Votes trickling in from Dems but they’ve already hit the magic number for today. Final confirmation tomorrow.
Vote complete: 51-48 (at least one of the nays is expected to flip to aye tomorrow). Cloture invoked. ACB final confirmation vote now set up for 30 hours from now — so Monday evening.
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We will not stand for gaslighting and revisionism. Recall:
Bork ‘87
Thomas ‘91
Estrada, et al ‘01-‘05
Nuclear ‘13
Kavanaugh ‘18
These are the relevant, seismic events that brought us to this moment. Every single one represented a consequential Democratic escalation.
And don’t counter with ‘Merrick Garland.’ That withholding of Senate consent aligned w/ the clear historical norm under divided power in a presidential election year. Tonight’s confirmation vote does the same, under united control of the WH & Senate.
Dems’ victimhood narrative is 💯 false. They feel entitled to power. But they lost the relevant elections for three constructive cycles. No rules were violated, the constitution was followed & norms were maintained—including new standards imposed by Dems in previous power grabs.
Doing my job properly requires intellectual honesty, which sometimes entails saying things that I believe are true — even if they criticize ideological allies, and even if they risk angering part of my audience. With that said...
(1) The media has done a lot to crush trust and credibility, and I frequently talk about how and why that’s the case. But today isn’t on them. The shoddy WH clown show of obfuscation, misinformation & ‘clarification’ has been embarrassing and unacceptable...
(2) I still do not have confidence that we know the full and true story, or timeline of events. I still do not have confidence that we have a solid grasp on the president’s condition. We need precision, clarity and transparency...
Thread🧵 : Some people have challenged me over ACB & the courts, asking why I’m so supportive of a nomination that would ostensibly make it likelier that my own (same-sex) marriage would be invalidated. Short answer, among other factors...I am convinced that will not happen...
I think a (hypothetical) challenge to Obergefell would be an extreme long shot, for all sorts of reasons — standing, new equal protection issues for the many thousands of Americans in existing same-sex marriages, precedent & the justices’ prudential judgments...
I’ve spoken to a number of scholars and court-watchers I respect who’ve unanimously told me they believe the Court wouldn’t even take up such a challenge, and that if they somehow did, a (possibly sizable) majority would uphold Obergefell...
I respect David, but disagree w/ his conclusion. There is *zero* comparison between the GOP exercising clear constitutional prerogative, while adhering to strong historical norms/precedent...and Dems’ deeply radical threatened power grabs like *adding SCOTUS & Senate seats.*
Also, some of these proposed “bargains” I keep reading about are very strange to me — and I was a big Gang of 14 guy back in like ‘05. I like to find off-ramps and seriously consider reasonable compromises. I’ve been called a squish etc...
But “if you don’t fill a SCOTUS seat in a fully authorized & heavily precedented manner, we won’t...blow up multiple longstanding institutions with radical power grabs” isn’t a “deal.” It’s extortion...
NOW: Senate voting to proceed to a COVID relief package — which includes assistance for small businesses, unemployment benefits, safe reopening of schools, testing/tracing & a raft of other provisions.
Needs 60 votes to avoid filibuster & begin debate on the bill.
It’s shaping up to be a party line vote. Manchin, Jones, Sinema have all voted to filibuster COVID relief.
There’s the 41st vote. Senate Democrats have used the filibuster to block debate on a new COVID relief package. They recently did this on police reform, too.
(Reminder: They are openly discussing eliminating the tool they’re currently using if they gain power in November).
Analysis: Cuomo's DNC speech was obscene. Biden has now explicitly endorsed Cuomo's pandemic response (highest death toll, deadly mismanagement, active cover-up) as a model for the country. This is a real opening for Republicans to counterattack hard... townhall.com/tipsheet/guybe…
Trump has opened himself up to valid criticisms on COVID, handing Dems a "he failed, we'd have done better" narrative. But they've made the choice to celebrate Cuomo & New York, where incompetence and deadly policies allowed the virus to run its course & kill tens of thousands...
Cuomo has shamelessly leaned into this ghoulish gaslighting, with Joe Biden clapping along. His speech last night was stunning in its brazenness. Democrats are elevating the single worst COVID response in America (including *ongoing cooking of books*) as their 'success' story...