Endangered Senate Republicans have received their marching orders: block President Obama's Supreme Court nominee no matter what. Even at the expense of their own re-election. Confusion over whether to do the job they were elected—and bound by the constitution—to do or to keep the base happy still reins, and some of them are trying to have it both ways, couching their obstruction as somehow doing their duty.
At the center of it all is Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The Iowa Republican, who is up for reelection, has told not ruled out holding a hearing for Obama’s nominee even as he has backed McConnell’s calls to keep the seat empty. [...]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is also up for reelection, initially told Alaska reporters that the president’s nominee should get a hearing. She then backtracked late this week and said the president should “follow a tradition embraced by both parties and allow his successor to select the next Supreme Court justice.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), in particular, has been slammed by Democrats and the media after expressing seemingly contradictory positions. [...]
Johnson is ridiculously trying to have it both ways, and failing completely. Which isn't too surprising, given he's the dimmest bulb in the Senate. He's also arguably the most vulnerable, already behind in the general election polling to former Sen. Russ Feingold. But he's also looking at a late filing deadline for a primary challenge—June 1. So he's in a particularly difficult spot.
Those primary filing deadlines are key around the country. The deadline in Alaska is also June 1, something Murkowski seemed to remember last week when conservatives started bashing her for initially appearing reasonable. The deadline in Iowa is March 18, so even Grassley is under pressure. National conservative groups have declared preemptive primary wars on any Republican who doesn't do their bidding. That's undoubtedly one reason Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), already facing a tough general election race, jumped onto the McConnell obstruction bandwagon right away—the filing deadline for that primary isn't until June 10. And John "Maverick" McCain? He's already got a primary challenge, so he had no qualms about signing up with McConnell from the get-go.
So much for that 2014 pledge by Republicans that they'd show they are capable of governing. The only thing Republicans are proving they're good at is doing the bidding of extremists.