After Democratic delays, led by Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to vote tomorrow on President Trump’s SCOTUS nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch. He is likely to be approved by the committee, though largely along party lines.
The real battle comes when the full Senate votes. Despite attempts by several Democratic detractors to reject Gorsuch, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota have recently stated they would vote to put Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. They are the first Democrats, so far, to support Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year.
“I hold no illusions that I will agree with every decision Judge Gorsuch may issue in the future, but I have not found any reasons why this jurist should not be a Supreme Court Justice,” Manchin said.
“After doing my due diligence by meeting with Judge Gorsuch and reviewing his record and testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’ve decided to vote in favor of his confirmation,” said Heitkamp.
Sen. Manchin is part of the incredibly shrinking centrist wing of the Democratic. He is also up for re-election in 2018, in a state where President Trump won by more than 40 points last year. Sen. Heitkamp is a centrist,too,  and she’s facing a tough re-election race next year in North Dakota, where Trump won by more than 30 points in 2016.
This trickle from the anti-Gorsuch Democratic dam is obviously in the political interest of Manchin and Heitkamp. Still, it makes sense. First, by any objective measure, Gorsuch is eminently well-qualified for the Supreme Court.
Second, he is a conservative replacing a conservative on the bench, thus, no change in the ideological balance on the high court.
Third, and most importantly, both these senators represent voters in their respective states who clearly want Gorsuch to be confirmed.
By the way, there are eight other “red state” Senate Democrats facing the same predicament as Manchin and Heitkamp in 2018. They, too, would do well to weigh and consider whether to break with Schumer and his naysayers and vote for Gorsuch, or suffer the consequences of their lemming-like loyalty to the liberal wing of their party by running the risk of losing re-election in 2018.
If these eight senators would follow the example set by Manchin and Heitkamp, listen to their constituents, and cast their vote for Gorsuch, this trickle from the anti-Gorsuch dam could turn into a torrent for Trump’s nominee. In my view, that would be a good thing.
Retired Army Col. Thomas B. Vaughn can be reached at tbvbwmi@blomand.net.