The tit for tat nonsense in Washington is getting worse every day. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are betting their futures on a breakdown of decorum and obstruction. The liberal press is still trying to destroy the Trump administration even while the new president has stayed busy transmitting hate tweets directed at his many detractors including members of his own party that defied him in the health care debacle.
The Supreme Court war has reached DEFON ONE this week. Unfortunately, sanctimonious Democrat senators feel it is necessary to mercilessly bash a very solid nominee who’s vying to replace Antonin Scalia. Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed this week one-way or another as Republicans are prepared to impose the “nuclear option.”
Sixty senators will not support Gorsuch so Senate Republicans are ready to change the rules for confirming Supreme Court nominees to a simple majority. Democrats should not be forcing such a move because the current nominee is worthy of the position, and he is a conservative replacing a former conservative justice.
The current super-majority requirement protects America from the confirmation of bad nominees. This safeguard will no longer exist because of Democratic intransigency.
Democrats continue to lament the quashing of the Merrick Garland 2016 nomination for the empty Court seat. However the opposition of Republicans in an election year was not unprecedented. Moreover Garland, a liberal, would have replaced a conservative and changed the balance of the Court.
Another storm is brewing in the nation’s capital. Over the past 24 hours it has come to light that Donna Rice, the former Obama National Security Advisor and Benghazi scandal protagonist, unmasked names of Americans who had conversations with foreign nationals being investigated by the intelligence community.
Rice had the authority to ask for the identities of redacted names, but she was bound to keep the names confidential. If she in fact disclosed any of these names to others she would have broken the law. General Michael Flynn, Trump’s short-lived National Security Advisor, was one such person whose unmasking ultimately was made public.
Rice denied any wrongdoing in a TV interview but has been caught in a lie. Her missteps have now risen to the same importance as the lame investigation relating to Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s involvement.
Not surprisingly Trump’s performance to date has resulted in a decline in his popularity ratings. His approval rating has slumped to the high 30s to the low 40s depending upon the polls referenced. However American confidence has soared nationwide resulting from improved economic conditions.
Trump needs a big win soon, not just a victory in his continuing pissing contest with Obama and his followers, but a meaningful legislative event. This will stem the tide and give him momentum to keep his most important promises. It would also change the direction of polling from negative to positive.
Yet the confirmation of Gorsuch will be a gigantic moment and cement the stranglehold Republicans have on the government. It’s too bad that outliers in Trump’s own party are also making life difficult for the new president.