At least Sen. Mitt Romney is honest about it. I’m not sure if this statement is correct, but he said, “The historical precedent of election-year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party’s nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own.” So he’s saying that GOP senators blocked Barack Obama’s election-year nomination because they could, and will confirm Donald Trump’s election-year nomination because they can.
Four years ago, they talked about letting voters decide. Now they talk about the “constitutional duty” to appoint a Supreme Court justice. They reveal what total hypocrites they are. Why can’t they just say this is a pure political power play that they will win because they have the votes and not be pompous about it?
The Supreme Court’s reputation will be further eroded, as the court will be seen even more as a GOP political tool. Independent and fair-minded? That’s become laughable.
What will it look like if the 2020 election is very close, and is decided by the Supreme Court, with Trump’s appointees handing him the victory? The fallout of that would be very serious.
— Kenneth Leone, Deerfield
Note from KBJ: Democrats told us in 2016 that it's okay for a president to nominate someone in an election year. That's what we're doing! What could be more fair than playing by your opponent's rules?
