While NBC News is usually in lock step with the agenda and talking points of the Democratic Party, on Monday, even the liberal analysts on the Today show were forced to acknowledge that Senate Democrats had “painted themselves in a corner” with their partisan push to filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Leading off a discussion on the topic with MSNBC chief legal correspondent Ari Melber and NBC political analyst Nicolle Wallace, co-host Savannah Guthrie asked: “What are the stakes here?” Melber replied: “The stakes are high. The Republicans are willing to do everything they need to do, including potentially amend the rules, which Democrats had originally done....Now Democrats have painted themselves in a corner making this about the man, not the seat. And they look on the on precipice of losing.”
Fellow co-host Matt Lauer seemed to hope that Republicans would take some political damage if they “go nuclear...and they require only a simple majority vote by changing the rules.” He pressed Wallace: “In real world, how is this going to play out and which party has more to lose in this?”
Wallace only confirmed that Democrats were the ones in trouble:
I think Democrats are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the way they're playing this. I think to their base, they may be deeply satisfied by taking a hide for the hide of Garland, who wasn't confirmed. But I think that people going about their lives, that may have glanced at the confirmation hearings, saw in Neil Gorsuch someone very elegant and very qualified. And while they may disagree on ideology, a Republican president replacing a conservative judge with another conservative doesn’t shift the balance of the Court. I think it was a silly fight for Democrats to pick.
Of course Lauer should already know that given a recent NBC News poll found that 54% of Americans oppose a filibuster of Gorsuch. A statistic that the morning show refused to cover.
Despite the analysis being unfavorable to Democrats, at the top of the program, Lauer sensationally proclaimed: “Not So Fast. Democrats vowing to block President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch....Will Republicans be forced to use the so-called nuclear option?”
Correspondent Peter Alexander followed with a report that touted “a stalemate over the Supreme Court” and “Democrats still angry about Republicans’ refusal to give President Obama’s pick, Merrick Garland, a hearing.”
Perhaps the commentary from Melber and Wallace was not what the Today hosts were expecting.
Here is a transcript of the April 3 exchange:
7:10 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let us bring in Nicolle Wallace and MSNBC’s chief legal correspondent Ari Melber. Guys, good morning.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Good morning.
ARI MELBER: Good morning.
GUTHRIE: A lot to chew over. Let's start with the Supreme Court. This is an incredibly consequential week for the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch. And to hear Republican Leader Mitch McConnell tell it, he’s going to get confirmed, the issue is what has to happen to get it done. What are the stakes here?
MELBER: The stakes are high. The Republicans are willing to do everything they need to do, including potentially amend the rules, which Democrats had originally done. Bottom line, Republicans made the original fight under the Obama era about the seat, not the man, they won. Now Democrats have painted themselves in a corner making this about the man, not the seat. And they look on the on precipice of losing.
MATT LAUER: He says Democrats have painted themselves in a corner. So if the Republicans go nuclear, which is the term everybody’s using, and they require only a simple majority vote by changing the rules, take me down the road. In real world, how is this going to play out and which party has more to lose in this?
WALLACE: I think Democrats are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the way they're playing this. I think to their base, they may be deeply satisfied by taking a hide for the hide of Garland, who wasn't confirmed. But I think that people going about their lives, that may have glanced at the confirmation hearings, saw in Neil Gorsuch someone very elegant and very qualified. And while they may disagree on ideology, a Republican president replacing a conservative judge with another conservative doesn’t shift the balance of the Court. I think it was a silly fight for Democrats to pick.
(...)
