“Let’s be very clear”
Michael Moore is wielding his newfound political capital in a big way.
After successfully predicting Trump’s victory and then offering the country a blueprint for opposing his administration, the documentary filmmaker now says he will directly oppose any Democrats in the U.S. Senate who don’t support a filibuster of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
In a pair of tweets on Wednesday, the Oscar winner said he would support primary challenges to any Democrats who fail to support the legislative maneuver, which has only once ever been used to block the nomination of a pick to the high court:
“Senate Dems, let’s be very clear: You will filibuster & block this SC nom or we will find a true progressive and primary u in next election.”
That earlier effort by Democrats to sideline the nomination of Samuel Alito back in 2008 was unsuccessful. But it also didn’t have the suddenly more-influential-than-ever Moore pushing it.
At least seven Democratic senators are already wavering on whether to support the filibuster. Republicans only need eight to get the required 60 votes to push Gorsuch through, assuming their entire caucus votes to confirm him.
But if Democrats can hold the line, the 49-year-old judge would effectively be stuck in limbo, forcing President Trump to either scuttle his nomination entirely or pursue the so-called “nuclear option” of using a legislative tactic to circumvent the filibuster. Such a move would likely be successful but would also had a huge historical asterisk to Gorsuch and Trump’s legacy and could further inflame activists like Moore to push their efforts even further when the next inevitable nomination comes forward.
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