Senate Republicans must remain steadfast in their commitment to break any Democratic filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and be highly cynical of any olive branch coming from Democrats, writes The Wall Street Journal — or risk political "suicide."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is waving around the unprecedented act of filibustering a Supreme Court nomination with one of two outcomes in mind:
Defeat Gorsuch outright, or cut a deal with Republicans to not break a Democratic filibuster of the next would-be nominee of President Donald Trump. Republicans should treat Schumer like the Garden of Eden snake, the Journal says.
"If Republicans blink and tolerate Democratic filibusters of High Court nominees, they should hand over their majority to the Democrats now," says the Journal.
"Mr. Schumer and other Democrats are trying to lure those Republicans into a deal by preaching a false institutionalism that claims to be acting for the good of the Senate.
"But the real radical act is a Supreme Court filibuster."
Go nuclear and break the filibuster, the Journal writes. History will have contempt for the Democrats, but cutting a deal means Republican voters would show their contempt now.
"The Supreme Court wasn't some political afterthought last year," the Journal says. "It was central to the campaign and crucial in motivating millions of Americans to go to the polls. If you think GOP voters are angry now, imagine what they'll be like if Republicans let Democrats block conservative judges. This would be Senate Republican suicide."