Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:54 pm
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is feeling the heat from his refusal to do his job, telling delegates that he is facing a “severe” campaign for re-election. Grassley has decided – out of nowhere and for no legitimate reason – to block President Obama’s nominee Judge Merrick Garland. Grassley won’t even hold a hearing, let alone a vote.
Voters have not been impressed . Editorials have raked Grassley over the goals for his unprecedented obstruction. The Senator is feeling the heat.
“Sen. Chuck Grassley told delegates at the 4th Congressional District convention Saturday that he’s facing a “severe” campaign for re-election,” reported Kathie Obradovich in the Desmoines Register.
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Grassley begged and implored room full of delegates to help him win re-election (so he can keep on not doing his job?). The delegates seemed really pleased with Grassley’s refusal to work, applauding his justification for his blockade, which a totally not-defensive Grassley spent the majority of his convention trying to explain and excuse.
Last week Senator Harry Reid (D-VD) humiliated Grassley after Grassley tried to blame Chief Justice John Roberts for the politicization of the Supreme Court. Reid pointed out that Grassley had turned the Senate Judiciary Committee into a political arm of the Republican Party, so if anyone was politicizing the courts, it is Grassley.
The reason the delegates like what Grassley is doing is because the modern day Republican party doesn’t care about order, law, process, or respect. If they did, this would be embarrassing and troubling beyond belief. Instead it seems to energize the hardcore Republicans. This is the party of Trump. Fragile, easily hurt, thin-skinned egos reign supreme.
Republicans just want to win against Obama so badly they don’t care if they are breaking down the system of checks and balances. Constitution? Meh. Must win… Even if “winning” is destroying the U.S. system of government just to deny a very moderate nominee to the Court out of spite and revenge because President Obama won another election by nearly five million votes.
On April 7th, Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, updated the Senate ratings to show that 6 seats had titled away from Republicans. Senator Chuck Grassley was on the list. His seat went from “safe Republican” to “lean Republican” in the wake of his Obama SCOTUS blockade, which has confused and angered his constituents.
Grassley keeps repeating the absurdly silly talking points given to him by special interests and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying he will let the next President decide in order to give the people a vote. But the people already voted and they picked President Obama.
This is so inexcusable it is making a mockery of Grassley’s long standing in the Senate, and his up until now record a Republican would be very proud of. Even if Grassley wins re-election, he won’t shed this shame. He will go down in history as changing the rules of the Supreme Court nomination process for partisan political purposes so rank that even the mainstream press is disgusted.
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