Gardner to Meet With SCOTUS Nominee Tuesday

As Washington Post White House correspondent Seung Min Kim reports, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) is among a group of nine male Republican Senators who will meet on Tuesday with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

What’s interesting about this list is who was NOT awarded a secret decoder ring to access the special meeting with Barrett. Of the eight white guys and a Ted Cruz, Gardner is the only Senator whose seat is in danger of flipping in 2020. Not on the list: Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, and Georgia Sen. David Perdue, to name a few.


There are probably a few different ways to interpret this news, but the most obvious for Gardner is that he is essentially admitting that he’s not going to win in November. If there was a political upside with being in this particular club, then McSally, Ernst, and the gang would be included. And Tillis and Ernst are actually members of the Senate Judiciary Committee; there’s a much more logical reason for them to be attending instead of Gardner, who doesn’t sit on a relevant committee immediately related to the SCOTUS confirmation process.

Gardner knows full well that this kind of meeting absolutely does NOT help him with Colorado voters, but he’s doing it anyway. These are the actions of a politician with nothing to lose win.

9 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. JohnInDenver says:

    McConnell and Thune are the Senate leadership.

    Graham, Grassley, Crapo, Cruz, & Lee are Senate Judiciary.

    That leaves Rick Scott and Cory Gardner … neither is particularly known as a Senate power tactician, and I can't think of any common background, committee assignment, or political ties that make them stand out for the meet and greet.  Maybe the Rs wanted to show a full range in diversity by hair styles?
     

  2. RepealAndReplace says:

    I'm wondering if the Dems did not make a tactical error in refusing the "courtesy visits." 47 Democrats spending 20 minutes each with Barrett will eat up `16 hours of time hopefully delaying the confirmation process.

  3. JohnInDenver says:

    Most of them had opportunity to meet her or consider her committee appearance 3.5 years ago when she was nominated and confirmed for the 7th Circuit Court. 

    The likelihood of a 20 minute courtesy call surfacing something unknown is, by my guess, inconsequential. 

    The amount of time used would be irrelevant…  Meetings would all have to happen before hearings start on the 12th, so all that would be precluded is prep time for Barrett (which isn't likely to be needed, frankly).  Meanwhile, it will pull Senators back to Washington and away from whatever campaigning they are doing on their own behalf (12 of them) or for others. 

Leave a Reply

Comment from your Facebook account


You may comment with your Colorado Pols account above (click here to register), or via Facebook below.