Progressives warn Democrats: Vote against Neil Gorsuch, will make ‘the entire party look weak’
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) has issued a statement/warning to Democrats: Vote against Neil Gorsuch or else.
“It is clear that Democrats have no excuse for voting for Gorusch and his horrific judicial record of siding with big corporations over working families. The grassroots will be watching to see if Democrats have the backbone necessary to filibuster Gorsuch,” their statement reads.
“Any Democratic senator who votes for cloture for Gorsuch hurts not only their own standing, but makes the entire party look weak — dampening enthusiasm among the very voters Democrats need to fire up in 2018.”
Progressive Change Campaign Committee members made thousands of calls to Senate offices this week, urging senators to oppose Neil Gorsuch on ecomomic populist grounds and to support a filibuster. A PCCC-commissioned poll found that the most effective line of attack against Gorsuch is his anti-worker, pro-corporate record. The PCCC is a progressive, grassroots organization with over 1 million members nationwide.
Neil Gorsuch
Gorsuch would be replacing the late Justice Scalia and adding the right-wing leaning judge would maintain the ideological structure that occurred before his passing. The next replacement could be more pivotal with a liberal justice being replaced by President Trump; therefore, many on the left disagree with this tactic, stating the battle will be waged next time.
The “nuclear option” or Harry Reid rule, would allow the Republican control Senate to avoid a required 60 votes and go with a simple majority.
“We will do what is necessary to confirm Judge Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, yes,” Sen. John Thune, of South Dakota told Fox News’ Shannon Bream on “America’s Newsroom,” when asked if they’d go that route.
Thune also said Wednesday that Democrats “have not laid a glove on him” in the hearings and predicted the judge would get an “affirmative” vote in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., both called Tuesday for a postponement on any vote to confirm Gorsuch to the nation’s highest court.
“It is unseemly to be moving forward so fast on confirming a Supreme Court justice with a lifetime appointment while this big gray cloud of an FBI investigation hangs over the presidency,” Schumer said. “You can bet if the shoe were on the other foot and a Democratic president was under investigation by the FBI the Republicans would be howling at the moon about filling a Supreme Court seat in such circumstances.”
Warren added on Twitter: “Neil Gorsuch is up for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court from a President whose campaign is under FBI investigation.”
Republicans panned the call as “ridiculous.”
