Save us, Sens. Collins and Murkowski
Until last Wednesday, Anthony Kennedy was arguably the most powerful person in the country. Now, two people can claim that mantle: Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
A historic battle over replacing Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court is about to unfold, and as swing-vote moderate Republican senators, Collins or Murkowski can, with a little help, shape the court for a generation. They can either allow it to swing far right or they can insist that it be right of center but in the mainstream. Their decision could determine whether abortion remains legal, whether gay people will lose some of their hard-earned equality and whether there will be any checks on corporations’ power.
With John McCain battling brain cancer and not casting votes, the Senate splits 50-49 between Republicans and Democrats. A single Republican could sink Trump’s nominee, if Democrats stick together.
Collins and Murkowski are widely seen as centrist Republicans, and they are the only Senate Republicans who support the right to abortion. They must use their sudden platform to do what’s best for America: ensure that the next Supreme Court justice, who Trump hopes will sit on the bench for 40 years or more, does not have a blatant partisan agenda.
That will take some backbone. The pressure on them to roll over will be enormous. But if their consciences don’t force them to stand up to Trump, maybe politics will: They both face reelection in 2020 and Collins, at least, does so in Maine, which voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016.
Sure, elections have consequences; that has become a cliché. Trump won the Electoral College and has the right to nominate a successor to Kennedy whom he thinks would be best. Indeed, the Senate’s treatment of Merrick Garland was so offensive precisely because presidents have a duty to nominate someone they see fit and the Senate has a duty to offer advice and consent.
But do a majority of Americans want a Supreme Court that is tilted hard-right for decades? Trump said he will reveal his nominee next Monday, and it will surely be a conservative. But Collins, Murkowski and the Democrats should do all they can, behind the scenes or publicly, to make sure he or she has the sharpest of legal minds and will approach cases objectively.
Murkowski promised “an independent vote” and “exacting scrutiny.” Collins said Sunday that she will not support a nominee who has “demonstrated” hostility to Roe v. Wade. We hope both are sincere, and that Collins is not hiding behind word games. Three Senate Democrats – Joe Donnelly, Joe Manchin III and Heidi Heitkamp – are up for reelection in red states, and so might be hesitant to block Trump’s nominee. Collins and Murkowski could help give them cover.
Historians can debate whether the Supreme Court has ever been truly nonpartisan. But today it is about as political a body as Congress or a state legislature. Clearly it is about to be five solid Republicans and four solid Democrats. Let’s just hope Collins and Murkowski have the guts to make sure the fifth Republican does not reside on the fringe.
This story was originally published July 2, 2018 at 3:55 PM.