Des Moines Register: “When it comes to Donald Trump, there are invertebrates that have shown more spine than Sen. Charles Grassley”
After Patty proved last night that she is the Judge Chuck Grassley can’t ignore, we thought about doing another memo on how vulnerable Grassley will be this November. Instead, we just decided to forward the awful day of headlines he woke up to on the first day of the general election over his spineless support of Donald Trump:
Des Moines Register Editorial: Grassley ignores judicial crisis and Trump’s racism
“The president is only one-half of the process,” the Iowa senator said Monday, “and the Senate’s the other half. And we’re a check on the president.” But what sort of a check would Sen. Grassley be as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee? Just how diligent would our senator be in reviewing the nominees chosen by a man who has categorized Mexican immigrants as rapists and who initially refused to disavow support from white supremacists?
Just a few weeks ago, Grassley expressed confidence that Trump would nominate the “right type of people” to the U.S. Supreme Court. And this week, Grassley didn’t seem at all perturbed by Trump’s remarks about Judge Curiel, which have been widely denounced and described even by House Speaker Paul Ryan as the “textbook definition of a racist comment.”The best Grassley could muster was this: “I would not say what Trump said.”
As Edmund Burke said, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. And when it comes to Donald Trump, there are invertebrates that have shown more spine than Sen. Charles Grassley.
MSNBC: Chuck Grassley’s descent into unintentional humor
It appears Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is, in fact, quite impressed with Trump’s lawyers’ track record.
…Grassley … suggested Trump’s propensity for filing lawsuits showed some level of respect for the judicial branch.
“He must respect the judiciary,” Grassley said. “I’ve seen statistics that he’s won over 400 cases, only lost 30.”
…This is not, however, simply about laughing at an absurd argument from a senator who really ought to know better. What matters more is the fact that Chuck Grassley is blocking qualified judicial nominees – including a universally respected Supreme Court nominee – because he wants to empower Donald Trump to reshape the federal courts with far-right jurists.
Radio Iowa: Grassley says Iowans aren’t very concerned about Trump’s tirade against judge (AUDIO)
“I can only tell you what I would do in a like situation and I wouldn’t say what Trump said,” Grassley said. “On the face of it, I disagree with Trump’s assessment, but I’ve also got to tell you I don’t know the facts of the case and whether there’s some disagreement.”… But Grassley suggested this controversy involving Trump and the judge is not an issue of major concern to Iowans.
TPM: Grassley: Of Course Trump Respects Judges, Look At All The Lawsuits He Won!
“He must respect the judiciary,” Grassley said Monday, according to Roll Call. “I’ve seen statistics that he’s won over 400 cases, only lost 30.”
The Hill: Grassley: I’d campaign with Trump
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) isn’t shying away from campaigning with Donald Trump, as Democrats race to link GOP incumbents to the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. “The answer is yes. I think that you ought to ask him if wants to campaign with me. If he asks me to campaign with him, I would,” Grassley told two Iowa reporters during a phone interview on Thursday.
Politico: Reid rips Grassley for silence on Trump’s ‘racist attack’ on federal judge
“Instead of rising above bipartisanship and condemning Trump’s racist attack on a highly qualified judge — by the way, who was born in Indiana — Grassley kisses Trump’s ring and toes the party line,” Reid said. “His rationale is mind-boggling.”
The Hill: Reid rips Grassley over Trump
“I believe no member of the Senate has done more for Trump than the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Reid said from the Senate floor. “At every turn, the senior senator from Iowa used his committee for partisan purposes that benefit only one person: Donald Trump.”
Huffington Post: Harry Reid Weaponizes Donald Trump’s Racist Comments About Judge
“When federal judges are under assault, we should expect the chairman of the Judiciary Committee to rise above politics and condemn racism,” Reid said. “But not this judiciary chairman that is now the chairman here in the United States Senate. Not the senior United States senator from Iowa.”
Roll Call: Grassley: Senate Can Be a Check on Trump’s Judges
Grassley said Trump’s comments do not raise concerns about who he would nominate to the federal courts since the Senate would have to confirm his picks.
Slate: 14 Republican Excuses for Donald Trump’s Racism
Grassley hesitated to criticize Trump: “I would not have said what he said, but then I don’t know all the facts.”
