The Washington Post: In Supreme Court fight, Republicans lead with their chins - America Rising PAC

The Washington Post: In Supreme Court fight, Republicans lead with their chins

Senate Republicans continue to dig in behind their position that they will not give any consideration to anyone nominated by President Obama to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. But wait! Another group of Republicans has now stepped forth and indicated a willingness to examine that nominee’s background and fitness for the High Court. […]

March 14, 2016

Senate Republicans continue to dig in behind their position that they will not give any consideration to anyone nominated by President Obama to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. But wait! Another group of Republicans has now stepped forth and indicated a willingness to examine that nominee’s background and fitness for the High Court. Does that mean we’re seeing a thaw?

Well, no. The group in question is the Republican National Committee. Roll Call reports that the RNC is vowing to launch a major campaign against that nominee, once Obama has selected one:

Republicans aren’t waiting for President Barack Obama to name a Supreme Court nominee before laying the groundwork to turn him or her into a piñata.

The Republican National Committee is teaming up with America Rising, a conservative political action committee known for particular expertise in opposition research, to go on the offensive against any Obama nominee.

“This will be the most comprehensive judicial response effort in our party’s history,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. “If the president wants to break with decades of precedent by pushing through a nominee in an election year, we’re going to vet that person and put their real record on display.”

The RNC effort will involve a fully array of tactics, from radio and digital commercials to robocalls to surrogate efforts in key states, according to an RNC official.

Beyond the claim that Obama would be breaking with “decades of precedent” by offering a nominee — a claim that should be viewed with some skepticism for the reasons outlined by Politifact — the choice of words here is interesting. Republican operatives will “vet that person and put their real record on display.” Ideally, of course, this is what would happen if the Senate were to hold hearings on that person. But that might afford the nominee a chance to directly respond to his or her Republican cross-examiners in a high profile setting (as opposed to only having Democratic groups mount all the pushback, which of course they will also do, once there is a nominee). Direct exchanges between the nominee and Republican Senators, alas, might reflect well on that person. And so the only “vetting” and examination of the nominee’s “real record” will be undertaken through the RNC and associated GOP-aligned groups.

This article was excerpted from The Washington Post. Click here to read the full article online.