Schumer: GOP Should Follow McConnell Precedent, No SCOTUS Vote In '18

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo



By Matt Shuham | June 27, 2018 3:31 pm

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday urged Republicans to follow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) 2016 precedent and wait until after upcoming elections to consider a nominee to fill retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat.

“Our Republican colleagues in the Senate should follow the rule they set in 2016 not to consider a Supreme Court justice in an election year,” he said. “Sen. McConnell would tell anyone who listened that the Senate had the right to advise and consent, and that was every bit as important as the President’s right to nominate. Millions of people are just months away from determining the senators who should vote to confirm or reject the President’s nominee, and their voices deserve to be heard now as Leader McConnell thought they should deserve to be heard then.”

“Anything but that would be the absolute height of hypocrisy,” he added.

In 2016, McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) refused to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee to fill late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat, Merrick Garland. Instead, the seat was held open for months following Garland’s March 2016 nomination, until President Donald Trump had assumed office and nominated Neil Gorsuch for the seat.

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Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/schumer-gop-should-follow-mcconnell-precedent-no-scotus-vote-in-18

[Freethinker65]

1. Yeah. Good luck with that, Chuck

[lagomorph777]

6. At least he's saying it, unlike Blumenthal!

Thank you Chuck!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. Bluementhal reversed himself. . . nt

[lagomorph777]

38. Thanks for the good news!

[still_one]

2. I agree, but the problem with that is they won't, and the Democrats have very little influence on

that since they don't have the majority in the Senate, and even if they did I have no doubt that trump would appoint someone when Congress is on recess

[cannabis_flower]

40. Maybe fate will step in

and they will confirm him and he will have an unfortunate death by natural causes after the November election.

[still_one]

41. maybe

[irisblue]

3. Get some steel for your spine Mr. Schumer and more for the caucus

[dhol82]

4. Just heard some blowhard on msnbc talking about this

His comment was that there was no comparison with the Merrick Garland situation.
That was during a presidential election year. This one is just a midterm election. See - no comparison. Said we have to follow the Biden rule.

Fat fuck! Hope he chokes on his own bile.

[Qutzupalotl]

26. Trump started runing for re-election as soon as he took office.

So it’s presidential election season if not a presidential election year.

[dhol82]

44. Excellent point!

[C_U_L8R]

5. Chuck chuck chuck.

That's a lame point... you sound weak suggesting it.
I'd rather you speak to us Democrats and the American people
and tell us how you propose to actually protect our Constitution
from the looming rightwing threat. We are really concerned here.

[Shipwack]

35. No, he -doesn't- sound weaker for saying it.

We all seem weaker when we offer no push-back against what the Republicans do or say.

The time for being quiet for fear of sounding "weak" (whatever that means) or argumentative or "uncivil" is past.

Time to make some noise, John Lewis style.

"Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." - Rep John Lewis

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. No Judicial confirmations in this last year of tRump's Presidency. . . . nt

[FBaggins]

12. Oh Prof...

You used to be such a good arbiter of the "funny once" vs "funny always".

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Thanks, but I'm not trying to be funny. And it looks like Schumer is thinking similar way

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142096469

[FBaggins]

16. Did Schumer become majority leader when I wasn't looking?

No?

Then a joke is the best we can get out of it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. No. And if you think it is all a joke, please try to tell Schumer and not us.

We've had lots of defeatism and negativity on DU today.

There are lots of intelligent people with knowledge and ideas in the Party. There are lots of things Democrats can do, as I suggested in another of my posts and that was just off the top of my head. But if you want to convince us it is hopeless, then perhaps you can find somewhere else more in tune with that idea.

49 votes in the Senate is not powerless and McCONnell and tRump can't nominate just anybody and expect their razor thin margin to hold.

[FBaggins]

21. Schumer knows that he's just getting what he can

There's zero chance that he actually thinks that he can score more than a couple rhetorical points (particularly since he was firmly on the other side at the time).

There are lots of intelligent people with knowledge and ideas in the Party. There are lots of things Democrats can do

The only thing they can do is convince a couple Republicans to vote with them while holding all of the Democrats running for Senate in red states.

But if you want to convince us it is hopeless,

Nobody said that it was "hopeless"... but we do need to live in reality. McConnel isn't going to wake up and say "you know what? He's right!"

49 votes in the Senate is not powerless

Thanks to that same Schumer... in this case yes it is. If they can't expect their thin margin to hold... then we don't have 49 votes.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. 49 votes is the starting point, not the end point.

It's the Republicans who have a razor thin margin. Flake, McCain, Snow, Murkowski might be persuaded to peel away.

[no_hypocrisy]

8. IOKIYAR

[turbinetree]

9. Time to show up at hearings....................and protest ...........end of story

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. That's not the end of the story because that is not all that can be done. . . . nt

[turbinetree]

20. WE have to get out and vote, and we should be protesting.....................

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. +1. . . . nt

[jalan48]

10. Fantasyland.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

11. They then gave him the finger and he went back to talking about food. nt

[Wellstone ruled]

13. Chuckie will not put up any fight.

It is after all,Chuck Schumer is not the man for the Job.

[NRaleighLiberal]

14. Wow...what weak sauce. We simply get played again and again and again

keeping powder dry

sending a stern statement

I am sure republicans simply shake in their boots at our tactics

[Power 2 the People]

17. Isn't this the same tactic that Schumer used for Garland?

[link:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chuck-schumer-turns-the-tables-on-mitch-mcconnell-in-senate-confirmation-process/|]

Why would it work this time? Reading from the same tired script of trying to shame the shameless.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has returned an identical letter that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent to Harry Reid in 2009 on the Cabinet nomination process, calling on Republicans Monday to comply with the same conditions Republicans demanded when it came to President Obama’s nominees.

[KPN]

22. And here's what McConnell says about that:

“The Senate stands ready to fulfill its constitutional role by offering advice and consent on President Trump’s nominee to fill this vacancy,” Mr. McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement. “We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall.”

Isn't that what Chuck Schumer was saying just 2 years and a few months ago?

[Honeycombe8]

27. "Should"? Did he say "should"? Bwahahahaha.

The only reason to make a statement like that is to set up the long obstruction by the Dems to the confirmation. Otherwise, it's meaningless, IMO.

[JDC]

28. That is as far as he will go. That was it.

[RocRizzo55]

30. Let's go further than that

No hearings until after Mueller investigation, impeachments and prosecutions are done.
No president who is under investigation for high crimes and misdemeanors should be allowed to have any choice at a Supreme Court appointment until proven not guilty.

[calimary]

37. Welcome to DU, RocRizzo55.

I wish they were listening to you.

[RocRizzo55]

45. Nobody ever listens to me.

I often feel like I am talking to the ants.

[rtracey]

31. uggggg

Quit this crap......get in there and get dirty...FUCK THEM.... filibuster everything we can......

[elmac]

32. fascist always play by different rules

while we always play by the rules. That doesn't work. We need to go medieval on their asses.

[gibraltar72]

34. I would hope Chuck and the rest

are at least mildly annoyed when the Enabling act is passed.

[dflprincess]

36. Screw civility, Chuck. It's time to go to the matresses

Long past time actually. I hope you and the party leadership are finally figuring that out.

[slumcamper]

39. Can't help wondering, how thirsty is the Tree of Liberty? n/t

[0rganism]

43. mmmhmmm

that's a very nice fantasy you have there Sen. Schumer
shame if something were to happen to it...