Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a centrist Democrat who is up for re-election in 2018 just took a brave and principled step in saying he won't only oppose Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, but will join in a filibuster. "Deciding whether to confirm a president's nominee for the highest court in the land is a responsibility I take very seriously," Nelson said in a statement.
"Over the past few weeks, I have met with Judge Gorsuch, listened to the Judiciary Committee's hearings and reviewed his record with an open mind. I have real concerns with his thinking on protecting the right to vote and allowing unlimited money in political campaigns. In addition, the judge has consistently sided with corporations over employees, as in the case of a freezing truck drive who, contrary to common sense, Judge Gorsuch would have allowed to be fired for abandoning his disabled rig during extreme weather conditions.
"I will vote no on the motion to invoke cloture and, if that succeeds, I will vote no on his confirmation."
This comes after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would filibuster the nominee and another centrist Democrat, Chris Coons of Delaware floated the abysmal idea of coming up with some kind of appeasement scheme to keep Mitch McConnell from being mean to Democrats. The idea was to let Gorsuch go without a filibuster if McConnell agreed not to get rid of the filibuster for any other of Trump's nominees. Because, boy, if you can count on something it's . . . an agreement with Mitch McConnell? That was bullshit. If ever there were a nominee to resist—since Scalia, anyway—it's this guy. And if there was ever a moment to resist—and a president to resist!—it's now and it's this one.
Bill Nelson, a moderate who is up for re-election in 2018, is showing how. Take notice, fellow Democrats. And we're looking at you in Vermont, Patrick Leahy!
Help resist popular vote loser Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Click here to call your Democratic senator(s) and tell them to filibuster Neil Gorsuch's confirmation.