What did Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) achieve in attempting to deny a vote on Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court?
Not keeping Gorsuch off the court; he was approved Friday. Not preserving the filibuster for use against any future Trump nominee; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) abolished the tactic Thursday. Not standing on principle; after rightly attacking Republicans for denying Merrick Garland a vote last year, Democrats tried to do the same thing.
Schumer did, however, placate the "resistance" wing of the Democratic Party, which opposes any cooperation with Republicans. By caving to their demands, Schumer bought his conference some temporary peace. But the price for the country is steep.
Democrats will almost certainly come to regret taking revenge for Garland. It is not hard to imagine a Republican majority refusing to allow a vote on the Supreme Court nominee of a Democratic president--not in the last year of his or her tenure, but in the first. The court might even come to lack a six-member quorum.
The partisanship that consumes Congress is inflicting collateral damage on the courts. Long-term consequences could be severe.
Editorial on 04/11/2017