But otherwise the US is still a constitutional democracy.
Surprising no one, McConnell’s reason for not even holding a vote on Merrick Garland was simply a pretext.
Democrats shouldn’t hesitate to reform the SCOTUS the next time they can.
The Biden Rule! The Biden Rule! Oh never mind.
McConnell said at the time that whoever was elected in 2016 should get to choose the justice to fill the late Antonin Scalia’s seat in an unprecedented move that planted deep-seated and lingering fury in Democrats of all stripes.
Yeah, the fury runs so deep they set loose Jerry Nadler on the GOP. Word is he has them sleeping fitfully at night, one eye open, fearing the next domino to fall. Verily.Well, yeah, but that’s different.
Because: reasons.
I’m no longer so sure about that. LowBarr (he of Opus Dei a.k.a. “the ends justify the means” – a.k.a. “lie until you get what you want” brotherhood) may well have changed all that. We haven’t seen much of him, which means he is up to no good (rumor has it he is busy quashing Mueller spin-off investigations to obstruct justice from the top of the DOG).
I have to go look at photos of puppies and kittens now or I will have an infarction… 
It’s pretty sad when your first reaction to a statement by the President of the United States is, “Do not feed the troll.”
Just another throwaway answer that doesn’t matter to Trump. He doesn’t care about anything except his brand, which in his mind is best fed and fostered by appearing to be strong in wielding all the power that he can. A kid in a sandbox kicking sand at others. It’s instinctual and he intuitively knows this answer is great for headlines and stirring things up, helping his brand.
Why even ask Trump questions about such things when we already know the answer??
How completely unsurprising. As always, the rules are different for Republicans. Please vote these cheaters out at the earliest possible opportunity.
It wasn’t a pretext, it was a flat-out lie.
Harbinger of the coming reign of deception and cheating.
Look, the norms have been dropped and now anything goes. The Democrats need to accept that fact and play by those rules. As soon as the Democrats control the House, Senate and Presidency at the same time (hopefully in 2020) then they need to increase the number of Justices on the Court. They can start with increasing from 9 to 11. This will undo all of Trump/McConnell’s court packing in one fell swoop.
A prime example of IOKIYAR.
No one is surprised, but here’s the thing: power has consequences. McConnell is in charge of all of this and no one is voting him out of office that resides on this board. I keep hearing how the people of KY hate him with the fire of a thousand nuns, but he keeps winning elections in that State. So they don’t hate him that much and that’s a problem that will continue.
The historians will look back on this obstruction by McConnell as one of the most egregious political acts ever.
“Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) blocking Merrick Garland’s nomination to the supreme court”
Yes, we know the answer will be “you’re fat” or “hey stupid” or “Space Force” or “clean coal” or “tariffs” or “cofeve” or “sanctions” - whatever comes to mind as he’s dropping the Browns off at the golden pool…
Fuck Trump. Fuck McConnell. They are a disgrace.
Don’t forget the part that he did this without holding so much as a hearing. It’s ok to block a nomination, but to make the decision unilaterally that the guy won’t even get a hearing is the big deal here. Rejected out of hand without so much as a vote or a hearing.
We would not be in the hell hole we are today if not for Mitch McConnell. If anyone should be charged with obstruction of justice, he should. He’s the one with his foot on the neck of the country. I sincerely hope that his actions will finally have reactions that ruin every last thing he holds dear.
I do not like that he has gotten away with so much evil for so long and nothing ever happens to him that puts a stop to it. I’m really, really over that. Hard to say at this point if he’ll get reelected, but I hope not. We’ve all put up with his shit for over 30 years and that’s far too long.
Great Post
We are going to have an Impeachment Inquiry.in the near future. Trump probably knows that. In the meantime, both he and McConnell are doing what they do best.
Trump: Using the Roy Cohn Playbook to project power in the minds of the weak
McConnell: Doing evil and keeping out of sight
No worries. The Democratic Party and the main stream media, in a stunningly cogent and effective manner, will use this grotesque piece of malignant bad faith to sum up the unconstitutional, perfidious and just plain cheating nastiness of this administration. The vast majority of the nation will then unite to call for impeachment.
Sigh. Can you even imagine being in this hellhole with any other presidency?