CNN’s Chris Cillizza is peeved that Senators Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul were not on the floor when their colleagues voted on Ketanji Brown Jackson for SCOTUS:
History was made on Thursday in the United States Senate.
And neither Lindsey Graham nor Rand Paul could be bothered to be on the floor for it.https://t.co/a1oZZaaJCy
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) April 8, 2022
“This is not normal,” he wrote. From CNN.com:
After the vote, Graham released a web video touting his opposition to Jackson, noting that Democrats “destroy conservative judges and expect us to just clap and vote ‘Yes.’ That’s ridiculous, dangerous, and it’s not going to happen.” (It’s also worth noting that Graham had wanted President Joe Biden to nominate Judge J. Michelle Childs from his home state of South Carolina for the court vacancy instead of Jackson.)
A number of Republican senators also walked out of the chamber after the final vote — amid a standing ovation for the historic nature of the moment.
This is not normal.
Who wants to tell him? BOTH parties do this all the time:
Its not enough for Republicans to lose votes. They must also stand and applaud the victors.
(and no, lawmakers also never remain on the floor to respond even to major votes. Democrats never applauded historic GOP appointees on the floor. This is low-rent partisan clickbait). https://t.co/I5zddPTBNT
— Brian Riedl 🧀 🇺🇦 (@Brian_Riedl) April 8, 2022
And here’s Matt Whitlock, a former senior staffer to Sen. Orrin Hatch, with a reality check for Cillizza.
“I get they’re excited about KBJ but the pearl-clutching about Senate protocol reflects a serious lack of knowledge of day-to-day activity”:
Is media going to start tracking who votes from their seats vs the cloakroom?
I get they’re excited about KBJ but the pearl-clutching about Senate protocol reflects a serious lack of knowledge of day-to-day activity.
Schumer can request seated votes – it’s not a rule. https://t.co/TFMAmNb4mr
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 8, 2022
And what’s not normal is the way Cillizza is covering it.
“Of course it’s normal! There’s no requirement that the opposing party stand still during an applause for a nominee they oppose. This kind of COVERAGE is not normal”:
Of course it’s normal! There’s no requirement that the opposing party stand still during an applause for a nominee they oppose.
This kind of COVERAGE is not normal. pic.twitter.com/b25XAKyk4v
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 8, 2022
Whitlock also pointed out that “Not a single Senate Democrat was on the floor for the standing ovation for Amy Coney Barrett when she was confirmed. They didn’t stay in their seats!”:
Let’s do a tiny bit of homework.
Not a single Senate Democrat was on the floor for the standing ovation for Amy Coney Barrett when she was confirmed. They didn’t stay in their seats!
I’m literally shaking pic.twitter.com/PCMCKbQqto
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 8, 2022
We’re all shaking. But we’re shaking from laughing. At Cillizza. Again.
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CNN’s Chris Cillizza says we can’t just ignore Donald Trump’s statement about Hunter Biden
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