Graham Cracker

By Bill Maher

Andrew Sullivan used to have something on his old blog called “The Chutzpah Award” that he’d hand out when someone said something so bold, so without self-awareness, that it made your eyes pop out. Like when Sarah Palin said, "We know that Obama wasn’t vetted through the campaign, and now, you know, some things are coming home to roost, if you will, which is inexperience…” 

Well, since Andrew’s blog is no longer around, let me present the Chutzpah Award to Lindsey Graham, who on Saturday told a town hall that he is willing to invoke the “nuclear option” over Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court appointment: “If I have to, I will vote to change the rules because I am not going to allow President Trump to be denied the same opportunity that every president has had for 200 years because you’re mad, and you can’t accept the outcome of an election.”

Yes, just when you think Lindsey Graham is one of the good ones, he breaks out something like this. And his reasoning? “…in a hundred years, we’ve never had a vacancy filled in the last year of a president’s term when the primary season was afoot.” Ah, when the primary season is “afoot.” That must be in the Constitution, right?

"[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court." 

Nope! Nothing about the primary season. Nothing about the last year of a presidency. Nothing about “letting the voters decide.” It says “the President shall nominate.” …Who are the originalists now?

Look, Republicans stole Obama’s Supreme Court by making up the reasons why they had to steal it. At least give us the respect to quit pretending those reasons weren’t completely ad hoc/pulled out of your ass.