re: #35 HappyWarrior

I mean it’s not even that they think Judge Garland is a bad pick. They don’t want Obama to be able to choose and say pretty much as much because they don’t like him. I am sure a lot of people in the Senate didn’t like John Adams in 1800 either and yet after he had lost the election, he still got to pick John Marshall, perhaps one of the most brilliant and important Supreme Court justices ever.

It’s, frankly, an insane strategy. They have to know that their chances at the WH are slim-to-none at this point, and who fucking knows what kind of whackjob Trump might nominate. They are just hugely unlikely to have the chance to replace Scalia with an equally reactionary pick. Basing your strategy around that idea is ludicrous. When weighted probabilistically, it’s a huge downside for a tiny upside.

Their best bet, in a cold political sense, is to solidify the Senate so they can continue to block Clinton as they have Obama. This would mean a rapid confirmation of a centrist SC pick. Obama has offered them an olive branch, a real chance for the GOP to save face. Instead, as usual, they will light their faces on fire. No voter is going to sit out the election because the GOP actually did its job. The only ones who might are too stupid to be following things this far in advance in the first place.

Republicans just really aren’t very smart.