In a candid interview with the New York Times, the leader of a Christian-based anti-choice group admitted that she didn't care if some GOP lawmakers on the November ballot go down to defeat for supporting whomever Donald Trump picks to fill the Supreme Court seat that belonged to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
With Senate Republicans led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) determined to ram through an appointment before they possibly lose control of the chamber, some GOP lawmakers are looking at a vote for the replacement as a possible last act in office.
According to the Times, evangelicals are giddy at the prospect of filling another seat with a conservative hardliner and they are planning an all-out media blitz and lobbying effort to get what they want.
"The Judicial Crisis Network, which spent millions on advertising supporting the president’s two previous nominees to the court, Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh, was completing plans and a budget for its latest rollout of ads. Strategists with knowledge of the group’s work said they expected it to release details of its campaign imminently," the Times reports with anti-choice activists hoping for an insurmountable 6-3 advantage in the high court that would likely gut Roe v. Wade.
According to Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, this is the moment they have been waiting for and if a few Republicans go down in the battle, it's a small price to pay.
"The prospect of a rushed confirmation, however, is unnerving to some Republicans who fear it would endanger senators in tight races, like Susan Collins of Maine and Cory Gardner of Colorado. But Ms. Dannenfelser said that considerations over individual campaigns should be set aside in pursuit of the larger and more important goal of seating Mr. Trump’s nominee," the Times reports.
“It doesn’t matter — any of the political calculations — none of that matters,” she explained. “What matters is the direction of the nation. And that’s why we expect the president and the Senate to move quickly.”
To date only two Senate Republicans -- the aforementioned Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- have said they would not vote for a Trump nominee before the election, but both parsed their words leaving a vote after the election unaddressed.
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