The Editorial Board of USA Today released a statement that, while not glowing, did recommend Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
One way or another, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated Sunday, Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed this week to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.
Democrats have good reason to be outraged by the Republicans’ rush to confirm President Trump’s nominee. The vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February 2016, nearly nine months before the election, was rightfully President Obama’s to fill, and Obama nominated a judge — Merrick Garland — with sterling credentials and moderate views.
Yet the Republican-controlled Senate let the Garland nomination die after 293 days, without a vote or even a hearing. No wonder many Democrats are thirsting for payback.
The fact is, however, that elections have consequences, and McConnell’s cynical gambit paid off. Trump won. Republicans held the Senate. Even if Democrats filibuster, McConnell is prepared to change Senate rules and leave the Democrats unable to block Gorsuch, who deserves to be evaluated on his own merits.
By traditional measures, Gorsuch is a reasonable heir to the seat held by Scalia, an iconic “originalist” who interpreted the Constitution’s words in the way they were understood by the Founders. Importantly, Gorsuch’s confirmation would leave the ideological balance on the court roughly where it was before Scalia’s death.