Here's a new twist in the Supreme Court fight—New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte's primary challenger is blasting her for refusing to even meet with a hypothetical Supreme Court nominee from President Obama. Yes, ex-state Sen. Jim Rubens is running against her from the right, but attacking her over her blockade of any Supreme Court nominee.
Ayotte has refused to meet with anyone the President nominates to succeed the late Antonin Scalia, the conservative Supreme Court justice who died un-expectantly last month. Ayotte, along with most other Republican senators, supports Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s position that the next president, rather than Obama, should nominate a person to fill the high court vacancy.
But Rubens disagrees, telling NH1 News “I think the Senate ought to be responsible. The President of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to propose a nominee. And the Senate ought to be brave enough, and I understand it’s going to be uncomfortable for members of the United States Senate to contemplate a nominee. It’s going to be politically tough. But if you’re going to become a United States senator and serve in office you’ve got to take tough votes.”
Asked if he were in the Senate right now, would he give the President’s nominee a fair hearing, Rubens shot back “absolutely.”
“But I would warn the President up front ‘if you give us a nominee that doesn’t believe in the Constitution that nominee is dead on arrival’,” he added.
Yes, that's ridiculous. Of course a nominee from this president will "believe in the Constitution." But what can you expect from a Republican trying to primary an incumbent?
Rubens might not be the most formidable primary challenger, but he's going to force Ayotte to waste some money and probably move further right, all of which will help Democratic candidate Maggie Hassan in the general.
It's also going to force Ayotte to defend her blockade of a Supreme Court nominee on two flanks: Tha she's too scared to stand up to President Obama and take a tough vote from the right, and that she's playing politics and abdicating her duty from the left. It's not a middle position she's going to be able to play gracefully.
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