That whole "let the people decide" rationale for Republicans blockading President Obama's Supreme Court nominee until after the election? Bullshit. And Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley admitted it in a conference call of anti-abortion activists hosted, by the Susan B. Anthony List on Monday.
Grassley told the activists that when someone asked him for an update on the nomination last week, he said that "an update would suggest that something has changed" and that he still intends to block any nominee until the next president takes office.
He said that preventing "another liberal" from joining the Supreme Court was necessary to keep "even the reasonable restrictions on abortion that have been enacted into law through the democratic process" from being "swept away." […]
"But we know that justices who embrace the view that the Constitution is a living document don't share that view that you and I share," he said. "The American people, through their elected representatives, should be making these policy decisions, not unelected judges. These are life-and-death issues that we're fighting for. They show just how important this fight over who's going to fill Scalia's seat is."
So if there's a Democratic winner in November? They're thinking ahead on that, and are perfectly willing to extend this blockade—to make sure that five anti-choice judges remain on the court—as long as they have to. There's one thing Grassley is right about here—these are life-and-death issues we're fighting for.
When people talk about the Supreme Court being the most important thing this election, this is what we're talking about—the right of 51 percent of the population to make decisions about their bodies and to have that right equally applied to all women all across the country. The reality is, it is not equally applied in 2016. That right is in more danger than it ever has been since 1973 because of the relentless chipping away of it by Republican lawmakers. It's in front of the deadlocked court right now in the most consequential challenge to Roe v. Wade in decades.
There's a lot at stake in 2016. But the Supreme Court trumps pretty much everything else, and that means getting the Senate in Democratic control is paramount. Let's start with booting Chuck Grassley.
Please donate $3 today to help retire this guy.