Kansas Senator Jerry Moran is the latest Republican to call bullshit on his party’s opposition to Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. Leaving Mitch McConnell hanging as pendulously as the Senate Majority Leader’s infamous dewlap, Moran declared that he would rather have constituents “complaining to [him] that [he] voted wrong on nominating somebody than saying [he’s] not doing [his] job,” according to the Garden City Telegram.
Moran joins two other Republican senators, Mark Kirk (Illinois) and Susan Collins (Maine) in decrying the GOP strategy. Together, they’re calling for Senate leadership to at least hold hearings regarding the replacement of arch-conservative Antonin Scalia, who died in February. Before the warmth had left the late justice’s bones, McConnell and the majority of Republican senators declared their refusal to consider any nominee put forward by President Obama.
Obama responded with the nomination of Merrick Garland, a moderate who was confirmed to the D.C. Court of Appeals with bipartisan support, including public praise from some of the same Republicans who oppose his confirmation now.
Moran’s statements contradict McConnell’s argument that voting on a nominee during an election season would somehow negate the will of voters. Despite there being nearly a year left in the current presidential term, McConnell insists that Obama defer to the people’s choice for 2017, leaving the highest judicial authority in the land short a justice on alleged “principle.”
That that principle is the vague hope of a Republican victory in November—rather than any commitment to the popular will—remains unsaid except by the likes of Moran. Claiming that he’s “never shown up to a job before saying we’re not going to work,” Moran apparently believes that the will of the people was adequately accounted for when the current president and Senate were elected. The mendacity of Senate Republicans who claim otherwise is growing harder and harder to ignore.
Featured image by Matt Wade, available under an Attribution Share-alike 2.0 Generic license.
