Obama isn’t playing politics. He’s working politics. Nominating a Supreme Court justice is his job, and he’s doing his job.
And I still can’t decide whether this is an indicator of Obama’s cleverness for setting the trap, or McConnell’s for falling into it. I’m inclined more towards the latter: As traps go, it was right up there with writing “Cat Fud” on the dryer. It hurt the Senate Republicans to say they wouldn’t consider Sandoval, and it would have hurt them to say they would consider Sandoval… So the correct response, of course, would have been to ignore it and not say anything. If someone actually asked them directly, then all they would have to say would be that the question was absurd, because of course Obama wasn’t going to nominate a Republican, and get in a dig at Obama’s partisanship in the process.
But darned if McConnell didn’t fall for the cat fud anyway, and all it cost Obama was a rumor.
Lots of people are responding to Hairy Reed’s little joke. The Democrat collective believed that Obama would actually nominate a Republican Governor. What a hoot.
Of course it wasn’t a sincere recommendation, and I’m sure neither of them thought it was. What happened, of course, is that Reid got to use Sandoval as “cat fud” against McConnell, and Sandoval got a bit of positive publicity by being mooted as a potential SC Justice and got to reinforce his right-wing bona fides by telling Obama to get stuffed. Win-win all around, except for McConnell.
Forget it, man. doorhinge hasn’t made a substantive argument in ages, so things like “Hairy Reed” and “Democrat Collective” are the best he can do. Pity him.
Why wait? It’s not as if Obama will get anything done this year. President Biden could hold Hillary’s seat until Bernie moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
That would be awesome. And Republicans couldn’t harrumph that it is inappropriate for a former president to be nominated, since a Republican president already served on the Court.
Well, he got into the White House with no executive experience. Why shouldn’t he get into the highest level of the judicial branch with no judicial experience?
Sure they could. John Friggin’ Adams nominated a Supreme Court justice during his lame-duck period, and that doesn’t stop them from harrumphing that it’s unprecedented. Reality has no influence whatsoever on the Republican ability to harrumph.
