President Donald Trump loves to cite polls from Rasmussen Reports, a polling firm that has notoriously been incorrect and is considered by many in the business to be little more than a shill for Republicans.
That being said, something that came from Scott Rasmussen of Trump’s favorite polling agency should be of special concern to the president and his Republican allies.
Appearing on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show Friday evening, Rasmussen noted that talk of immediately replacing the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not a good idea:
“I hear all this talk that Republicans are ready to go and vote right away, I think that’s a big mistake.”
Rasmussen then added:
“I think the president should come out and say, ‘I want the American people to decide this, I’m going to nominate someone after I’m re-elected, here’s who I’m thinking of nominating and by the way, I want to specifically hear from Joe Biden who he’s going to nominate.’ And the reason I think he should do that is that’s puts the focus on the choice for the court, not on this side argument of whether or not the confirmation battle should go ahead right now.”
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) September 19, 2020
As you might expect, Trump didn’t take that advice, posting a tweet Saturday morning making it clear he would be nominating a replacement for Ginsburg without any delay:
.@GOP We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2020
That decision, however, could have major consequences, as some Senate Democrats are already signaling that if Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) insist on moving forward with a replacement prior to the election (which is now only 45 days away) and Joe Biden is the next president, Democrats will kill the filibuster and expand the court by as many as four justices, which is allowed under the Constitution.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) sent out this tweet Friday evening:
Mitch McConnell set the precedent. No Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election year. If he violates it, when Democrats control the Senate in the next Congress, we must abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.
— Ed Markey (@EdMarkey) September 19, 2020
If Republicans want to play hardball, then they need to know that their actions will lead to consequences. Namely, they will have to sit back and watch as Democrats relegate them to permanent irrelevancy.
Featured Image Via NBC News