Dianne Feinstein's Republican Colleagues So Sorry She's On Fire But Have No Piss To Give

And this should piss you off.

You probably saw this coming:  Senate Republicans are refusing to provide either the unanimous consent or the measly 10 votes necessary to allow a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee for Dianne Feinstein, who is seriously ill. The senior senator from California washospitalized in early March with shingles, which can have severe complications for the elderly. She's currently recovering at home and is unable to physically return to work. She's missed 60 of the 82 Senate votes taken this year. The Democrats have a narrow majority of 50 reliable caucus members plus a Sinema, but there's no such breathing room on the Judiciary Committee. Democrats haven't been able to advance any of President Joe Biden's nominations in Feinstein's absence.

Replacing Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee, where time is of the essence, seemed like a straightforward solution, but Republicans weren't about to act like human beings during a longtime colleague's health crisis. Responding to a Federalist article declaring there was no reason (other than, you know, basic humanity) to "cooperate with Feinstein's ask," Judiciary Committee member Tom Cotton tweeted, "Republicans should not assist Democrats in confirming Joe Biden’s most radical nominees to the courts." (We can read, so we didn't really need Cotton to rephrase the Federalist article's headline.)

Cotton's a known asshole, though. What about Kyrsten Sinema's bipartisan border buddy, John Cornyn? He also showed Feinstein the back of his hand:  "I don’t think there’s any appetite on our side to help what we consider to be controversial or unqualified nominees to get confirmed," he said. This is classic projection, as Cornyn and Cotton both repeatedly voted to advance and confirm Donald Trump'sright-wing hack judges, some of whom the American Bar Association literally rated "unqualified." 

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 We Need To Talk About Dianne Feinstein 

 Dianne Feinstein Can’t Thank Lindsey Graham Enough For Such A Thorough, Professional Ass Whooping 

Thom Tillis, who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, repeated the Federalist talking points: "I will vote against any attempt by Senate Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee. I deeply respect Sen. Feinstein, but this is an unprecedented request solely intended to appease those pushing for radical, activist judges."

Mitt Romney even had jokes: “They’d like Republicans to help them speed the appointment of more liberal justices? Yes — when hell freezes over."

If supposed "reasonable" Republicans Cornyn, Tillis, and Romney are concerned about "controversial," "radical," or "liberal" judges, they could press their advantage and demand that Sinema temporarily replace Feinstein (as was previously speculated). But Cornyn told NBC News he saw no path for Democrats to win over the 10 Republicans necessary to break the filibuster and make any swap, which I repeat would not alter the current balance of power. Instead, Republicans will exploit the health of a sick, old woman for short-term political gain.

Susan Collins, who considers Feinstein an "extraordinary senator" and a "friend," is apparently very concerned about the "concerted campaign to force her off the Judiciary Committee. And I think that's wrong, and I won't be a part of that."

Yeah, Susan Collins is scum. At least Tom Cotton's upfront about why he's pushing the old lady down the stairs. Collins claims she's doing it so her dear friend can enjoy the view.

There are many   reasons why Dianne Feinstein should probably retire before her term ends next year. However, none of those factors should involve her colleagues refusing to provide her a reasonable accommodation while she's ill. Forcing someone to resign under those conditions is grotesque. Imagine if a coworker, even one you didn't like that much, was on extended sick leave but you blocked bringing in a temp because you didn't want to make things easier for their department. This is not how decent people behave, but to borrow from Jack Nicholson's Joker, "decent people" shouldn't be in the Republican Party. They'd be happier someplace else.

And this isn't freshman Sen. John Fetterman Republicans aren't doing this to. This is Dianne Feinstein, who's served in the Senate for 30 years. She believes in institutionalism and Senate comity, and while I think that's all country club bullshit, this is not how I like to see someone proved wrong. Mobsters in Francis Ford Coppola movies are more honorable than Senate Republicans.

“If you want an example of how one side plays to win and the other does not, look at how Durbin refuses to get rid of blue slips - handing Republicans a unilateral veto of Biden’s judicial picks - while Republicans won’t so much as let an ailing Feinstein be replaced temporarily”

— Brian Fallon (@Brian Fallon) 1681766767 

 Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin didn't apply any leverage against Republicans but appealed to their better natures, and you can imagine how well that went. He asked that Republicans show their ailing colleague “a little kindness and caring."

“Tomorrow this could happen to the Republicans," he said. "She’s in a delicate part of her life and her Senate service. They should stand by her and give her a dignified departure.”

OK, that sounds like Durbin doesn't expect Feinstein to return at all. He confirmed that Feinstein "is obviously sensitive to the fact that her absence has an impact on the committee" but he's "not going to push her into any other decision."

Monday ended with Durbin insisting, "I think we can take care of this issue, do it very quickly, and I hope we can find 10 Republicans who will join us in that effort.”

However, that list of Republicans who'd support a swap is diminishing rapidly. Marsha Blackburn, Deb Fischer, Shelley Moore Capito, Joni Ernst are all firm "fuck nos."

"Probably not," Capito said. "I think that's a problem for them and their caucus to figure out the answer to. I don't think it's incumbent upon me to figure that out for them."

Ernst said, "No, I don't [support a temporary swap.] We're not going to help the Democrats with that."

Maybe this isn't about helping Democrats but honoring a sick woman's potentially final request. (Of course, Republicans don't have a great record there, either.) It would cost them very little long-term. Meanwhile, Cornyn has stated that Republicans are probably open to overhauling committee seats if Feinstein is replaced by a new senator, presumably due to retirement or death.

 And I think we all might need a shower before the next post.

[ NBC News ]

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