A week that began with renewed questions about Russia and the Trump campaign and ended with the defeat of Obamacare repeal legislation may have emboldened Democrats in the fight against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
“The Comey testimony and the stunts being pulled by [Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin] Nunes are having an immediate effect on Democratic caucus members and on Democratic base activists and voters,” said Bud Jackson, a Democratic strategist. “What was once considered a fait accompli and not worth drawing a line in the sand with the Gorsuch nomination has shifted.”
“On the heels of a major health care victory, Senate Democrats are uniting to deny Judge Neil Gorsuch a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court,” said a Saturday email to MoveOn.org supporters signed by former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich. The subject line was “No Supreme Court pick for Trump.”
All this comes just days after a report that some Democrats were contemplating a compromise that would allow Gorsuch to be confirmed in exchange for a handful of Republicans helping them to preserve the filibuster in the event that President Trump gets to nominate someone who will alter the balance of the Supreme Court.
This would be like the Gang of 14 over a decade ago, a bipartisan group that formed in the Senate to break the logjam over President George W. Bush’s judicial nominees, many of whom were being held up by Democrats. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., noted his participation in this compromise while chiding Gorsuch’s Democratic detractors.
“The lawmakers worry that Gorsuch could be confirmed whether Democrats try to block him or not — and Democrats would be left with nothing to show for it,” wrote Politico’s Burgess Everrett. “That would be a bitter pill after the GOP blocked Merrick Garland for nearly a year.”
But there is little appetite for this kind of compromise among the Democrats’ liberal activist base, no matter the practical considerations. Many of them consider Trump illegitimate, due to the Russia allegations and his popular vote loss, and the Supreme Court seat stolen, after the Republicans’ refusal to consider the Garland nomination.
“It is clear that Democrats have no excuse for voting for Gorusch and his horrific judicial record of siding with big corporations over working families,” declared the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “The grassroots will be watching to see if Democrats have the backbone necessary to filibuster Gorsuch.”
“Any Democratic senator who votes for cloture for Gorsuch hurts not only their own standing, but makes the entire party look weak — dampening enthusiasm among the very voters Democrats need to fire up in 2018,” the left-wing group’s statement added.
Now there is a sense that Democrats have Republicans on the ropes. That may lead to a few extra swings against Gorsuch.
Jackson argued Democrats should fight Gorsuch’s nomination “tooth and nail.”
“More resistance and criticism of Trump, his own personal behavior, his agenda, his business and Russian ties will continue to emphasize the narrative that his first 100 days have been a disaster with no healthcare bill passed, no wall, no travel ban, no deals and no winning,” he said.
Democratic leaders are mostly going along. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has a mostly liberal voting record but wasn’t a progressive favorite because of his Wall Street ties and vote for the Iraq war.
Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez wasn’t backed by the Bernie Sanders wing of the party in the DNC race and still has his share of progressive critics.
But Schumer and Perez have already signaled support for a Gorsuch filibuster. Both have also argued confirmation should be delayed until the Russia probe is concluded.
“Chuck Schumer is the right guy,” said veteran Democratic strategist Mudcat Saunders. “Chuck Schumer likes to win.”
Saunders, who has criticized the national party for letting Trump co-opt Democrats’ populism, also considers Senate Minority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a winner.
There are important differences between Gorsuch and the failed American Health Care Act. Republicans are united behind Gorsuch and might be able to pick off a few of the Democratic senators running for re-election in Trump states in 2018.
On healthcare reform, Republicans were divided. Those intraparty conflicts proved fatal to the Obamacare replacement, not the left-wing anti-Trump resistance.
Nevertheless, little has transpired in the last week to give Democrats any reason to let up on Trump and the GOP.
