WASHINGTON — With confirmation hearings under way for Judge Neil Gorsuch, a broad range of activists and politicos have turned up the heat on U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet to decide whether he will support his fellow Coloradan for the Supreme Court.
For weeks, Bennet has said little about Gorsuch — a reflection of Bennet’s own cautious style as well as a lack of consensus among Senate Democrats on how to respond to the high-court pick of President Donald Trump.
But with Gorsuch appearing this week before the Judiciary Committee for several days of hearings, liberal groups have pressed the Colorado Democrat to oppose Gorsuch even as Republicans and members of the state’s political elite have urged support.
The lobbying campaign has hit every medium.
The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group, recently targeted Bennet with a $500,000 television advertising campaign warning of Senate “gridlock” over Gorsuch.
Other activists — including those for veterans’ rights, LGBTQ rights and abortion rights — have made thousands of phone calls in Colorado over his nomination.
And last week, former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, co-signed a letter in support of Gorsuch, a judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
“It is time to rise above the political fray, and for both sides of the aisle to commit to the high road going forward,” wrote Ritter, along with John Suthers, a Republican and former Colorado attorney general.
A slice of that pressure was on display Thursday when Bennet faced questions about the Supreme Court nominee during a town hall meeting in Colorado Springs.
Asked about his intentions, Bennet said he was withholding his decision until after the confirmation hearings are complete — a posture similar to his stance on Judge Merrick Garland, whose nomination last year by then-President Barack Obama was blocked by Republicans.
Gorsuch has “been a judge here for a long time and many, many people speak highly of him,” Bennet said.
But he added it was critical the Senate take the time to examine his judicial record and hear from Gorsuch publicly. “I think it’s very important to hear his testimony,” Bennet said.
His staff confirmed Friday that Bennet would introduce Gorsuch when he appears before the committee — joining U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. — but that the move should not be perceived as an endorsement. It’s tradition for senators to present judicial nominees from their home states.
A key issue for Bennet is how Gorsuch would approach campaign finance law in light of Citizens United vs. FEC, the 2010 decision that helped open the floodgates for outside spending in political campaigns.
“I spent more time with them on Citizens United than I did on anything else,” said Bennet, a critic of that Supreme Court ruling.
He did not elaborate on what Gorsuch or his people told him.
Bennet has come under extra scrutiny because of his place in the Senate and his political record in Colorado.
As it stands, Republicans control 52 of 100 seats in the upper chamber — enough to confirm Gorsuch with a majority vote but not enough to clear the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
That gives Republicans two options. They can change Senate rules and bypass the filibuster, which could hurt them politically but put them a clear path to confirmation.
Or they could convince eight Democrats or independents to join them in support of Gorsuch.
Already, GOP groups and their allies have put pressure on Democrats who are up for re-election in 2018 and represent states that voted for Trump last year — a list that includes Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.
While Bennet won’t face voters again until 2022, Gorsuch allies have tried to use the home-state connection as leverage.
“Senator Bennet’s political posturing on the nomination of such a qualified candidate and Colorado native needs to end,” wrote Ali Pardo of the Republican National Committee.
Bennet also has faced questions about his own ties to Gorsuch in the aftermath of a story in The New York Times that examined the relationship between Gorsuch and Phil Anschutz, a billionaire and Colorado kingmaker. Gorsuch represented part of his empire in court and Anschutz later backed his bid to become a federal judge.
Bennet also worked for Anschutz but said he couldn’t recall the first time they ran into each other — whether it was then or more recently.
“I honestly don’t remember,” Bennet said in an interview. “It may have been when he was coming back to Colorado and working on the Qwest representation, but we didn’t work together on any of that and I just don’t remember the first time we met.”
Meanwhile, Democrats have their own math to do on the Gorsuch nomination.
The conventional wisdom in Washington is that the fourth-generation Coloradan likely will be confirmed, barring a last-minute bombshell.
So Democrats will have to decide whether they want an all-out battle over Gorsuch now or if they want to wait in case Trump gets the opportunity to make another Supreme Court appointment — and then force Republicans to change the filibuster rules over a nominee who could be more controversial than Gorsuch.
There’s another political wrinkle that’s individual to Bennet. Since Trump’s election, Bennet has become more of a partisan warrior — criticizing several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, including Jeff Sessions for attorney general and Betsy DeVos for Education secretary.
It’s a contrast from the 2016 campaign trail when Bennet took heat from the left flank of the Democratic Party for backing Hillary Clinton in the primary and supporting policies such as the Keystone XL pipeline.
While Bennet’s recent efforts have not gone unnoticed, several activists see the Gorsuch vote as a first big test —especially given the hard feelings that linger over Garland.
“By rejecting the nomination of Judge Gorsuch, who stands in opposition to a long list of Colorado values, and demanding confirmation hearings for Judge Garland, Senator Bennet will show his constituents who just re-elected him that he has our back. Consequently, we will have his,” said Ian Silverii, executive director of ProgressNow Colorado.
That sentiment was echoed by abortion-rights activists, who fear Gorsuch’s past decisions could portend trouble for Roe vs. Wade.
“I’m hoping the senator carefully considers his own record, the record of Neil Gorsuch and the record of Colorado voters,” said Karen Middleton, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.
