Notice Grassley’s Not Flinching on Supreme Court Nominee Hearings

[Valin]

National Review/The Corner:

Jim Geraghty

March 14, 2016

 

Look who’s holding the line against an Obama Supreme Court nominee: Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

 

Also on Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa dug in on blocking all action on an eventual nominee this year, saying Democrats are only criticizing the strategy to score political points. He and other Republicans stood firm in opposition to an election-year confirmation, arguing that American voters should have a say in November.

 

On Capitol Hill, Grassley said at a committee meeting Thursday that Democrats’ efforts to pressure him to change his mind will be futile. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has delivered daily speeches on the Senate floor against Grassley, sometimes attacking him personally.

 

“I think we need to be crystal clear, it won’t work,” Grassley said.

(Snip)

 

… but his willingness to take the criticism for this stance is worth noting for two reasons. First, there was a time when Grassley was more likely to be more conciliatory to President Obama, to be seen as “bipartisan” and so on. He was perceived as a “moderate,” voted to confirm Eric Holder, and was, for a while, trying to work out a compromise version of the Affordable Care Act. Years of Obama being Obama, trolling and mocking and ignoring Congress, have demonstrated to Grassley there’s no point in trying to appear “bipartisan” or conciliatory.

 

Second, if there were signs Grassley was willing to hold hearings or support an Obama nominee, the conservative grassroots would raise hell and support a primary challenger. So if there’s willingness to denounce and punish deviations from the conservative position, why isn’t there corresponding willingness to praise and support a lawmaker who takes the conservative position, particularly when it’s tough?