Mitt’s Mistake

I happen to think Mitt Romney is a pretty good member of the United States Senate. Disagreements aside, he brings ideas and a unique kind of independence to the job.

Especially disagreeable, in my estimation, however, is the statement he’s released announcing that he will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

In a world where members of both parties crossed the aisle to support each other’s nominees to the bench, it would be an eminently reasonable decision and rationale. In this one, it’s malpractice. Democrats have for decades waged war on Republican nominees, with consequences both political and personal. Only three Democrats — each representing one of the reddest states in the nation — voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch in 2017. A year and change later, only West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, who faced a reelect bid a month later, voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. The rest of the Democratic Caucus participated in the evidence-free smearing of Kavanaugh as a gang rapist.