McConnell & Grassley may see a moderate Garland as better than what's coming

off the net from Robert Reich

Remember Merrick Garland? Surely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee chair Charles Grassley do. They’ve refused to hold a hearing on him, arguing that the next president should choose Justice Antonin Scalia’s successor.
But as Hillary Clinton’s lead over Trump continues to widen, and as the Senate looks increasingly likely to flip to the Democrats, McConnell and Grassley may well decide that the very moderate Garland is a better deal than they’ll get with a President Hillary Clinton and a Democratic Senate. So they’ll hold hearings on Garland during the lame-duck session.
Message to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats: Don’t let them. Force McConnell and Grassley to keep their word that the next president should choose Scalia’s replacement. Then, after Inauguration Day, come up with a new pick who’s almost certain to vote with the four Democratic appointees on the court to reverse “Citizens United.” That’s not Garland.

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First Read: Mitch McConnell’s Supreme Court Dilemma

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/first-read-mitch-mcconnell-s-supreme-court-dilemna-n626181

Mitch McConnell’s Supreme Court dilemma

With yet another poll showing Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump by double digits — this time from NBC|SurveyMonkey — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has an important choice to make. Does he continue to block President Obama’s pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, Merrick Garland, and risk the possibility that a President Hillary Clinton could nominate someone much more liberal (and younger) instead? Or does he relent on the Garland blockade, realizing that it might be the best outcome for Senate Republicans — simply to turn the conversation away from Trump?

McConnell’s office tells us that he remains firm in his opposition to the Garland pick. “The Leader has been clear: The next president will make the nomination for this vacancy,” says Deputy Chief of Staff Don Stewart. But Democrats are making a separate argument: If Republicans are looking for any way to separate themselves from Trump, moving on Garland would do the trick. “Congress is likely to be in session for a grand total of 20 days between now and the election, and it’s clear that confirming Garland a vote is the only concrete, news-driving step that Republicans can take to separate themselves from Trump,” a top Democratic Senate official says.