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Having it Both Ways

An email just came into my inbox announcing that 41 senators oppose the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. That means they can filibuster his nomination.

This comes barely a year after President Obama nominated Merrick Garland for the same position. Mitch McConnell refused to even allow Judge Garland a hearing. McConnell could not even extend a shred of human decency to President Obama or Judge Garland, look them in the eye, and engage the process as it is set forth before our elected officials. Sunday in an interview, McConnell couldn't speak honestly to the American people and own up to his reprehensible behavior - rather he hid behind a curtain of lies.

And now we have Neil Gorsuch up for the same seat. The Democrats, while they may have slow walked the hearings and nomination process, have reasonable and legitimate concerns about his placement on the Supreme Court AND have an axe to grind with the Republicans.

The news now is will the Republicans exercise the "nuclear option" and abolish the filibuster tool in the case of Supreme Court nominees, thereby allowing their Senate majority to approve Gorsuch for the position without any bipartisan support.

McConnell is out calling for the Democrats to extend the basic courtesy and confirm Gorsuch's nomination. As if he didn't do precisely the same thing, in fact, even worse, when he refused to even give Garland a hearing. McConnell is showing us his two-faced-ness loud and clearly. Do we really want to have leaders who believe they can just alter or interpret rules, customs, and practices to suit their needs in the moment? That's what McConnell has done and it is what he will continue to do, if he is not called out on this behavior. We wouldn't allow our children to behave this way...

I speculate that these will be very telling times for the US, these next few days. Can the Democrats can formulate and execute a well-crafted plan against Gorsuch within the established protocols of the Senate? Will the Republicans will remain drunk on their power and sense of self-righteousness and continue to gut the democratic institutions at the center of American Democracy for their own benefit? Where has bipartisan leadership gone? Governing the United States should not be a zero-sum game, and yet, at the moment it appears to be. The losers? Each and every citizen of the US. If only our leaders could see and understand that.

The Senate stands at a fork in the road - who's going to take it and who's going to pick it up? (thanks Yogi Berra)
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