Monday, September 21, 2020

 As usual, it was left to Trump to reveal the true motivating principle here most clearly.
“Obama did not have the Senate,” Trump said on Fox. “When you have the Senate, you can sort of do what you want.”
You can do what you want. There you have it: In 2016, Republicans “wanted” to deny a hearing to a nominee — which they justified by claiming it would be hideously unfair to voters in an election year — simply because he had been chosen by a Democratic president.
Now they “want” to give a quick hearing and vote to a nominee in an election year — even though by their own lights this is hideously unfair to the voters — simply because if not, Ginsburg’s replacement might get chosen by a Democratic president.
Republicans control the Senate, so they can do exactly this. And that’s all the justification they need.