Republicans Who Didn’t Even Hold a Hearing on Merrick Garland Complain Democrats Are Destroying Norms

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Here is Republican Sen. John Cornyn complaining that Democrats have been rude at the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

“This is the first confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court justice that I’ve seen basically according to mob rule. We have rules in the senate. We have norms for decorum…it’s hard to take it seriously when every single one of our colleagues on the Democratic side of the Senate Judiciary Committee has announced opposition to this nominee even before today’s hearing. So it’s hard to take seriously their claim that somehow they can’t do their job because they have been denied access to attorney client or executive privilege documents.”

The Senate has rules! The Senate has norms! The Democrats have already announced opposition to the nominee! My stars! 

What about this norm?

These cats didn’t even give Merrick Garland a hearing! 

As much as we would all like to take a stroll through Senate Norm Cemetery to mourn “Being Nice,” it’s impossible to get to that particular tomb without tripping over the grave of dearly departed “Holding Hearings At All.”

It’s going to be a long week.

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Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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