Readers React: The left’s new battle cry: Remember Merrick Garland

Nothing mobilizes people more effectively than a shared grievance. The battle cry “Remember the Alamo” — said to have been shouted by Texan soldiers in the 1830s as they violently revolted against the ruling Mexican forces that had won a bloody battle in San Antonio — comes to mind.

Now the political left, out of power in every branch of the federal government, has its battle cry: Remember Merrick Garland.

Since Justice Anthony Kennedy retired from the Supreme Court earlier this year and President Trump picked Judge Brett Kavanaugh to take his place, letter writers to the Los Angeles Times have been bringing up Senate Republicans’ unprecedented obstruction of Garland, the appellate judge President Obama nominated after Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. With Republicans in Congress furious over what they believe to be the Democrats’ unfair treatment of Kavanaugh, letter writers’ mentions of Garland have picked up.

Here is what some of those readers have said.

Tony Castañares of Hollywood responds to Sen. Lindsey Graham:

Sen. Graham (R-S.C.) describes the Kavanaugh controversy as the most unethical sham since he has been involved in politics. Funny, I thought he was in the Senate for the Merrick Garland disgrace.

Fountain Valley resident Mary J. Shepphird also mentions Anita Hill and faults “wimpy” Democrats:

So the good old boys had the last word again about how wonderful one of their own was and what the Democrats had put him and his family through, and what a disgrace that was.

The wimpy Democrats let them rant and rave on national TV and said nothing about Anita Hill or Merrick Garland. Our country deserves what it gets.

Anita Rivero of Downey faults Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for today’s broken Supreme Court confirmation process:

If, as Kavanaugh says, the confirmation process for the Supreme Court has become “a national disgrace,” it is because of actions taken by Mitch McConnell and his colleagues to politicize the nomination.

First, they refused even to consider Merrick Garland, an eminently qualified, moderate judge nominated by President Obama. Second, they changed the rules to remove the filibuster, thus allowing a simple majority of senators to put someone on the highest court in the land for a lifetime appointment. Third, they allow the conservative Federalist Society to provide the only candidates from which to choose.

And now, they’ve resisted asking the FBI to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct. This is the real disgrace, the corrupted and politicized process of picking a justice.

Theodore C. Friedman of Los Angeles wants Trump to acknowledge Garland:

President Trump tweeted about Brett Kavanaugh, “There’s a chance that this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything.”

Does Trump remember Merrick Garland? He didn’t even get a Senate hearing and did absolutely nothing wrong.

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