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Democrats should blame selves for ‘nuclear option’

To the editor:

The Democrats have been going crazy complaining about the Republicans “going nuclear” to get Mr. Gorsuch on the bench of the Supreme Court. It is strange the way the Democrats turn themselves inside out over this. It is their fault. They have caused the entire situation.

Let’s examine some facts. During the Bush 43 presidency, the Democrats, in order to stop Bush’s appointments to lower federal courts, began to deny his appointments in an “up or down vote” using the filibuster rule, or the requirement of needing 60 votes to end the debate and have an acceptance vote. This angered Republicans and when the shoe was on the other foot and Obama was trying to load the lower courts with liberal judges, the Republicans did the same to them.

Since the Democrats had power in the Senate, Harry Reid, then the Senate majority leader, changed the rules of the Senate so that the 60 votes to end the debate were no longer needed and the nominees could be seated by a simple 51-vote majority or “the nuclear option.”

The Democrats were trying to keep Gorsuch from being voted on so the Republicans did away with the requirement of 60 votes to end the debate and bring about a simple majority vote for confirmation. So the Democrats complain. It serves them right. They asked for it.

And I am telling you if the roles were reverse, they would have done the same.

Another fact about all their complaining is that there is nothing in the Constitution about what is happening now. The 60-vote rule was an agreement within the Senate itself.

To be honest about it, since the Democrats are going to continue to be the sore losers and the obstructionists they have been so far, I would love to see the Republicans in the Senate do the same thing as far as legislation in the Senate and do away with the 60 votes for any reason. That would get the repeal and replacement of Obamacare over and done with in record time.

I guarantee if the roles were reversed and the Republicans were being this much of an obstacle to the Democrats, the Democrats would do the same. They have already proven that. After all, they started the ball rolling.

Since this letter is about the dishonesty and two-facedness of the Democrats, I add another bit of information that was revealed recently.

If you recall during the campaign last year how the Democrats continually depicted President Donald Trump as being anti-women and extolled their own virtues on the subject; well, the report just came out today that Elizabeth Warren, who was one of those Democratic mouthpieces, only payed the women who work for her 71 percent of what she payed the men on her staff.

Typical of most Democrat politicians, say one thing and do another.

Stephen Sellers

Lewistown

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