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Whatever it takes. This is a knife fight for the future of the country

Schumer promises Gorsuch filibuster, so McConnell, McCain, and Graham tease Reid's 'nuclear' option



Whether you like to refer to it as "The Nuclear Option," the "rule change," or "The Reid Option," know this: Rumors of its usage for the Neil Gorsuch appointment are everywhere. You'll recall that, back in January, Chuck Schumer said "If they don't appoint somebody good, we're going to oppose them tooth and nail." Then, just a few sentences later, he admitted that there really was no judge that Trump would nominate who Democrats could back. He basically promised endless filibuster in a doomed effort to keep Scalia's SCOTUS seat empty for the next 4-8 years.
As I said at the time, the next SCOTUS appointment was one of the most central issues in the 2016 election. Hillary intended to appoint judges who would turn the court against the Constitution, and most of the country rejected her. Democrats are, as we've seen, furious that their will has been defied. So, Chuck Schumer is announcing a battle against not just Trump, but against the will of the voters. It's all based on a petty bit of calculated retaliation for what Democrats believe is a "stolen seat." Republicans held their ground against Obama's last-second Supreme Court appointment, and Schumer plans to deliver "the consequences" There are a lot of reasons this won't work. Chief among them is it will be all but impossible to maintain an 8-year, or even 4-year, stand. Eventually, Dems will crack. More importantly, the "Reid option" exists. ...And it sounds like the GOP is ready to use it.

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From Roll Call:
If eight members of the Democratic caucus do not join the 52 Republicans to move the nomination forward, McConnell could move to change the rules, lowering the threshold to a simple majority. At his regularly scheduled Tuesday press conference with his leadership team, McConnell did not directly address whether he would do so. But he did question whether a Democratic blockade of Gorsuch would signal a broader issue for future high court nominees. “I haven’t seen a single Democrat, unless there’s one you’ve observed, indicate they were prepared to either vote for cloture or to vote for him,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Leading you to ask the following question: If Judge Gorsuch can’t achieve 60 votes in the Senate, could any judge appointed by a Republican president be approved with 60 or more votes in the Senate?” McConnell said.
McConnell is being a bit cagey about his intentions, but others are being far more vocal. Take, for example, tough guy Lindsey Graham. From The Hill:

"Whatever it takes to get him on the court, I will do," Graham said, after being asked about using the nuclear option. "If my Democratic colleagues choose to filibuster this guy, then they will be telling me that they don't accept the election results — 306 electoral votes — that they're trying to delegitimize President Trump,” Graham continued. “And that's not right, and we would have to change the rules to have the Supreme Court like everybody else.” Graham said Gorsuch did an "incredible" job answering Democrats' questions during his hearings this week
As we all know, where Graham goes you'll usually find John McCain. Their opinions are joined at the hip. So, without further ado, let's hear from everyone's other favorite Republican. From the Weekly Standard:
Arizona senator John McCain hinted Thursday afternoon that he's ready to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch with a simple majority if Senate Democrats take the unprecedented step of filibustering a Supreme Court nominee. Asked what Republicans should do if 41 or more Democrats try to block Gorsuch, McCain told THE WEEKLY STANDARD: "I think we'll address it when it happens. None of us want to do it, but we're going to confirm Gorsuch." Arizona's Jeff Flake told TWS: "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I think we'll get him confirmed." "There's no reason for anybody to filibuster," said Lisa Murkowski, a moderate from Alaska. "Gorsuch is a good guy."
Days when I'm forced to agree with Lindsey Graham and John McCain are the worst. Unfortunately, today is one of those days. I like the filibuster. It exists to protect us from the next radical socialist the Democrats manage to con into the oval office. The problem is, there's no honor among Dems. If Republicans think that playing by the rules and refusing to eliminate the filibuster will result in some sort of quid-pro-quo, they're delusional. The next time there's a Democrat President, if the GOP blocks a SCOTUS nominee, they'll go "nuclear" faster than you can say "duck and cover." So, you might as well move forward having acknowledged that. Right now, Democrats are badly overestimating their power. It's time to take advantage of a weak enemy. Nuke the filibuster imediately, confirm Gorsuch with 51 votes, confirm the next nominee the same way, and possibly even the next. The days where you can sit back and hope that decorum and respect for the rules will prevail are long gone. This is a knife fight for the future of the country. Win it.


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