Page 76 - Murkowski News Today

Feel about the fact the president is distracted with enriching himself through this ofls a office and his family and enriching his family through this office. sure, the president should be distracted, but it seems like hes doing less and less and less in consideration of the american people and more in consideration of himself, and this pick is an example of that. >> even if he said, i picked him because of this, would democrats have a stronger argument that would pull someone like murkowski or ...

Process. >> phillip, whats the demonstrates move? >> the democrats dont have a lot of moves. the republicans have this tiny majority in the senate. we saw with the gorsuch nomination mcconnell threw out the filibuster to approve the supreme court justice. that may be enough. the but since gerald fords nomination theres no occasion in which a supreme court nominee has received no votes from the opposing party. theres always people who cross the line. obviously well be watching senators collins an...

Doing. >> so when you make the case to the american people, is that an outside in strategy that you say that to the american people and you get enough pressure on people like collins and murkowski to come back around? walk us through viewers who say i hear the democrats have woken up but it feels years late. what is the strategy to get to 51 votes? >> the strategy issic to-t to to the american people the way we did with the affordable care act. here we have the same issues where donald trump has...

Was not on the list that president trump might choose. when he was added to the list in late last year, some people saw it as a change to the list that would assure that brett kavanaugh would get his seat. this encouraging justice kennedy that it was safe to retire. were that a minute and a half away from the nomination. i want to bring in our friend here from slate.com. brett kavanaugh was seen as the most likely pick instantly. is there anything that surprises you about this? >> a little, i th...

Single vote supporting this nominee as a democrat in a red state. if you do support it, you lose the democrats. so i think its actually an easy vote. not a difficult one and going. they should hear him out. i think terrific. the american way and the politics are not hard for the red state democrats. >> i want to ask you about the pressure faced by two women members, murkowski of alaska, collins of maine. both of them generally conservative voters but both of them support abortion rights. in the ...

Answer that question directly, which gives people like murkowski and collins an ability to vote for the candidate if they want to. >> what do you make, zerlina, of this idea of going to the mattresses, of doing everything you can when democrats are back in power in order to stop republicans from gaining in the future? splitting california up into seven different states, which by the way would require not only the consent of california and an act of congress, but a signature from the president of...

This? do they think about the next midterm election or do they think about the supreme court for generation s to come? >> the supreme court, were talking about a 40-year deal as opposed to another reelection. judge gorsuch, remember, was sort of a replacement for scalia. this is a different kind of choice to replace kennedy, and so i think its going to be really important for democrats to look at all of the record and to be very probing and to continue to put that pressure on senators collins an...

Forgotten about it? >> heres the circumstance under which all democrats should fight. if something comes out about the nominee during the course of the hearings, something emerges and the person becomes controversial and collins and -- >> then you fight. >> -- murkowski start to waver, you might actually pick off one or two republicans, then yeah, democrats have to stick together. because they could win. >> how does -- but it is discerning. you agree its discernment? >> and i do. if it looks lik...

Public who likes trump but the polling also tells you that they dont mind a senator who is going to be a check on the -- >> would you tell heidi heitkamp of north dakota way small population, dont run on local issued, vote with your party on this and see how it goes? >> i wouldnt tell heidi or joe or any of them to do anything. theyre going to have to make their own decision. but if you run a nationwide campaign making clear who this nominee is going to be, voters all across the country are goin...

Said. none of his justices would make the mistake of justice roberts in upholding the aca. we know regardless of which one of those four he picks tonight, thats a vote to overturn roe versus wade and a voted to overturn the affordable care act. thats the fight were going to have and quite frankly i think thats a fight that we can win. >> is that the reality of how senators are seeing it right now, murkowski, collins? >> i think the strategy here if there is one is to not answer that question dir...