Senate Republicans are awful. No-good, really-terrible, left-their-morals-if-they-ever-had-them-at-the-door bad.
From the time they won a majority in 2014, Senate Republicans made a point of blocking almost all Obama judicial nominees. In doing so, they exacerbated judicial emergencies, a.k.a. critical vacancies, causing tremendous slowdowns, delaying justice for untold thousands. Then, they stole Judge Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court seat.
Since January 2017, Republicans have been using all means necessary, no matter how despicable, to force through an unprecedented number of unprecedentedly unqualified judges, suppressing any in their ranks willing to admit their picks range from bigoted to incompetent. Now, with George Will’s help, they’re trying to rewrite history to make themselves both victim and rightful victor.
Jonathan Chait in New York magazine helpfully summarized (and savaged) a column Will wrote in the Washington Post on Wednesday accusing Obama of court-packing:
So the history, as described by Will today, is:
1. Obama enlarged the D.C. Circuit Court, to create more seats he could fill with his nominees
2. Republicans retaliated by filibustering his judicial nominees
3. Senate Democrats changed the rules to eliminate the filibuster of Court nominees, except for the Supreme Court
4. McConnell eliminated the exception for filibustering the Supreme Court
Walking through Will’s four points:
- Obama nominated judges to fill vacancies so the judicial system could function. Which is a thing presidents are supposed to do.
- Republicans refused to do the job they’re supposed to do—consider judicial nominees and vote on them—at the expense of parties to lawsuits in federal court, the judges picking up the slack, and democratic norms.
- Democrats in the Senate had to choose between letting Republicans derail the process and eliminating the filibuster. But for Republicans refusing to do their jobs altogether, Democrats would never have touched the filibuster rule.
- When faced with the Supreme Court version of the rule he pilloried Democrats for changing, McConnell didn’t blink at eliminating the final judicial filibuster rule.
George Will should either correct or retract his column. The truth’s awful, but lying about it only compounds the sin.