When politicians sanctimoniously advocate positions that everyone knows are the opposite of the ones they would take if the partisan setting were flipped, they reinforce the contempt Americans feel towards them as a class. The dispute over whether to hold hearings for and/or to confirm Merrick Garland is a case in point. Manchin wants a vote but hasn’t taken a stance on Garland.
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“As Chairman Grassley and I declared weeks ago, and reiterated personally to President Obama, the Senate will continue to observe the Biden Rule so that the American people have a voice in this momentous decision”, McConnell said.
A Kansas senator’s comments expressing support for Senate consideration of President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick have angered conservatives and underscored the passion the issue stirs in both parties’ activists.
Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, which has led the conservative response to the Scalia vacancy, said in a statement Thursday that Moran “owes it to the voters of Kansas to let them decide who the next Supreme Court Justice is through their votes for president this November”.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell coined the phrase “Biden Rule”, referring to a speech Biden made in 1992 about the potential of considering a Supreme Court justice nominated by George H.W. Bush in that election year.
“Constitutional text, structure and history – all of those factors suggest that the Senate may well lack the constitutional power to delegate the current president’s Supreme Court appointment powers to an unknown successor – or to anyone else, for that matter”, said Kar, also a professor of philosophy.
Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas is facing a backlash from two conservative groups for his call this week for the Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
“They completely ignore the fact at the time I was speaking of the time of the dangers of nominating an extreme candidate without proper senate consultation”, Biden said on Thursday.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, meanwhile, launched a new round of web ads as part of its “Party of Trump” messaging operation tying a blockade of Garland to the Republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump. Among the 32 Republican “yes” votes: then-Sen.
Earlier this week, another GOP senator, Sen.
As the Obama White House and allied Democratic groups are organizing to pressure Republicans – especially vulnerable incumbents such as Kirk – about 15 Senate Republicans have agreed to meet with Garland.
Don Stewart, McConnell’s spokesman, dismissed the vice president’s speech as “an attempt to clean up” his past statements on the Supreme Court. Other Republicans have expressed a willingness to meet with him, but have not yet scheduled anything.
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During his time on the committee, every nominee got a hearing and a floor vote, Biden said. “Your whole job is to either say yes or no and explain why”, he added. Court analysts say that Garland would likely push the court to more liberal rulings on a variety of issues.
