Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) wouldn't necessarily vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland but he is open to holding a hearing on Garland's nomination.
Because he's open to simply holding a goddamn hearing, a local chapter of the Tea Party is threatening Senator Moran.
In addition to preparing a TV and digital ad campaign against the GOP senator, the local Teabaggers are also threatening to primary him.
"Grassroots activists in Kansas and across the country are furious that Senator Jerry Moran has decided to join President Obama in denying them a voice in the next Supreme Court Justice with their votes in November," Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund Chairman Jenny Beth Martin said in a statement Friday, blasting Garland as a "liberal who will become the fifth vote on the Supreme Court to take away our Second Amendment right to bear arms and side with big government agencies like the EPA and IRS over the American people." [...]
"It's this kind of outrageous behavior that leads Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund activists and supporters to think seriously about encouraging Dr. Milton Wolf to run against Sen. Moran in the August GOP primary," she said, referring to the Republican candidate who lost to Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) in 2014.
Not that it needs to be said, but Senator Moran isn't denying anyone a voice by being open to holding a hearing on Garland's nomination.
With opposition like this, it's more clear than ever that Democrats need to retake the Senate if they want to confirm a Supreme Court justice because electing another Democrat to the White House won't be enough.
Opponents say Americans should be given a chance to weigh-in in November, but I don't believe they will actually concede defeat even if Hillary Clinton crushes Donald Trump. I expect their campaign of obstruction will carry over into the next administration.