It’s so much fun to watch as Republicans prove just how incredibly craven and hypocritical they are when it comes to appointing justices to the United States Supreme Court.
One of the worst hypocrites is Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who appeared as a guest on CNN Monday morning and was asked about the fact that the GOP doesn’t have the 60 votes needed to confirm Donald Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, to the high court. Did that mean Senate Republicans would exercise the so-called “nuclear option” and only require a simple majority for confirmation? Hatch said it might, and then he added:
“They’re politicizing this whole process. This is a guy who is a mainstream conservative, which they hate, they don’t like that. And of course, they are still upset about my other friend, [Obama nominee] Merrick Garland. But the Republicans had every right to delay that within a presidential [election] year.”
That’s when host John Berman began pushing back on Hatch:
“But they look at you and say that’s a double standard. You call Judge Gorsuch one of the most qualified judges ever to be nominated. Almost everyone said the same thing about Merrick Garland, including you.
“So there seems to be a double standard where you’re saying, it was alright last year when we for political reasons halted the nomination of Merrick Garland. But it’s not okay this year when Democrats try to halt the nomination of Judge Gorsuch.”
From Hatch’s reaction, you would have thought Berman had just questioned his manhood. Hatch snapped:
“I’ll just tell you straight up, that’s total B.S. I can’t go back in time and show you any case where in a presidential election year they allowed a Supreme Court justice to be nominated unless both sides agreed. And both sides didn’t agree.
“It was every right of [Majority Leader Mitch McConnell] and Senate Republicans to say we’re not going to do this in a presidential year. And at that time, keep in mind, it looked as though Hillary [Clinton] was a sure winner and we would have gotten an even more liberal judge than that one.”
To further prove what a political hack and liar he is, Hatch then said:
“But that was a stand on principle. Not some new barbaric thing that some have tried to make it.”
A stand on principle? From a party whose only principles are lies, obstruction, and far right extremism? Don’t make us laugh, Senator!
Featured Image Via CNN Screengrab
