Thread by @BJS_quire

SHORT THREAD: With @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell's second straight day of ranting from the Senate floor, a quick note on the depth of hypocrisy he displays.

I'm not talking about his complaints of delay after he blocked Garland for, well, forever. There's something deeper.

1/

It is related to Garland, but not how you think.

Why did they block Garland? The most common refrain was that it would be improper to permit a liberal President from filling Scalia's seat, with a dash and sprinkle of "balance of the court" sanctity BS.

2/

Let's be clear. When a Justice retires or dies... that's it. There is no posterity for the chair in which they sat, there's no "balance of the Court" consideration, & the arguments advanced in this regard at the time were the most hypocritical aspect of it all.

Why?

3/

Because when Justice Thurgood Marshall, the "Lion of the Law," a civil rights icon, left his seat, George Bush thought it more important to replace Marshall with someone who shared his melanin-level than his judicial philosophy.

He gave his seat to Clarence Thomas.

4/

Clarence Thomas. A man who LITERALLY could not be any more different than Marshall in his jurisprudence, beliefs, or philosophy. That is with whom (R)s replaced Marshall.

Where were the concerns of preserving the "balance of the Court" then?

5/

The hypocrisy of stalling Scalia's seat was astounding in this regard. But the problem, as artfully pointed out by many better-written tweeters than me, is that most (D)s didn't think to point out this hypocrisy when it occurred.

Why?

6/

Because, as a collective and from the leadership, (D)s suffer from short-term memory deficiencies that (R)s do not.

As one put it yesterday, "R's are still bitching about the Carter admin, and D's have already forgotten the Iraq War."

7/

And we need to pay attention to this particular hypocrisy. As awful as it is to imagine, someday, Justice Ginsburg will pass. When she does, if during an (R) admin, listen carefully for those "preserve the balance of the Court" arguments from the Right.

8/

SPOILER ALERT: you won't hear them. They will surely have no qualms about replacing in in the manner they did Marshall, not the manner they insisted upon for Scalia.

When that time comes, it will be critical to not let the hypocrisy slide, so be armed with facts.

9/

POST-SCRIPT:

Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, don't die, Madame Justice. Like... please.