Thread by @MikeSacksEsq

"The American people deserve nine justices on the Supreme Court." - Vice President Mike Pence, standing beside Judge Amy Coney Barrett, in the presence of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

In 2016, McConnell blockaded Obama's nomination of Judge Garland, turning SCOTUS into a de facto 8-justice court, with Ted Cruz and John McCain flirting with making it permanent (and shrinking) under a President Clinton, all while Dems ran their futile #WeNeedNine campaign

Sen. Cruz, with Judge Barrett sitting beside him, says her fast confirmation is necessary to prevent a 4-4 SCOTUS split on any election-related legal dispute.

"This is not about any particular candidate, this is about having a Supreme Court that will follow the law," Cruz said.

McConnell now calling Chicken Little on Dem attacks on Barrett re: Roe, citing similar liberal attacks on John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter.

But it's because of JPS/AMK/DHS's betrayals that conservatives ensured any future nom, like Barrett, would be a Roe foe

1) Scalia had 9 kids and twice voted to strike down ACA in its entirety
2) McConnell also said Barrett's earlier ACA opposition was to the individual mandate, and that's irrelevant to the current challenge, which revolves around the mandate's elimination

But remember: Scalia/Kennedy/Thomas/Alito all said the entire ACA must fall because the mandate was inseverable from the provisions guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions. TX's suit now says because the mandate can no longer be justified as a tax, everything must fall.

They're counting on the votes of Thomas and Alito, and expecting Gorsuch and Kavanaugh will share the determinations their successors made.

It's not a far step from there to think Barrett, a Scalia clerk who shares his ideology/methodology, would be the 5th vote to fell the ACA