Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, people in 2016 can watch what the Vice President of the United States said all the way back in 1992. And within hours, the VP can brazenly lie about it.
Yesterday, C-SPAN dropped this nuke on the debate over replacing Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia:
Sen. Joe Biden in 1992 says President Bush should "not name a nominee until after the November election…" #SCOTUShttps://t.co/setQGLzePt
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 22, 2016
Here’s what Biden said in 1992, in black and white:
“…It is my view that if a Supreme Court Justice resigns tomorrow or within the next several weeks, or resigns at the end of the summer, President Bush should consider following the practice of a majority of his predecessors and not — and not — name a nominee until after the November election is completed. The Senate too, Mr. President, must consider how it would respond to a Supreme Court vacancy that would occur in the full throes of an election year. It is my view that if the president goes the way of Presidents Fillmore and Johnson, and presses an election-year nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over. And I sadly predict, Mr. President, that this is going to be one of the bitterest, dirtiest presidential campaigns we will have seen in modern times.
“I’m sure, Mr. President, after having uttered these words, some will criticize such a decision and say that it was nothing more than an attempt to save a seat on the court in hopes that a Democrat will be permitted to fill it. But that would not be our intention, Mr. President, if that were the course we were to choose as a Senate, to not consider holding hearings until after the election. Instead, it would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is underway, and it is, action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over. That is what is fair to the nominee and is central to the process. Otherwise, it seems to me, Mr. President, we will be in deep trouble as an institution.”
Well, here we are. The 2016 political season is underway, there’s a Supreme Court vacancy, and the Senate has indicated that it won’t consider a replacement until after the election. I’m not sure if a Republican has gone as far as Biden did, insisting that the president not even name a nominee,* but if so, there’s your precedent. The Vice President of the United States.
And what does Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. have to say for himself now?
In 1992, I urged the Senate and White House to work together to ensure the Court functioned as our founders intended. Remains my position.
— Vice President Biden (@VP) February 23, 2016
In written statement tonight, @VP says it is not accurate that he opposed filling a Supreme Court vacancy in a presidential election year.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 22, 2016
Biden says his 1992 remarks didn't prevent the Senate from fulfilling its constitutional duties, "because there was no vacancy at the time."
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 22, 2016
So there you have it, America. Biden didn’t say what he said, and besides, it doesn’t matter that he said what he said.
Now shut up and do what the Democrats want, you dirty GOP creeps, or they’ll call you lots of mean names. You wouldn’t want that, would you?
When a Republican screws up, that's the story. When a Democrat does, the GOP's reaction is the story. cc: @NYTimes pic.twitter.com/4GvWoRSAvu
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) February 23, 2016
*Apparently a Republican has done just that! But never you mind, because…
Ladies and gentlemen — don't get spun — there's nothing normal/routine about Senate leader telling a president not to even try a nominee
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) February 14, 2016