Mitch McConnell, who suffered no political penalty for his cynical block of a middle-of-the-road Supreme Court nominee spoke out today on Senator Schumer's promise to block any nominee extreme enough to pass Republican inspection.
"Apparently there's a new standard now which is to not confirm a Supreme Court nominee at all," McConnell groused. "I think that's something the American people simply will not tolerate and will be looking forward to receiving a Supreme Court nomination and moving forward on it."
This is where I remind everyone that just several days before the election, Senate Republicans were promising to block any nominee Hillary Clinton might put forward for consideration.
Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Richard Burr (N.C.) have all said in the past few weeks they'd consider not considering Clinton's pick and leaving the 9th seat on the court open indefinitely. McCain even promised to take that path, though he walked back that pledge a day later. (There's a way for Republicans to block Clinton's nominee whether they stay in the majority or are in the minority.)
Other GOP senators, like John Cornyn (Texas) -- the Senate's No. 2 -- and Marco Rubio (Fla.) are dodging the question but have left open the possibility of a blockade. (Rubio says he opposes the idea of a blockade in principle, but again left the possibility open to block a nominee he doesn't agree with.)
Once again, it's just fine if you're a Republican. But God forbid the Democrats play on the same field.
