All 52 Republican senators just voted with Trump and McConnell to end the filibuster. What would their previous selves say about that? Let's ask six of them.
John McCain, 11/15/14: “Some people are saying, 'Well, now that we're in the majority, let's make sure it's only 51 votes’… I don't think that's justification and, second of all, no party is in the majority forever. I fought it back when it was a Republican attempt (to dismantle the filibuster) and I fought it back when it was a Democratic attempt.”
Susan “Not a Moderate” Collins, 11/21/13: “I have consistently worked to protect the rights of the minority whether I was serving in the minority or the majority... [The nuclear option] will fundamentally change the Senate. It will only produce further partisanship and discourage efforts to forge consensus on the many difficult issues facing our nation." [This was an update — thanks to commenter inclusiveheart for tracking down this quote!]
Orin Hatch, 11/16/16: “’Are you kidding?’ he said with some vehemence. ‘I’m one of the biggest advocates for the filibuster. It’s the only way to protect the minority, and we’ve been in the minority a lot more than we’ve been in the majority. It’s just a great, great protection for the minority.’
Lindsay Graham, 11/15/16: “That’s a horrible, terrible idea.”
Lisa Murkowski, 2/20/14: “It may only be a matter of time before this Senate majority ends the right to filibuster legislation all together. Think about what that might mean for us trying to keep ANWR from permanent wilderness status… All of this undermines fundamental constitutional principles… These changes are not good for Alaska, they're not good for the Senate and they are not good for the country."
Jeff Flake, 12/2/16: “We won't always be in the majority and, if you like limited government, I think the filibuster is wise.”
(I’m sure there are many more — who did I miss?)
Democrats could have avoided filibustering Gorsuch to filibuster the next nominee instead, but do we really think these hypocritical Republican senators would have responded any differently then? Why would they treat one GOP SCOTUS nominee differently than the next? And what’s the point of preserving the filibuster if you’re never allowed to use it—what are you preserving it for?
I am proud of the Senate Democrats today. We cannot have a system where one party is allowed to pick Supreme Court justices when it has a president in power but the other party is not. All that the Democrats did was play by the new rules that McConnell set last year with Merrick Garland.
McConnell did not have to respond the way he did today; it was his decision to do so, not the Democrats’, and the blame rests solely with him and with the senators in his caucus whose hypocrisy was exposed yet again with this vote.
Edit: I’ve also posted this story on Medium, if you’d like to give it a rec there, too. Thanks!