Chris Matthews doesn't often get my attention on these show-end rants, but this one was right on the money. He was forceful about why Democrats should filibuster Gorsuch's nomination, regardless of whether he's qualified or not.
Simply put, "it's not his turn." That belongs to Merrick Garland.
The full transcript is below.
Donald Trump wants the United States Senate to confirm his pick, Donald Trump's pick, for the U.S. Supreme Court. He wants Democrats to join Republicans in giving his pick the 60 votes to override the expected filibuster.
Let me suggest a very good reason not to let this happen -- it's not about Trump's pick, it's about President Obama's pick, the one Mitch McConnell and his bunch decided did not even deserve a vote, did not even deserve a hearing, did not even deserve the respect of someone nominated to this high position.
Just like McConnell decided in 2008 he was going to destroy the Obama presidency at the get-go, he decided he wanted to wait for the next president to do business with. He decided eight years later he would bump Obama's court pick from the line and wait for a pick by the next president.
Well, this brand of bad politics has to stop. Since the Republicans aren't going to stop it, the Democrats have to. It's not about being a sap or a chump or any other word you call a person who gets taken and lets himself or herself get taken again. It's about starting to fix the system.
A president nominates a Supreme Court justice, the Senate deliberates on the nomination. We won't get back to such respect if we let Trump exploit the vacancy Mitch McConnell created.
We cannot allow these two opportunists to complete what we call in basketball the alley oop, where one player throws the ball high above the basket and the guy standing there underneath jams it in.
I don't want to see Donald Trump stuff his nominee through the hoop. Why? Because it's not his turn.
It's Merrick Garland's turn and everyone knows it. Vote nay on Gorsuch, demand 60 votes and don't give them to Trump. It's not this guy's turn, it's not his guy's turn and all the charm and dancing and Mr. Nice Guy is not going to change it. I
t's not about Gorsuch or Trump, it's about Mitch McConnell and the brand of low-level politics he stands for. Get it?
