Sen. Coons: Republican nuclear option to confirm Gorsuch is ‘tragic’
By KELSEY SUTTON 03/27/17 09:14 AM EDT

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said he doubts Neil Gorsuch will get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, and that he is bracing for Republicans to go for the so-called nuclear option to push the Trump administration’s pick through without any support from Democrats.

“I think this is tragic,” Coons said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” about the nuclear option that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he may employ to get Gorsuch on the bench. “And on talking to friends on both sides of the aisle, we’ve got a lot of senators concerned about where we’re headed. There’s Republicans still very mad at us over the 2013 change to the filibuster rule, we’re mad at them for shutting down the government, they’re mad at us for Gorsuch, and we’re not headed in a good direction.”

Gorsuch, who enjoys widespread support from Republican lawmakers, is expected to come up short, as he needs eight Democratic lawmakers to support him in a confirmation vote unless Republicans pursue the nuclear option that would allow Gorsuch to be approved by a simple majority. The Supreme Court pick, who was grilled by Democrats last week during four days of hearings, is unpopular among Democrats who think he is far too conservative for the bench. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly signaled that Democrats will vigorously oppose Gorsuch’s confirmation.

Coons said Democratic lawmakers are still bitter about obstruction from Republican lawmakers last year to prevent the confirmation of former President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland.

“Gorsuch got what Garland didn’t, which was a fair hearing,” Coons said. “He got a full four days of hearings last week. I questioned him vigorously, some would say aggressively. And he is a charming man, he’s got a good résumé, he’s got strong qualifications in terms of his education, his service on the court, but he would be in some measures the most conservative justice on the Supreme Court.”

McConnell has vowed to confirm Gorsuch before the April 8 recess, even if the nominee does not receive the 60 votes.

So I don't get what the Dems are playing at here. Whether you look at it as a matter of principle or strategically, blocking cloture on Gorsuch looks like a dead end to me. Yeah, Trump nominated him, but so what? If Gorsuch is somehow not a reasonable mainstream pick that any Republican president would've put high on his shortlist, the Dems have certainly failed to make that case to the public - after the things Coons says about him in the article, it's hard to see any good reason for him to vote no other than naked partisanship and a petty desire for retaliation after the Garland debacle. So what if Gorsuch will be the most conservative justice on the Supreme Court? He's replacing Scalia, it won't change the balance. And if Schumer forces McConnell's hand on the nuclear option, he won't have any cards left to play on the next SC nomination, when he'll need them so much more. Am I missing something that somehow makes this look like a smart move?