Johnson Ruled by Party on SCOTUS Nominee Print
News - Articles for Nation & World
Written by Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Brandon Weathersby   
Friday, 25 March 2016 09:12

ron-johnsonAs other GOP Senators begin to falter, Wisconsin's Ron Johnson is clearly taking orders from the extreme, obstructionist fringe of the Republican Party.


MADISON - A third Republican senator announced his intention to actually do his job and consider Judge Garland’s nomination. Unfortunately for the people of Wisconsin that senator was not Ron Johnson.

Johnson continues to march in lockstep with Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell who continue to put partisan politics over fulfilling basic constitutional responsibilities.

Johnson’s not even pretending anymore –again and again he flatly tells reporters that he’s acting solely out of partisan interest rather than what’s good for the people of Wisconsin.

While some of Johnson’s Republican colleagues seem to actually listen to their constituents, Johnson is clearly taking orders from the extreme, obstructionist fringe.

Washington Post: Jerry Moran is third Republican senator to favor Supreme Court hearings

By Mike DeBonis
March 24, 2016

A third Republican senator broke with party leadership this week to say that Supreme Court nominee Merrick B. Garland ought to be granted hearings, according to a news report.

The Garden City Telegram reported that Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) told a small group gathered in a Cimarron, Kan., courthouse on Monday that GOP senators “should interview Garland and have a hearing on his nomination,” in the paper’s words.

“I can’t imagine the president has or will nominate somebody that meets my criteria, but I have my job to do,” Moran said, according to the report. “I think the process ought to go forward.”

Moran joins Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) in favoring hearings. Kirk has also called for an up-or-down vote on Garland.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has shut the door on any consideration of a Supreme Court nominee this year, arguing that the next president — not President Obama — ought to have the right to name a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Democrats are hoping to pressure GOP senators into acting on Garland’s nomination amid a national campaign. But they have been targeting embattled incumbents such as Kirk, who are facing tough reelection campaigns. Moran is up for reelection this year, but he has not appeared on lists of vulnerable incumbents, and no prominent Democrat has emerged to challenge him.

But Moran may, uncharacteristically, be trying to put some space between himself and Republican Party leaders.

“I would rather have you [constituents] complaining to me that I voted wrong on nominating somebody than saying I’m not doing my job,” Moran told the Cimarron crowd, according to the paper.

Last Updated on Friday, 25 March 2016 10:25