Embattled Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is between a rock and a hard place regarding the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. On one hand, Bennet is Gorsuch’s hometown Senator and deep in his heart, we think he likes Gorsuch. On the other hand, Bennet’s base began polishing their pitchforks on Twitter as soon as Bennet said something superficially nice about Gorsuch.
Here are some of the nice things that Bennet said:
“It’s a distinct privilege to be here with my colleague, Senator Gardner from Colorado to introduce, Judge Neil Gorsuch, a son of Colorado, born and raised in Denver with a distinguished record of public service, private practice and an outstanding integrity and intellect.
“As a person and as a lawyer, Judge Gorsuch exemplifies some of the finest qualities of Colorado, a state filled with people who are kind to one another, who by and large do not share the conceit that one party or one ideology is all right and the other is all wrong. They are conscious of the legacy that we owe the generations who forged our state out of a western territory of the United States.”
On the other hand, Bennet attempted to appeal to his base:
“Just as we had a duty to consider fairly Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy. I am not naive about the reason the Senate majority denied the hearing and vote. The Senate’s failure to fulfill its duty in respect to Judge Garland was an embarrassment to this body that will be recorded in history and in the lives of millions of Americans. It is tempting to deny Judge Gorsuch such a fair hearing because of the Senate’s prior failure but Mr. Chairman, two wrongs never make a right. The Supreme Court is too important to not find a way, to end our destructive gridlock and bitter partisanship. In my mind, I consider Judge Gorsuch a candidate to to fill the garland seat on the Supreme Court.”
Watch Bennet’s introduction here and see for yourself:
Of course, his base is a small fraction of the American public. While Bennet’s base may appreciate the passive aggression in noting that Gorsuch was taking the “Garland Seat” – a sentiment that must have been on some talking points memo because everyone from the left echoed the same phrase today – the rest of America appreciates a straight shooter.
Bennet has been coy about whether he will vote to confirm Gorsuch. We hope he will ignore the angry mob to his left, who really isn’t his base, and vote to put a Coloradan on the Supreme Court.