Not to jump too far ahead into the holidays, but when it’s time to give thanks, Republicans should consider being thankful that Jeff Flake is no longer in the Senate.
Without Flake, the party should find no excuse to do what they did with the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, which was to almost snap their spines bending over backward to accommodate Democrats.
President Trump on Saturday nominated appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the seat on the Supreme Court left newly vacant by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The timing leaves Republicans with just over one month before the election to complete Barrett’s confirmation.
Conservatives who care about the balance of the court — you know, the thing the GOP has been campaigning to influence since the dinosaurs walked the Earth and the planet had only one continent — shouldn’t trust the president nor the Senate GOP leadership to see things through once the election is over. If Trump loses, he may very well no longer give a darn about the court.
Fortunately, Republicans have been given a gift. They don’t have Jeff Flake!
Flake retired from the Senate shortly after the brutal confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, which were made all the worse after Flake temporarily withheld his vote for yet another delay in the process, a delay that served to do nothing more than further muddy up Kavanaugh’s reputation and give Democrats more justification to vote against Kavanaugh.
Flake is gone, and Republicans appear to have all the votes necessary to confirm Barrett with haste. Even Mitt Romney appears ready.
There’s no time to wait. Without Flake, Republicans can move forward with haste, and they should.
