Even after Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, the Senate's Republican leadership has not eased up on its siege of the Supreme Court—not remotely. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has become an "unlikely hero of the right" for sticking with his absolutist "no meetings, no hearings, no vote" stance, all in an effort to avoid a John Boehner-like fate. Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley, meanwhile, has been keeping details of his campaign appearances from the public in order to avoid protestors—and difficult questions—as he seeks re-election. The GOP is hunkered down, and it's not budging.
That's why it's up to us to make them budge—if not this year, then next. As long as we hold the White House, Democrats need just four seats to take back the Senate. If we can make that happen, then the next president can fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court no matter how hard Republicans whine.
It's a goal we can achieve, but it'll require a lot of hard work. That's nothing new for the Daily Kos community, though. We've already endorsed a broad slate of Democrats running for the Senate nationwide, and you've responded with tremendous enthusiasm: Since launching our campaign to win the Senate late last month, you've made 33,219 separate donations to our roster of seven candidates, totaling over $211,030.
That's huge, but now we're going even bigger, with two new endorsements:
- Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who's taking aim at GOP Sen. Rob Portman
- Former state House Majority Whip Deborah Ross of North Carolina, who wants to unseat Republican Sen. Richard Burr
So please, if you can, contribute $3 to help Democrats turn the Senate blue and lift the Republican blockade of the Supreme Court.
Polls have shown a very tight race in Ohio, but Portman is a crafty campaigner who has an astounding $13 million war chest. Burr is also well-financed, with more than $5 million in the bank, but PPP's last survey had him up just 40-35 on Ross, a sign that this race is already a lot more competitive than many had expected.
But we're still seven months away from Election Day, and we've already seen just how desperately the GOP is prepared to fight to keep Antonin Scalia's seat empty. Imagine how much harder they'll battle to keep their hold on the Senate. They're going to spend every penny they've got—and they've got a damn lot of 'em—to prevent the Supreme Court from becoming more liberal. It's up to us to make sure our side has the resources it needs to compete.