[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2808-2809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   FILLING THE SUPREME COURT VACANCY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have an article here from CNN. It is quite 
illuminating.
  When I was a boy growing up in the town of Searchlight, we didn't 
have people of color--no one, ever. When I went away to high school, we 
did have people of color. There were not many, but certainly we had 
African Americans, and we had Hispanics. It wasn't until then, when I 
went to high school, that I had a wonderful Spanish teacher, Marlan 
Walker. I was able to visit with him when I went home last time to see 
him. He had lost his wife Colleen. He made such a difference in my 
life. But he is a fine man and was a great Spanish teacher. It was the 
first time I had ever heard anything about pinatas. What is a pinata? 
Traditionally, they have them in Mexico, where they have a figure. It 
can be all kinds of things, but let's say it is a horse. You blindfold 
young people. They have a stick in their hand, and they can't see. They 
know it is hung there; they saw it before they were blindfolded. They 
try to find the pinata so they can hit it because presents come out of 
it. Things come out of the pinata. But, boy, the pinata gets beaten 
until it starts dumping little presents on everyone's head.
  This article, which came from what happened on CNN, would be 
illuminating for people to read. It is written by Ted Barrett, dated 
yesterday. When asked about Presidential nominees to the Supreme Court, 
the assistant Republican leader said: ``I think they will bear some 
resemblance to a pinata.''
  Think about that. They don't know who the nominee is. They don't know 
anything about the person, but they already have in their mind that 
they are going to beat this person like a pinata. These are his words, 
not mine. Direct quote: ``I think they will bear some resemblance to a 
pinata.''
  Think about that. He is saying Republicans are going to do all they 
can to hurt this person's reputation, to beat on them, like a pinata. 
He went on to say: ``Because there is no guarantee, certainly, after 
that time they're going to look as good as they did going in.'' Think 
about that: to say to the American people that they refuse to meet with 
somebody they don't know, refuse to have a committee hearing on someone 
they don't know, refuse to have a vote in the committee, and refuse to 
have a vote on this floor.
  Now the assistant Republican leader has told us that it doesn't 
matter who it is. It doesn't matter if the nominee is a man, woman, 
old, or young. It doesn't matter what their education is or what their 
experience is, they are going to beat that person like a pinata. I 
think they have been listening to Donald Trump too much. The 
Republicans need to stop and listen to the disgusting rhetoric they are 
spewing. They are going to treat someone they don't even know like a 
pinata?
  Now the Republicans are reduced to acting like big, tough people and 
threatening to destroy the reputation of someone they don't even know. 
They haven't even seen them yet. This is vile behavior that is beneath 
the dignity of this institution. If Republicans continue down this path 
of destruction while working on this process, it is going to 
reverberate in the wrong direction for decades to come. They have to 
get their senses back.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the CNN article written 
by Ted Barrett, to which I referred, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        [From CNN, Mar. 7, 2016]

         Supreme Court Nominee Would Be a `Pinata,' Cornyn Says

                            (By Ted Barrett)

       The No. 2 Senate Republican warned Monday that potential 
     nominees to the Supreme Court should consider the battle they 
     will be forced to endure if they are picked for the post, 
     suggesting a high-stakes slugfest could damage their 
     reputations in a fruitless pursuit of the top court.
       ``I think they will bear some resemblance to a pinata,'' 
     said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
       ``What I don't understand is how someone who actually wants 
     to be confirmed to the Supreme Court would actually allow 
     themselves to be used by the administration in a political 
     fight that's going to last from now until the end of the 
     year,'' Cornyn told a small group of reporters in the 
     Capitol.
       He added: ``Because there is no guarantee, certainly, after 
     that time they're going to look as good as they did going 
     in.''
       Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee, adamantly 
     opposes confirming President Barack Obama's Supreme Court 
     pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a 
     conservative stalwart on the bench who died last month.
       Obama is expected to name a replacement any day.
       ``There is no question Democrats would do the same thing if 
     the shoe was on the other foot based on their prior conduct 
     and I don't think the voters are really interested in seeing 
     the ideological balance of the court changed for the next 30 
     years by a lame duck president,'' Cornyn said.
       The tension between the parties was on full display on the 
     Senate floor when Democratic Leader Harry Reid continued his 
     weeks-long tirade against the Republican chairman of the 
     Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, for vowing not 
     to schedule a confirmation hearing for an eventual nominee.
       ``He is allowing himself and his committee to be 
     manipulated by the Republican leader for narrow, partisan 
     warfare. He is taking his orders from the Republican leader 
     and, sadly, Donald Trump,'' Reid said. ``Donald Trump on this 
     issue, when asked about it, his words were three: `Delay, 
     delay, delay.' Grassley must have been listening.''
       Democrats believe that under enough pressure Grassley, who 
     is up for re-election, could crumble and open the door to a 
     hearing

[[Page 2809]]

     and a vote for a nominee. But Grassley didn't sound like he 
     was ready to fold when he responded to Reid.
       ``The tantrums on the other side continue,'' said Grassley. 
     ``But I guess it shouldn't surprise anybody as everyone knows 
     around here nothing makes the minority leader more mad than 
     when his side is forced to play by its own rules.''
       Grassley also compared Obama to King George III for 
     ``executive overreach,'' which he said frustrated the 
     founding fathers then and frustrates the Senate Republicans 
     now.
       Also Monday, Reid met in his Capitol office with Patty 
     Judge, a Democrat and former lieutenant governor of Iowa who 
     just announced she will challenge Grassley this fall.
       Cornyn said he has no doubts about the 82-year-old 
     Grassley's ability to withstand political pressure from 
     Democrats.
       ``They don't know Chuck Grassley,'' Cornyn said. ``He's 
     like a rock.''
       Interest groups on the left and right are lined up to 
     champion their causes in what is expected to be an expensive 
     and protracted battle that could undermine the candidate, no 
     matter how well qualified or liked he or she is.
       ``As a practical matter, there would be no requirement on 
     the part of a Democratic president to reappoint the same 
     person. So I think they need to realize we're serious about 
     the position we've taken,'' Cornyn said.

  Mr. REID. I yield the floor and ask the Chair to announce the 
business of the day.

                          ____________________