The liberal fake media claim that the next Supreme Court nominee must secure fifty votes for confirmation. That’s not true. Under the Constitution and Senate rules, a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court can be confirmed presently with 50, 49, 48, or even 47 Senate votes.
While we are not yet in the Senate confirmation phase, it remains essential to understand this “confirmation math” so that we don’t unnecessarily promote a risky stealth nominee under the false belief that we need 50 Republican Senators.
We can confirm a nominee with as little as 47 votes because there is a difference between a “No” Vote and simply “Not Voting.”
Our next Supreme Court nominee will not be confirmed by a majority of Senators, but by a majority of Senators voting, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking any ties. Therefore, if 100 Senators vote, a majority is 51. If 94 Senators vote, a majority is 47.
Senator Susan Collins says we should not vote on a nominee. The logical result of her statement is that she would “not vote.”
Now, let’s consider the math. There are 53 Republican Senators, and for sake of the below examples, we’ll assume that all 47 Democrat Senators are present and voting “no:”
1. If 2 Republican Senators do not vote, then the number of Senators voting is 98, and a majority of 98 is 49. Therefore, with 51 Republicans voting, a nominee could still be confirmed with 2 more Republicans voting “no,” 49 Republicans voting “yes” and the Pence breaking the tie.
2. If 4 Republican Senators do not vote, then the number of Senators voting is 96, and a majority of 96 is 48. Therefore, with 49 Republicans voting, a nominee could still be confirmed with 1 more Republicans voting “no,” 48 Republicans voting “yes” and the Pence breaking the tie.
3. If 6 Republican Senators do not vote, then the number of Senators voting is 94, and a majority of 94 is 47. Therefore, with 47 Republicans voting, a nominee could still be confirmed with 0 more Republicans voting “no,” 47 Republicans voting “yes” and the Pence breaking the tie.
Clearly, a nominee can be confirmed with less than 50 votes. Of course, the fake liberal media, Democrat Senators and their “peaceful protestors” on the street, will whine that the above scenarios are unfair. They may threaten to riot, take over city blocks, fire-bomb buildings. Democrat Senators may threaten to remove the legislative filibuster, create four more Supreme Courts seats, and pack the court.
But wait, they’ve already threatened to do that regardless, so their present threats really add nothing new to the mix. Therefore, conservatives can disregard their threats and proceed with all Constitutional and legal means available to place the absolute best prospect on the Supreme Court for the next thirty to forty years.
It appears President Trump and Leader McConnell will go bold. They did it four years ago and have a great track record. When Trump and McConnell do go bold with a nominee with a long-term record of courage, conservatism and a constitutional judicial philosophy, conservative constitutionalists have a moral duty to match that boldness and run to the battle with the combined conviction, zeal, and wisdom of King David, Joan of Arc, and General George Washington combined.