Democrats Worried: Can Dianne Feinstein Handle Supreme Court Hearings?

According to a new story from Politico, several Democratic senators are concerned that 87-year-old Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) no longer has what it takes to preside over what promises to be a grueling confirmation hearing. As Democrats prepare to throw everything up to an including the kitchen sink at President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, they are quietly fretting that Feinstein is not up to task.

“She’s not sure what she’s doing,” said one anonymous Democratic senator. “If you take a look at Kavanaugh, we may be short two senators because of that. And if this gets [messed] up, it may be the same result.”

Politico reported that at least two other Democratic senators have expressed similar concerns. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to the outlet, worrying that Feinstein in her advanced age is in no condition to guide the hearings.

“She can’t pull this off,” one said.

The other insisted that Democratic leaders have been put in “an impossible position,” because it might look bad if they replace Feinstein at the last minute.

Politico spoke to Feinstein herself, and she said she was “surprised and taken aback” by the suggestions.

“My attendance is good, I do the homework, I try to ask hard questions. I stand up for what I believe in.” she told the site. “Let me say this — I know it’s going to be a fight. I understand that. I don’t have a lot of tools to use, but I’m going to use what I have. We can try to delay and obstruct but they can run this process through. That doesn’t mean that we won’t fight tooth and nail.”

It seems to us that Feinstein has a tighter grip on the situation in front of them than most Democrats do, to be quite honest. Some of them are out there making outlandish promises that they WILL stop Trump and McConnell from filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat – an impossible task that is only going to leave them looking ridiculous when the next Supreme Court justice is sworn in. At least Feinstein has the good sense to recognize reality when she sees it.