‘Get Everyone In The Fight’: Senate Dems Call For Public Pressure Against GOP Rush To Replace Ginsburg

Senate Democrats are turning to the public for help.

The upper chamber Dems called on Americans everywhere Tuesday to mobilize against a Republican plan to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Election Day, hoping that the power of the people can save the Supreme Court in the same way that it saved Obamacare.

Facing enormous public pressure, a handful of GOP senators spared Obamacare from extinction in July 2017, when they broke party lines to block a bill that would have undone the health care law -- and that moment was on many Democratic minds Tuesday after Republicans all but sealed the deal to quickly confirm President Trump’s forthcoming Supreme Court pick.

“You know we didn’t have the votes when Affordable Care Act came up in 2017, but people all across this country got engaged, and finally it hung by a single thread, but enough Republicans stepped up and saved health care for tens of millions of people,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

"The people who spoke up three years ago will speak up again. What we are doing right now is making clear what’s at stake, and getting everyone in the fight. This fight touches the lives of every single person in this country. It’s all on the table.”

Warren’s plea for public intervention came after Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he will back Trump’s push to have his Ginsburg replacement pick confirmed by Nov. 3.

Romney’s green light gives Republican leaders enough votes to jam through Trump’s nominee without any Democratic support. Trump is expected to announce his nominee on Saturday, giving Republicans about six weeks until the election to hold confirmation hearings and vote.

But, like Warren, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said it’s not over until it’s over.

“I know this is an uphill battle, but just like when we defeated Trumpcare when no one thought we could: Everyone who speaks up matters, every voice is going to make a difference," Murray said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. "And we should never underestimate that. So to those out there who care as much as we do, stand up, speak out. It makes a difference.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) concurred.

“We need Americans to continue to fight with us to keep holding Republican senators accountable," Schumer said. “They should let their Republican senators know."

Since Ginsburg died Friday, Republicans have dropped their strict 2016 stance that Supreme Court nominees should not be confirmed in an election year.

The flip-flopping has prompted accusations of hypocrisy, but Republicans have insisted things are different this time around even though the election is less than two months away.

If Trump is successful in adding another justice, conservatives will dominate the Supreme Court 6-3, a political balance that will likely reverberate for generations.

Tying it back to Obamacare, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) noted that the Supreme Court has a hearing a few days after the election on a case involving the landmark health care law.

“The next nominee by Trump will be somebody who will strike down the Affordable Care Act,” Hirono said. “In the middle of a pandemic they want to wipe out the Affordable Care Act. Millions of people are going to be tossed out of health care ... It’s just atrocious, but it just goes to show the total amorality of Trump and all the people who enable him to do his stuff.”

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