Schumer: Hey, Gorsuch doesn't always rule in favor of the people we like!

The usual battle lines are being drawn in the now on-deck confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Rob told you last night why Gorsuch is such an excellent pick, although it wasn't until later that Rob informed me why juvenile fake burpers everywhere should be cheering. And while conservatives are doing what they usually do when we get a good nominee - hailing his legal brilliance and his commitment to the law and originalism and textualism and all that - Democrats are doing what they always do as well. They're reminding us that they have no idea of what a judge's job is.

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Take it away, Chuck Schumer:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was "skeptical that [Gorsuch] can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court." Schumer added that Gorsuch had previously "sided with corporations over working people [and] demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights."

The reason I highlight that particular passage of Schumer's statement is that it's astonishing on its face. What it tells you is that Chuck Schumer thinks judges should always side with "working people" over corporations, and presumably should side with every other preferred liberal constituency group over those liberals see with targets on their backs - regardless of the merits of the case or the application of the law. That is not a judge's job. A judge's job is to rule on the basis of what the law says in a given case, without favor to any particular party in a case because of who they are. If the law is on the side of the corporation, then you're damn right the judge should side with the corporation. If the law is on the side of the "working people," the judge should side with them. In other words, Chuck Schumer wants judges who legislate from the bench - who ignore statutes and legal precedent and concoct rulings designed to benefit the people Democrats like. And the truth is that's what the four current Justices appointed by Democrats do with regularity.

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Chuck Schumer is upset because Neil Gorsuch doesn't ignore the law and simply side with the constituency Democrats favor in a given case

This speaks to broader truth about the American left: They know they can't get much of their agenda accomplished through the legislative process, becauuse they can't consistently win enough elections to be able to do so. Right now Republicans not only control the White House and Congress but more than 30 state legislatures and 30 governorships. There aren't many places where Democrats can go to pursue their radical agenda. So they look to the courts. They try to judge-shop and file strategic lawsuits designed to either nullify Republican-passed statutes or somehow get rulings that are handed down in such a way that they're given the force of law. This is how we ended up with national abortion on-demand and gay marriage. Legislatures didn't pass laws to give us those things. Neither did Congress. Un-elected judges made them law because they thought legislative bodies should have done so. This is what Democrats want judges to do whenever they get a chance. So Chuck Schumer is upset because Neil Gorsuch doesn't ignore the law and simply side with the constituency Democrats favor in a given case. If this is going to be his primary mode of attack against Gorsuch, he will sail to easy confirmation. By the way, it's worth remembering for you conservative #NeverTrumpers that if you had gotten your way and Hillary had won, she would have appointed a Justice who approaches things exactly the way Chuck Schumer is demanding.

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Dan's new novel, BACKSTOP, is a story of spiritual warfare and baseball. Download it from Amazon here

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