The Wall Street Journal is very, very concerned about 2016, and the increasing likelihood that it will not remain under Republican control. What's more, they are gently trying to let Mitch McConnell know that his blockade of President Obama's Supreme Court nominee is maybe not such a popular thing with the voters.
In a complicated political season, nobody has more complications to worry about than the half-dozen Republican senators seeking re-election in tight, swing-state contests.
Those senators—hailing from Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina—are being buffeted by big forces largely out of their control as they try to hang onto their seats. Their fate will determine whether Republicans keep control of the Senate, where they currently have a 54-46 advantage.
Their big challenges, says the WSJ, are: Donald Trump—"in the new WSJ/NBC News poll, 65 percent of voters said they had negative feelings toward Mr. Trump […] 26 percent of those surveyed said Mr. Trump atop the ballot would make them less likely to vote for Republicans elsewhere on the ballot"; the GOP's "brand" problem—"51 percent of those surveyed reported holding negative views of the GOP, compared with 41 percent for the Democrats"; and, critically, Merrick Garland.
But beyond the GOP base, the decision not to grant Mr. Garland a hearing or a vote this year is proving hard to sell to other voters. In the WSJ/NBC News poll, 52% said the Senate should vote on a nominee this year, up from 43% in February.
The Garland question is a particularly awkward for senators in tough re-election races because, as members of the Senate, they can’t avoid the question of how their own chamber should handle the nomination; for them, it isn’t a hypothetical. And unfortunately for them, the decision to shun Mr. Garland isn’t proving popular across the nation.
No, it's neither a hypothetical problem nor a popular thing with voters. Apparently the WSJ is having a growing problem with it, too.