conservative, the left will still have a one vote majority on the court so all of this "hand wringing and whining" is all for naught.
SpunkySenior 