Senator Joe Donnelly had a lot to think about this afternoon when he met with Neil Gorsuch. While exchanging pleasantries and asking scripted questions about judicial philosophy with the judge, the senator no doubt turned over two seemingly opposed priorities in his mind.
As one of 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in red states next fall, Donnelly is staring into the electoral abyss of 2018, struggling to reconcile an instinct for self-preservation with a responsibility to the Democratic voters who elected him. But he can achieve both simultaneously, and he can do it easily.
No one can blame the senator for being cautious. After Trump recruited Governor Mike Pence as his running mate and carried the state by 19 points, Donnelly must tread carefully to avoid antagonizing conservatives and alienating liberals.
So far, the Indiana Democrat has been advising and consenting and avoiding any obvious pitfalls. He supported CIA chief Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly then opposed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. With each vote, Donnelly has offered a careful explanation of his reasoning and provided a playbook for Democrats trying to survive a Trump presidency.
The Gorsuch nomination is different in political scope though. While the electorate might dismiss a vote on a Cabinet nominee, they’ll never forget Donnelly’s Supreme Court stance. Conservatives are making sure of that.
The anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony’s List has made nearly 1,300 calls to Donnelly’s office in D.C., and picketed his district headquarters back home. Tea Party Patriots mobilized a grassroots army of 9,000 voters to write letters. And the National Republican Senatorial Committee even launched a campaign ad against Donnelly during the Indiana-Wisconsin basketball game.
But the Hoosier hasn’t picked up his dribble yet. “As I have said, part of my job as senator is to meet, consider, debate, and vote on judicial nominations,” Donnelly said in a statement after the meeting. “I will continue to carefully review Judge Gorsuch’s record and qualifications in the coming weeks.”
No matter what, Donnelly knows that Trump will get his nominee on the court. Either Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will forgo a filibuster or Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will go nuclear. That doesn’t mean he has to support the judge. Donnelly can fight against Gorsuch and even vote against him. He just can’t keep him from getting an up-or-down vote.
If Donnelly stays true to his game plan of voting and explaining, it probably won’t hurt him come November.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
