RunningMn9 wrote:AjD wrote:Why? If I was a GOP strategist, I'd recommend confirming Srinivasan quickly (who is, by most accounts, not very liberal).
The issue isn't how liberal an Obama nominee is. The issue is how conservative an Obama nominee is NOT. Moderate appointees aren't conservative. That makes them as bad as liberal nominees.
Delay, and then victory in November gets you a conservative nominee.
Again, this seems like a game of Poker to me. With gigantic stakes, obviously.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mitch McConnell's big announcement -- that the GOP will delay the Supreme Court issue
until the next president is elected!! -- is itself a shrewd strategic move.
With McConnell's announcement as pre-text, perhaps the GOP are
intentionally drawing Obama into nominating a moderate. Based on these "delay, delay" Republican talking points, Democrats have every reason to think the GOP will stonewall even a one-time GOP-palatable figure like Srinivasan. Dems will assume a GOP delay on such a "reasonable" nominee would only help their chances with independents and on-the-fence voters in November.
But if the Dems took that bait, a shrewd GOP could then quickly approve Obama's moderate nominee -- and take the "do nothing Republicans" talking point off the table in November (helping them keep the Senate, and increasing their chances in the presidential election).
I may be giving today's GOP too much credit here. Maybe the Tea Party really is in complete control, and maybe the GOP doesn't do "three-steps ahead" strategy like this these days. But I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least a faction of the GOP who are considering this strategy. Anyway, it seems like an obvious move (to me).