Confirming Amy Coney Barrett Before the Election is Risky
September 26, 2020 5:11pm
My radio program this morning was about the risks of the Republicans confirming President Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election. We didn't know who it would be when I was on the air. But now we know it's Amy Coney Barrett.
The points made this morning are still valid, so if you'd like to hear them, the show is now available online as a podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/200926
Democrats are crying and complaining that when we had the same circumstances of a Supreme Court justice's death in the election year of 2016, Republicans refused to consider the nominee in the Senate. But that's false! WE DID NOT HAVE THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES.
The President and the Senate majority were of different parties. And that makes a huge difference both politically and historically.
Throughout our nation's history, we've had 29 Supreme Court vacancies occur in an election year. Of those 29 times, the sitting president made an appointment 29 times. That's 100% of the time. But how many times was the nominee confirmed?
Well, that depended upon the political parties. Of the 19 times the President and Senate majority were of the same party, 17 were confirmed (89%). Of the 10 times the President and Senate majority were of different parties, only 2 were confirmed (20%).
So this partisan bickering over the Supreme Court is nothing new. If the Democrats had a majority in the Senate on 2016, Barack Obama's appointment would certainly have been confirmed. History says there was an 89% chance, but modern day reality makes it 100%, especially if Harry Reid or Chuck Schumer had been in charge. And the Republicans would have cried and complained about it.
Regarding those serving in office today, the American people voted for a Republican president and a Republican majority in the Senate. In other words, President Trump's appointment and a Senate confirmation of that appointment is perfectly constitutional. But as usual, the Democrats loathe our Constitution when it impedes their agenda. And because the media supports the Democrats' agenda, they amplify the complaints about Republican hypocrisy without telling the other side that it's not really hypocrisy; it's politics. And it's nothing new.
One final thought: The confirmation fight in the Senate will be "Ruthless" - just like the Supreme Court now is.