The ghoulish political maneuvering continued on MSNBC, Friday night, as CNN and MSNBC hosts trashed Republicans and plotted to stop Mitch McConnell from replacing the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. CNN political analyst Gloria Borger sounded like a DNC operative as she lobbied to keep a conservative justice off the Supreme Court:
What if Donald Trump loses? What if the Democrats end up controlling the Senate? What would the American public do then? What do moderate Republicans do? Who are already on the record like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Already on the record saying, “I don't think it's right. I don't think this is the way to behave. We have to wait until the president is elected and see who the President is. And then we ought to decide.”
Whatever happened to the Senate? Which is supposed to have rules and decorum. This right now looks to be a brawl. And the American public is going to have to weigh in and say, “Wait a minute, this isn't right. This isn't fair. This isn't the right way to behave. Mitch McConnell makes an argument well 2016 with Garland was different. Now you have a Senate and a White House both run by Republicans. So this is different. I don't know the American public will buy it.
Over on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow continued to fulminate. Earlier in the night, she declared the loss of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and the death of Ginsburg a “feminist catastrophe,” later on Friday slimed McConnell as someone “gleefully” ready to play off a tragedy:
“Senator McConnell has said gleefully before the passing of Justice Ginsburg that of course if there was a vacancy while President Trump was in office, even if it was you know five minutes before the election, of course he would fill it. He’s been publicly gleeful and has actually even raised funds on the basis of the fact that he would be rankly hypocritical in his approach to a Supreme Court vacancy with a Republican president in office versus a Democratic President in office. And that sort of excitement about it, that sort of glee in putting forward that it is about power and nothing else, that there is no principle at work, that ‘I will do what is necessary to maximize mine and my party’s power no matter what and anybody who falls for any idea of a principled decision about these things is a sucker who I will gleefully take advantage of,’ that performative power politics and the rule of might makes right is something I feel like we’re living through in Republican politics and in the Trump era.”
Partial transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read more.
CNN
9/18/2020
10:44
Rachel Maddow
9/18/2020
10:35 PM ETRACHEL MADDOW: One of the reasons I wanted to speak with you, Senator Booker, is because I feel like you have -- you have a curiosity and interest and devotion to making sure that moral considerations are not only part of what everybody keeps to themselves about their political consideration but moral considerations are discussed and moral considerations are put forward and kept in the argument so that we know we're talking about things that have value and things that aren't just about power. Senator McConnell has said gleefully before the passing of Justice Ginsburg that of course if there was a vacancy while President Trump was in office, even if it was five minutes before the election, of course he would fill it he's been publicly gleeful and has actually raised funds on the basis of the fact that he would be rankly hypocritical in his approach to a Supreme Court vacancy with a Republican president in office versus a Democratic president in office.
And that sort of excitement about it, that sort of glee in putting forward that it is about power and nothing else, that there is no principal at work, that I will do what is necessary to maximize me and my party's power no matter what and anybody who falls for any idea of a principal position of these things is a sucker who I will gleefully take advantage of, that performative power politics and the rule of what makes right is something I feel like we're living through in Republican politics and in the Trump era. It is also something I don't feel like I have very much clarity at all as to what's the tactical way to find against ate. Do Democrats such as yourself on the Judiciary Committee, you know, stick to your principles and do what's right and be institutionalists and think about the country and get taken advantage of because of it when they're playing with pure power on the other side? How do you defend against the kind of politics you're up against if it really is just about seizing control?
