The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted 12-0 to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the full floor for a Monday vote. Today's tally was unanimous because Democrats boycotted the proceeding, leaving portraits of Americans covered by the 'Affordable' Care Act in their stead (the likelihood of the Court voting to strike down the ACA in an upcoming case is extremely low, but fear-mongering about that outcome has been the Democrats' preferred posture throughout this battle). In case you missed it, here is the denouement this morning's events:
JUST IN: Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously votes on nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 12-0, as committee Democrats boycotted the roll call. https://t.co/N7iWPeQZnX pic.twitter.com/jSssZuTl5Y
— ABC News (@ABC) October 22, 2020
Schumer claimed that Democrats refused to participate in 'the hearing,' but that's inaccurate. They all participated in the hearing. They got their screen time. They skipped the vote because they knew they were doomed to lose -- and did so even after multiple Democrats on the panel had praised either Judge Barrett or the fairness and professionalism of Chairman Graham. This was a tantrum for show, nothing more. One talking point that zoomed around lefty social media was that the Republicans "broke the rules" to complete this vote, feeding into the dangerous and inaccurate "illegitimate" narrative they've been trying to foster. The reality:
Plus, no one objected to absence of quorum, so any objection was waived. (Senate routinely operates on that basis.) https://t.co/OkXrFFX2eG
— Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) October 22, 2020
In summary:
Majority of the committee
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 22, 2020
Majority of the Senate
Majority of the public
Constitutionally sound
In alignment with historical norms
Fully legitimate & deserved https://t.co/vVrU9b2kFw https://t.co/JlpSxix2eb
Confirm her. On Monday, they will. The only real remaining drama is whether Barrett will receive 51, 52, or maybe 53 votes. It's over. The opposition's arguments have all fizzled, and the public has rejected them. Speaking of fizzling, here's Joe Biden's new court-packing 'stance:'
Biden punts on court-packing to 60 Minutes: "If elected ... I'll put together a national commission ... [and] ask them in 180 days to come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it's getting out of whack, the way in which it’s being handled."
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) October 22, 2020
A classic DC, do-nothing maneuver. I tend to agree with Noah Rothman that this is Biden's method of killing an idea by "studying the issue." For what it's worth, I've heard that in addition to being unpopular nationally, it's polling very poorly for battleground Democrats. Then again, I put nothing past that party on this front, and opponents of court-packing must remain vigilant at every turn, even if the would-be commission turns out to be a meaningless show process. Also, nothing is "getting out of whack," except from a sore loser perspective. Republicans' aggressive filling of vacancies over the last four years has been achieved through focused determination and leveraging a previous unprecedented Democratic power grab, which, in turn, was executed to punish Republicans for taking advantage of the unprecedented Democratic power grab before that. Here's my piece reviewing and chronicling the relevant history. I'll leave you with Sen. Mike Lee calling it out during today's session. Too bad the Democrats weren't sitting there to hear it:
Sen. Mike Lee slams Senate Democrats: “When it comes to the Judiciary, abuse of power is their agenda.”
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 22, 2020
Remember the people Dems slandered and destroyed for political reasons:
Robert Bork
Clarence Thomas
Miguel Estrada
Samuel Alito
Brett Kavanaughpic.twitter.com/QtnVvL3cxv
His full remarks -- HERE -- are absolutely invaluable and worth your time, especially (2:05 through 13:20).
UPDATE - I debated these issues, somewhat pointedly, on Fox earlier: