What they said then

I guess we'll be finding out soon if these GOP people will stick to their principles based on what they said in 2016.

Anyone want to place a bet?

The GOP has no principles.  And they're in the process of proving that right now in the hours after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

Let's go back to 2016  - -  -

After Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13, 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.  Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”  McConnell sneeringly called the principle the “Biden rule,” referring to remarks in 1992 from then-Sen. Joe Biden, who urged the Senate president to delay a hypothetical confirmation until after the election if a vacancy did appear, following the contentious confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas.

Senator Lindsey Graham: “I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination."  AND in 2018, he said:  “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election” 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): “I don’t think we should be moving on a nominee in the last year of this president’s term — I would say that if it was a Republican president .”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.): “It makes the current presidential election all that more important as not only are the next four years in play, but an entire generation of Americans will be impacted by the balance of the court and its rulings. Sens. Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid have all made statements that the Senate does not have to confirm presidential nominations in an election year. I will oppose this nomination as I firmly believe we must let the people decide the Supreme Court’s future.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa): "We will see what the people say this fall and our next president, regardless of party, will be making that nomination."

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.):  "In this election year, the American people will have an opportunity to have their say in the future direction of our country. For this reason, I believe the vacancy left open by Justice Antonin Scalia should not be filled until there is a new president."

John Hoeven from N.D: "There is 80 years of precedent for not nominating and confirming a new justice of the Supreme Court in the final year of a president’s term so that people can have a say in this very important decision."

Rob Portman from Ohio: "It is common practice for the Senate to stop acting on lifetime appointments during the last year of a presidential term, and it’s been nearly 80 years since any president was permitted to immediately fill a vacancy that arose in a presidential election year.”

Paul Ryan, House speaker: "This has never been about who the nominee is. It is about a basic principle. Under our Constitution, the president has every right to make this nomination, and the Senate has every right not to confirm a nominee. I fully support Leader McConnell and Chairman Grassley's decision not to move forward with the confirmation process. We should let the American people decide the direction of the court."

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) Senate Judiciary chair: "A lifetime appointment that could dramatically impact individual freedoms and change the direction of the court for at least a generation is too important to get bogged down in politics. The American people shouldn't be denied a voice. Do we want a court that interprets the law, or do we want a court that acts as an unelected super legislature? This year is a tremendous opportunity for our country to have a sincere and honest debate about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government."

John Cornyn, R-Texas, Senate Judiciary member: "The next justice could change the ideological makeup of the Court for a generation, and fundamentally reshape American society in the process.

At this critical juncture in our nation's history, Texans and the American people deserve to have a say in the selection of the next lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.

The only way to empower the American people and ensure they have a voice is for the next President to make the nomination to fill this vacancy."

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Col.): “I think we’re too close to the election. The president who is elected in November should be the one who makes this decision.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "It has been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you don’t do this in an election year.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.): “Vice President Biden’s remarks may have been voiced in 1992, but they are entirely applicable to 2016. The campaign is already under way. It is essential to the institution of the Senate and to the very health of our republic to not launch our nation into a partisan, divisive confirmation battle during the very same time the American people are casting their ballots to elect our next president.”

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.): “The very balance of our nation’s highest court is in serious jeopardy. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will do everything in my power to encourage the president and Senate leadership not to start this process until we hear from the American people.”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.): “The next President must nominate successor that upholds constitution, founding principles.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.): “I strongly agree that the American people should decide the future direction of the Supreme Court by their votes for president and the majority party in the U.S. Senate.”

(source for above quotes: Mother Jones)

Last night, approximately one hour after the announcement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg death we hear this from McConnell

"President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate." 

Once again showing the world exactly what a crass and disrespectful man he is.

Let the Republican hypocrisy begin. 

 

tee available here