Senate GOP Video Rips Dems on SCOTUS Nominee

Senate Republicans released a video Wednesday arguing for the next Supreme Court justice to be nominated after a new president is sworn in next year — using speeches from Democrats arguing likewise over nearly a quarter-century, including current Vice President Joe Biden.

Entitled "Give the People a Voice," the video includes Biden's 1992 speech from when he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. He argued against Republican President George H.W. Bush nominating candidates to the high court.

Similar positions from Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, when he was a judiciary panel member in 2003, are featured — as well as those from 2005 by now Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and from 2007 by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.

The 90-second spot ends with current Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell posing this question on the Senate floor last month: "Will we allow the people to continue deciding who will nominate the next justice, or will we empower a lame-duck president to make that decision on his way out the door instead?"

The video was sponsored by the Senate Republican Conference, chaired by South Dakota Sen. John Thune.

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