• Sat. May 4th, 2024

In Life and Liberty: Chasing their own tails

Senate Democrats received enough votes to filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s nomination, which is just annoying.

They stood on the Senate floor and filibustered last week and used righteous anger to justify their actions.

I’ve said this before many times, but simply opposing something just because the other party supports it wastes time and it’s just childish.

The Supreme Court has been in a bit of limbo ever since Justice Antonin Scalia died. Now that they are short a member, any tie vote sends the ruling back down to the lower courts.

When Democrats filibustered the nomination out of spite, they just dragged down a process that should have been completed a long time ago.

Republicans have done this too. When former President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Republicans filibustered it and Garland was never confirmed. Now, it’s their turn to whine and complain about how Democrats are treating Gorsuch.

Both sides are being absolutely ridiculous. One side is holding a hard grudge and the other side is being hypocritical.

The government has been reduced to jealous ex-girlfriends. They now run purely on spite and petty acts. Meanwhile, as they stomp around on the Senate floor, America gets to watch their government accomplish nothing, yet again.

I would like it if something actually happened in the government, but that may be too much to ask. Let’s just keep watching April the giraffe until she gives birth.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court nominee waits in limbo and the question of his confirmation still remains while the Senate drags him into a political showdown.

Gorsuch has shown himself to be a pretty fair judge in most cases. I have seen that he rules based upon his interpretation of the law and of the constitution. Gorsuch has stayed largely silent on most of his own political views, but everyone has rushed to label him with what they think he believes.

Gorsuch is actually a judge that most Democrats probably wouldn’t have a problem signing onto normally.

However, they are holding on to Garland’s treatment while Obama was in the White House. Yes, he was treated awfully and he could have been a pretty good judge. Democrats need to let that go and look towards the future instead of digging in their heels and wasting time.

I like to try and blame everything on our presidents, but I can’t this time. Although Trump’s election furthered splintered the divide in America, Republicans and Democrats have been doing it for years.

Each party has simply become an opposition party and many Americans who identify to one side have decided to do the same. If only we could all be civilized human beings for once and actually hold conversations with each other.

At this point, Republicans and Democrats refuse to work together. Each one is insisting on their way or the highway. The rest of America is either forced to sit down and watch grown ups act like children or they join in with the elementary slandering of the other party.

Now, just like Democrats changed the rules in 2013 to fit their need, Republicans are changing the rules to fit theirs. Each side condemns the other and the only way to get things done are to bend the rules.

Gorsuch has just been confirmed, just like everyone thought he would. In the long process to make that happened, we unnecessarily wasted taxpayer money just so politicians could dance in a circle for a little bit.

I’d like to think we’ll see more bipartisan effort like we just did in the airstrike on Syria, but that’s not likely to happen.

Laina Yost
Managing Editor