"Lindsey Graham tries, fails to justify breaking his word"

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/lindsey-graham-tries-fails-justify-breaking-his-word-n1240605


With six months remaining before the 2016 presidential election, Senate Republicans refused to even consider President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, even after some GOP senators had recommended him as a consensus choice. "Let the people decide," the party argued, incessantly, as a way to justify its unprecedented blockade.

With six weeks remaining before the 2020 presidential election, Senate Republicans are brazenly abandoning their purported principles, expressing indifference to their disinterest in honor and integrity. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for example, wrote an op-ed in 2016, defending deeply-held beliefs that he's conveniently thrown in the trash.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) went so far as to argue in 2016 that a Supreme Court confirmation process during an election would imperil "the very health of our republic." Now, the North Carolina Republican not only disagrees with his own principles, he's vowed to vote for Donald Trump's nominee -- before even learning whom the president may choose.

But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is in an ignominious league of his own.

When Senate Republicans refused to even hold a hearing on Obama-nominee Judge Merrick Garland, Graham said it was too close to the election even though at the time of late Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February it was roughly nine months away. “I want you to use my words against me,” Graham said at the time. “If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.” He has since reissued that promise several times over. In 2018, he said that following a potential seat vacancy in the final year of Trump’s term the Senate would “wait to the next election.”

And yet, despite these commitments, Graham is breaking his wordfor

*snip*

[Lucinda]

1. He is such a fool. Whatever they have on him WILL come out anyway

because they hate weaklings they can blackmail.

[MoonlitKnight]

2. They only obstruct black presidents

[Maraya1969]

3. Are you allowed bullhorns in the Senate building? Because I think these comments by all of them

need to be repeated repeatedly and loudly. If not with a bullhorn in the senate building definitely outside while they are going in. And I think we should protest so loudly that we create a disruption

[Rhiannon12866]

4. This was also the subject of Stephen Colbert's Opening tonight:

Lindsey Graham's Words Used Against Him

If there is one thing known about Sen. Lindsey Graham, it is that he's a man of his word.

[Chainfire]

5. Graham is a Republican political leader

He is not hampered by truth or honor.

[chriscan64]

6. The problem with the rules is that they assume Senators will be honorable.

I was just doing a google search for the actual rules, it just boils down to the Senate makes the rules. Their justifications in 2016 were not necessary, they were just too cowardly to do what they wanted without them. They could have just voted no on nominee after nominee and ran out the clock, they went with brazenly refusing to start the process instead. It was a bold step done in a chicken-shit way.

This year they want that Justice more than avoiding being called hypocrites and liars though they will attempt the mental gymnastics to explain it away.

[Baclava]

7. Graham "Republicans have the votes to confirm Trump S.C. nominee before election"

Political expediency is all that matters, forget the past, its just words, ayep

[Bettie]

9. And to me, that sounds like

the unspoken part is: "and then, the court will ensure that the entire election is given to Republicans, regardless of the result of the vote".

[Baclava]

10. Or they know they could lose presidency AND Senate, last chance, get SC pick done before election

[Bettie]

11. That's actually a best-case scenario

provided that our side has the will to make some changes to the court.

Frankly, limiting the terms and increasing it would make it work better overall and make it less possible for either side to manipulate it. It might actually become a judicial instead of a political body.

[Baclava]

12. Romney just came out and said he'd vote yes for a floor vote, its happening

[Bettie]

13. So, now we need to hope that

our side is willing to do what needs to be done.

Otherwise, anyone who isn't white, male, Christian, and really rich, is utterly fucked.

[Baclava]

15. There is nothing "to do" if they have the Senate votes, to do it before the election is the ???

[Bettie]

16. Not before the election, after

changing the court, adding seats; perhaps introducing terms instead of lifetime appointments.

I hope that they have the backbone to do it, but I am not holding my breath.

[Baclava]

17. Oh i think they intend to ram it through quick, too many variables after, when Trump loses, lol

[Bettie]

18. I also suspect that they expect

the court to give the election to Trump afterward, regardless of how the election went.

Just a "it would damage him not to be president, so we award the presidency to that orange man"....I can see them doing that, already planning it.

[Baclava]

19. There will be no vote recount for the court to consider, Trump will lose in a landslide!

Thats why they know they will only have one chance at this

[Bettie]

20. I expect him to file a lawsuit anyway

alleging massive fraud with no evidence to back it up, just bloviating and screaming about his rights.

And I expect that the conservatives on the court will choose to take it up. Roberts will vote against him, but the other "conservatives" will eagerly appoint him.

Remember, nothing works as it should anymore, there are no laws, no norms, nothing that the Republican party won't ignore or destroy.

(Note: Today I am having a very dark day, I might be more optimistic tomorrow or in a few days)

[Mariana]

8. They'll do exactly what they think will get them the most votes.

If they think the majority of the voters in their states want them to just rubber-stamp anything Trump proposes, that's exactly what they will do.

[andym]

14. Our call during this election should include "Bring integrity back to the nation"

I hope Biden and our Senate candidates use it.