Let me ask you, do you think politicians are elected so that they can vote for things in order to please the other party? If Obama decided to eliminate all laws designed to restrict gun ownership would his voters be pleased?
McConnell wrote that changing the ideological nature of the court was a legitimate act of the presidency and the Senate should not consider the ideological nature of a nominee when acting in their role to advise and consent. [source][source]
Now I understand that most people would consider Biden to be a hundred times the (former) legislator that McConnell could ever dream of being but I’m surprised that Mitch feels that way himself to the point that he think Biden’s ideas are more fundamental to the senate than his own.
Yes.
I don’t want to live in a world run entirely by Democrats, nor a world run entirely by Republicans.
Not a Republican, but I expect elected leaders to compromise and be practical. When Bush nominated Roberts, I thought he was a very good pick, even though I wouldn’t expect a Democrat to have nominated him. On Alito, I didn’t really think that was a good pick, but he seemed pretty qualified. If I were a Democratic senator, I probably would have voted to confirm.
What I would not do is have thrown a temper tantrum and make speeches about not confirming any justice until some unreasonable demand is met.
I expect them to be adults. I expect them to support things that they supported in the past because its a good idea, not flip flop and pretend they hate it because they don’t like the president. I’m a Democrat and I would want my representatives to support things even if the other party does, because to me that means they have seen the light on what is a good policy.
I want the GOP leadership and Mitch McConnell to say this:
“We believe that health care is an important requirement of a fair and prosperous nation to provide for its people. We have supported a health care mandate in the past, we will continue to do so now. That President Obama has come around on health care shows just how good the idea was and continue to be. Obamacare is a great program that ensures that Americans can work and live and play without worrying that their next illness will make them homeless. America is stronger when Americans are healthier and happier. Unfortunately it took a Democratic president to pass this, but the idea still belongs to the Republicans. Its too bad past presidents have played politics with the lives of Americans.”
And on the SCOTUS, I want them to admit the following:
“We cannot have a vacancy in the highest court in the land when so many important cases are being decided. Obama is the president of the United States and granted the power by the Founding Fathers themselves to nominate a qualified candidate. Just as the Senate is duty-bound to vet the nominees, so must the current president, whoever he is and whatever party he belongs to, be allowed fair hearings on his nominees for the SCOTUS or any federal judgeship positions. While we would have liked a more conservative candidate for the high court, we understand that the American people have chosen the president and their voice is echoed in Obama’s nominees.”
And then he and the entire GOP can all resign and fuck right the hell off.
If I wanted someone who would go along with the Democratic agenda I would have voted for a Democrat.
I hope the Republicans wait until after the elections to vote for the supreme court and if we win then vote down the nominee and if the Democrats win then approve the nomination. I would like anyone who votes for this nominee before then to leave the party.
Of course I’m the same way. I’m a Democrat and I want all Democrats to be in charge and have only liberal agendas done. But I would not like my Democratic Senators to hold up, or even threaten to hold up, a nominee for a whole fucking year. If the shoe was on the other foot, and Romney nominated someone after the death of RBG, I would hope and want my Democratic Senators to give Romney’s nominee a fair hearing. Similarly, if a hypothetical Democrat named LaCruz was trying to hold up the budget for the entire US because he wants the GOP president to concede on something, I’d tell him he’s a dumbass and to not jeopardize the credit rating of the US on something like that.
That seems to be the difference between Democrats and Republicans: we understand that elected officials are there to do a job, and to be adults about it, and that sometimes things won’t go your way. Throwing tantrums on the floor and whining like a baby is not a good thing. Unfortunately, the GOP seems to have codified that into their standard behavior
Do Republican voters actually like the behavior of their elected reps in Congress?
Considering the repeated congressional majorities in 2012 and 2014 and the succesful primarying (is that a word?) of normal conservatives by Tea Partyers, I think the answer is “yes”.
But that’s just as long as they believe those elected reps are fighting the good fight to “take our country back” from the alien socialist antichristian forces.
Do you believe elected representatives should ever compromise on their principles?