McConnell: "Highly Unlikely" We Would Filibuster Obama's SCOTUS Pick

On Fox News Sunday yesterday, Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell demonstrated yet again that the GOP has no competent or cohesive strategy to deal with Obama's Supreme Court nominee.

MCCONNELL: The president and vice president and Leahy and Reid had all filibustered Justice Alito. We had a big debate about that around the time that you just pointed out on the screen. And unfortunately, the no filibuster ever on judges position lost. That was my position and the position of Senate Republicans but Democrats established that that is a possibility.

It's highly unlikely, however, unless the nominee is an extraordinary individual outside the mainstream with really bizarre views, but now that the Democrats have established that as a precedent, against my better judgment, that is the precedent of the Senate and remains a possibility.

WALLACE: But you are putting it out as a pretty remote and pretty extraordinary circumstance.

MCCONNELL: Yeah, I never filibustered a Supreme Court nominee. The vice president and Senator Reid have. So far I've never done that. It would take an unusual nominee to justify that.

Way to preemptively disarm yourself, dummy. You're supposed to make the other guy call your bluff!

This goes right back to my complaints about Senator John "Hide Under His Desk From the Scary Latina" Cornyn's failed strategy with then-Judge Sotomayor. Her extensive history of race- and gender-bias should have been an obvious and easy disqualification for any judgeship, not least the highest judgeship in the country and the blogosphere had already done all the heavy lifting digging up her history. But Cornyn and the Senate GOP wavered and fretted and wrung their hands and today Justice Sotomayor is making empathy-based decisions that will bind Americans for generations.

Will the Senate GOP do any better this time around? Maybe they're ready to go to the mattresses if Obama decides on someone other than "safe picks" Kagan or Wood. But I doubt it. McConnell obviously didn't learn anything from last year's failure. He just wants to preen and prance for not filibustering anyone yet.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 11:34 AM

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