Democrats Anti-Gorsuch Efforts Are Flatlining

Democrats Anti-Gorsuch Efforts Are Flatlining

Sometimes the best move at the poker table is to fold your hand. According to a new Politico story, many Senate Democrats appear to be following that advice with regards to Judge Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination. The supremely qualified Gorsuch, just ask the ABA, has so far “breezed through” the confirmation process, as Democrats […]

March 14, 2017

Sometimes the best move at the poker table is to fold your hand. According to a new Politico story, many Senate Democrats appear to be following that advice with regards to Judge Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination. The supremely qualified Gorsuch, just ask the ABA, has so far “breezed through” the confirmation process, as Democrats “can’t seem to land a punch”:

“Democrats can’t seem to land a punch on Neil Gorsuch — and it’s not even clear they want to. President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has breezed through more than 70 meetings with senators. Opponents who’ve scoured his record have found little to latch onto. And some Democrats are privately beginning to believe that Gorsuch — barring a blunder at his Senate confirmation hearings next week — will clinch the 60 votes he needs to be approved without a filibuster.”

In fact, far from leading Senate Democrats in a strategy, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin is simply asking his fellow Democrats to keep an open mind:

“Indeed, despite anger from the Democratic base that senators have cowered from a fight against Trump’s high court pick, the sole strategic decision the Democratic Caucus has made about Gorsuch ahead of his confirmation hearings is to make no decision at all. ‘The only thing we’ve decided as a caucus is to ask members not to make any public commitments until the hearing phase is finished,’ Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.”

This lack of guidance from the could be why one Democratic Senator told Politico that “there is no caucus strategy” on Gorsuch’s nomination:

“Exacerbating the indecision is the fact that a handful of Democrats facing tough reelection bids next year may face political retribution from the right or left, no matter how they vote on Gorsuch. The competing impulses have produced a public posture of apparent ambivalence and, according to one Democratic senator, a feeling that ‘there is no caucus strategy.’”

With Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings starting next week, it’s clear that Senate Democrats are in complete disarray.