SEPTEMBER 22, 2020
Meyerson on TAP
Why the Republicans Should Confirm Trump’s Nominee Today!
What’s delaying Mitch McConnell? With Lamar Alexander, Charles Grassley, Cory Gardner, and now Mitt Romney pledging to support whomever Donald Trump anoints as our next Supreme Court justice, Mitch has the votes to move forward right now.

What’s he waiting for? Hearings? Just more senatorial and nominee babble; who needs them? Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s funeral? He’s already expressed his regrets at her passing, or at least at the institution of death more generally.

OK, OK, I get it. Trump hasn’t chosen a nominee yet. But that shouldn’t pose an obstacle to the 51 yes-men and -women who’ve signed the Whatever Donald Wants Pledge and who constitute the majority of the United States Senate.

Since their votes to confirm Trump’s pick are effectively already cast, why not just go ahead and preemptively vote to confirm everyone on Trump’s short list? Barrett? Sure! Lagoa? Of course! Ivanka? Why not?! There may not be enough vacancies to put them all on the Court right now, but there’s no reason not to confirm them today in the sure expectation that other vacancies will eventually occur. (See, above, McConnell’s regrets at the inevitability of death.)

Besides, if there’s one thing in which Senate Republicans believe, it’s that only the present is real. Didn’t they say in 2016 that they wouldn’t vote on a Supreme Court nomination in an election year? But that was then, and "then" doesn’t count! And isn’t Trump not announcing his pick until the weekend? But that’s the future, and the future doesn’t count either! Living for today, voting for what we want today (and we want a lot)—that’s the Republican creed (well, along with support for plutocracy, white supremacy, and low levels of literacy).

So, Mitch—what’s holding you back? Your drones are aligned. Let’s vote today!

The Republican Court-Packing Scheme
And the Democrats’ three lines of attack include the notion that the GOP is packing the Court right now. BY HAROLD MEYERSON
Pelosi Can Save Obamacare With a One-Line Amendment
By repealing the individual mandate, which is now functionally inert, the House Speaker can invalidate a push to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. BY JON WALKER
Social Security for All
The pandemic has exposed the systemic failures of America’s inadequate welfare state. It’s time to start over. BY MIMI ABRAMOVITZ & DEEPAK BHARGAVA
From the U.S. to Syria, a Doctor Smuggles Lifesaving Equipment
The Trump administration’s sanctions cause the Syrian people, not the Assad regime, to suffer. BY BLAISE MALLEY
Unsanitized: Another Round of Unused Leverage for House Democrats
The government funding bill presents an opportunity. This is The COVID-19 Daily Report for September 22, 2020. BY DAVID DAYEN

 
 
 
 
 
 
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