Well, this is a little embarrassing for Senate Republicans. Former Sen. Tom Coburn, known as "Dr. No" because of his legendary propensity to gum up the Senate works in order to further his far-right agenda, says his former colleagues should be considering Merrick Garland, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee.
Tom Coburn, the former Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his often contrarian views, said Wednesday that Judge Merrick B. Garland should get a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee, going against his old colleagues who have staunchly opposed even considering President Obama's Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year.
But he made it clear that did not mean he believed Judge Garland should be confirmed; rather, he said, senators could still make their opposition known through voting on him.
"If I was running things, I'd have had a vote and vote him down," Mr. Coburn said. […]
"The presidents have a right to have their nominees considered," he said. "And if it had been a Republican president, I'm sure they'd have been considering him."
When Coburn retired, he was lauded on the Senate floor, as in Arizona Sen. John McCain calling him "the conscience of the Senate." Sen. Mitch McConnell said that Coburn was "intelligent, principled" and "has made his mark on every debate he has ever waded into."
Coburn's remarks on Garland are going to leave a mark, too. On the Republican Senate.
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