By Bob Dole and Trent Lott April 6 at 11:57 AM

Bob Dole, a Republican from Kansas, was the Senate majority leader from 1985 to 1987 and 1995 to 1996 and the Republican nominee for president in 1996. Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, was Senate majority leader from 1996 to 2001.

For weeks now we have heard the erroneous claim that Supreme Court nominees require 60 votes for Senate confirmation, rather than a simple majority. In reality, the Constitution and long-standing precedent require nothing of the kind. Now it is time to end the farce and call the roll.

Some have described abolishing filibusters for Supreme Court nominees as the “nuclear option,” a phrase first employed when Democrats were blocking President George W. Bush’s judicial nominees and the Republican leadership was ready to change the Senate’s rules to stop the obstruction. A more apt term might be the “Reid option,” as suggested by law professor Glenn Reynolds. It was then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, after all, who used this approach in 2013 to end filibusters for all executive-branch and judicial nominees below the Supreme Court. Or we could call it the “constitutional option,” since the Constitution provides that each house of Congress shall determine the rules of its proceedings, which the first Senate did by majority vote.

Whatever the label, if Democrats insist on denying Judge Neil Gorsuch the same up-or-down vote that Republicans gave to Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, it is time Senate Republicans dismissed the judicial filibuster for what it is today — a power play dressed up as inviolable tradition.

From The Libertarian Republic

Gorsuch’s hearings began with a day of opening statements. In effect, this meant around eight hours of Senators of both parties grandstanding, and Gorsuch delivering a short statement at the end. Committee Republicans hailed Gorsuch as a paragon of the Constitution and written law. Democrats on the committee responded by attacking Gorsuch’s stances on Hobby Lobby, Chevron, and a few other issues. They also complained about Merrick Garland, a lot.

In the following days of the hearing, Gorsuch fielded accusatory questions from Democrats and repeated softballs from Republicans. Gorsuch was nothing, if not consistent. When questioned about previous decisions, Gorsuch gave detailed answers explaining his legal reasoning. At times, these explanations led to ridiculous exchanges, including former comedian Sen. Franken (MN) attempting to stump Gorsuch on legal principles (pocket sized book in hand).

While Democrats managed to hold their caucus together and maintain the forty-one required votes to maintain a filibuster, Republicans finished the process started by Democrats during the Obama Administration: ‘The Nuclear Option’.

srellim234 wrote:...You, I and others can argue the chicken and the egg case all day long and it will accomplish absolutely nothing productive, which is what our politicians have done for years...

Neither party nor the elected members of those parties deserve the trust and praise of the American people.