As the last several days have amply demonstrated, Republicans have been in complete disarray trying to figure out how much they obstruct President Obama's nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. It looks as though consensus is forming behind total obstruction. Because, of course, they think "the people should decide," but not until there’s a new president.
The party's strategy isn't yet fully formed and won't be until GOP senators return to Washington next week. But in back-channel conversations with senators and among senior party officials, Republicans are arguing that denying a hearing to Obama's choice would allow them to better make the case that voters should have a say in the next Supreme Court justice—not members of the Senate and a lame-duck president.
If Republicans held confirmation proceedings, several Republicans told CNN, that argument would be badly muddied. Moreover, they risk giving Obama's choice an opportunity to detail his or her life story and legal qualifications, and they'd rather stop the nominee before giving the White House and Senate Democrats a chance to build momentum.
"There's little upside to it," said one senior GOP source who asked for anonymity to discuss party strategy.
If "the people" get a chance to hear the case for Obama's nominee, who is sure to be highly qualified, the people might just decide they think he or she should be on the court. That's the last thing Republicans want. So no hearings at all. And if they don't have any hearings, then they don't have to take any votes. They're betting that it's better for vulnerable Republicans up for re-election this year to appear as cowardly obstructionists, afraid to take a vote on a qualified and popular nominee than to actually have to vote on that qualified and popular nominee.
It's not clear everybody is going to be on board with that strategy. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says she's ready to give Obama's eventual nominee her "full attention." Sen. Lisa Murkowski says "the nominee should get a hearing," but that "doesn’t necessarily mean that that ends up in a vote." That's also bullshit.
As it stands, Republicans are still fighting over which bullshit to employ in what is clearly their intention: refusing to fulfill their constitutional duty until they get a president they like.