Both parties deserve blame for worsening the judicial confirmation process. One of the few times its accurate to say both sides. But do you really think McConnell would've let Dems block Gorsuch indefinitely if only Reid had let GOP block lower court judges indefinitely? Come onhttps://twitter.com/varadmehta/status/1036657529445670913 …
I'm very skeptical of the argument that McConnell was constrained by precedent and would have accepted a Democratic minority blocking a Supreme Court justice he liked in the name of precedent, because he broke precedent on judicial noms in the recent past. Better?
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Much better. I agree with your geberal point. It's not really a McConnell specific issue. He and Reid, now Schumer, have eroded the process in innumerable ways. They're all culpable to some degree.
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Good, glad I could clarify. Twitter privileges brevity over nuance.
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BTW, here's a good example of "had no choice"-type rhetoric (from someone I respect). Dems "forced Rs to finish the work Harry Reid started." It was a choice. If you like it, defend on the merits. Insisting it was forced upon them abdicates responsibility.https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/1036977314360373248 …
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Nope. There's no unilateral disarmament. Dems don't get to ram their judges through and then expect Rs to surrender. So it's correct to say no choice. Rs play the same game as Dems, and now Dems are mega butthurt about it.
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Doesn't that mean Dems had no choice when Rs blocked every lower court nominee? To be clear, I'm disputing a single point of yours: Marking the start of this cycle at Nov 2013. As if that was an actual choice, while escalations that came after aren't.
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It goes back to the late 80s.
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Yes. And each escalation is a choice.
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Each escalation is also functionally a signal that the other side is trying to ice you out. It's how the parties communicate. You don't stand back and say "let's compromise" with a guy who just, from your perspective, stole your lunch ands is geared up to do it again.
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