If you blinked you might have missed it.
After initially saying the Senate “should do nothing to artificially delay” the consideration of the next Supreme Court justice in the wake of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) now says a confirmation vote for President Trump’s next Supreme Court pick should take place after the 2018 midterm elections.
NBC News’ Garrett Haake captured Blumenthal’s original sentiment just before 3 p.m. ET:
Here’s the full quote for proper context: pic.twitter.com/Tt9qlZOI2o
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 27, 2018
By about 4 p.m., it appeared Blumenthal realized that was an untenable position:
The American people shld have a voice. A confirmation vote shld take place after a new Congress is seated. My Republican colleagues shld follow their own precedent.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) June 27, 2018
A decision of this historic magnitude requires more deliberate consideration than is possible in the politically charged months between now&the election.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) June 27, 2018
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) successfully blocked President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016, arguing that the American people should have a voice in the choice by electing the next president.
TPM is rounding up Democratic senators’ positions on the precedent McConnell set here.
Too late, asshole.
Hey, I’d rather he came around sooner than later. Don’t piss off the few that actually ultimately understand the problem.
It’s never too late if one comes around in time and he has.
In each and every episode like this, some Dems reveal they still haven’t been able to combat their good-guy-selves that are operating under the unconscious assumption things are perfectly normal, despite the fact what we’ve gone through since the 2016 campaign is not normal at all.
We are in an unprecedented crisis, yet this lack of intuition to get that… that’s what has been bothering me greatly.
@becca656 I am not really blaming him. Whether someone kicked him in the ass or he was just slow, he’s come around. Then again, initial, spontaneous reactions reveal a lot about their predominant modus operandi. And we will have a really tough fight on many fronts next several months… which is hard to fight if your world still feels normal.
I strongly suspect every single Dem Senator will adopt this position. Our nation’s survival is at stake. They may very-well be able to postpone any vote until after the election.
Are you paying attention Sens. Flake and McCain?
I wouldn’t count on Flake and McCain, blood is thicker than water. But I still hope the Democrats run with this. I don’t believe there’s any way they can win. But they damn well have to try. Sometimes losing battles are worth fighting too.