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Murkowski Opposes Senate Vote On Supreme Court Nominee Before Election

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued a statement on Sunday announcing she publicly opposes voting to confirm a new Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the November election. From NBC News:

“For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election,” Murkowski said in a statement. “Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.”

Murkowski joins Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, facing a tough re-election battle, in opposing taking up President Donald Trump’s forthcoming nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg died Friday at 87 from complications from pancreatic cancer.

“I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice [Antonin] Scalia,” she continued. “We are now even closer to the 2020 election – less than two months out – and I believe the same standard must apply.”

Donald Trump has already announced he will nominate a new justice in the next few days, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pledged “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” McConnell can afford to lose three Republican votes and still confirm a Trump nominee, but four ‘no’ votes would force him to wait until a lame-duck session after the election. In a statement dictated to her granddaughter days before her death, Ginsburg said: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

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Podcast: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jane Fonda, LGBTQ Critics Honor Best Of 2020 TV

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this week’s podcast: • Remembering the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a fierce champion for LGBTQ rights, who died this week at the age of 87 • A Navy veteran sues the Veteran’s Administration claiming he tested positive for HIV over 20 years ago and his doctors never informed him of the diagnosis • A sportscaster suspended for using a gay slur on-air says he’s ‘never said the word’ before that moment • A woman denied Social Security survivor benefits after a 27-year relationship wins in federal court • New data shows the number of same-sex households rising in the US • Burger King lays a whopper on Ronald McDonald for LGBTQ Pride • Academy Award winner Jane Fonda reminds us what an awesome ally she is • And GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics announces the best in 2020 TV entertainment. Click here to watch the glitzy honors special on Revry TV (free). All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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Sen. Susan Collins: Senate Should Not Vote On SCOTUS Nominee Prior To Election

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
In the aftermath of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has issued a statement saying the Senate should not vote on a new SCOTUS justice before the upcoming presidential election.

“In order for the American people to have faith in their elected officials, we must act fairly and consistently – no matter which political party is in power.

“President Trump has the constitutional authority to make a nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, and I would have no objection to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s beginning the process of reviewing his nominee’s credentials.

“Given the proximity of the presidential election, however, I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election.

“In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the president or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment the Supreme Court should be made by the president who is elected on November 3rd.”

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Parody: Seth Sikes Becomes The ‘Belle’ Of Fire Island Pines

Seth Sikes on Fire Island (screen capture)
Acclaimed singer Seth Sikes, who has performed on stages around the world, has spent the past several months out on Fire Island, the oh-so-gay summer getaway. During that time, he decided to learn some new skills like video editing. And in doing so serves up this reimagined version of “Belle,” the opening number to the Broadway musical The Beauty and the Beast, with new lyrics co-written with Tony Award winner Lisa Lambert (The Drowsy Chaperone). As in the original, Sikes sees himself as an avid reader who gets lost in the literary worlds he enjoys. But in this version, he’s continually scolded by the denizens of The Pines to wear his face mask.

Look, there he goes without his mask as always I hope he’s not on crystal meth With a dreamy far-off look and his nose stuck in a book Will you please remember: Pull your mask up, Seth!

From muscle boys to drag queens, they all sing out, reminding him as he makes his way through the village, “An aging twink should keep his mask on always!” In addition to the clever lyrics, the music video includes gorgeous drone footage from high above The Pines. “It was a different kind of summer on Fire Island this year,” Sikes tells Instinct. “It was gorgeous and fun, as always, but the pandemic changed the rules of socializing. Interacting on the beach, on the boardwalk, or at a tea dance, became tricky. And if you forgot your mask, heaven help you! “This video is a tribute to the lighter side of the health crisis, featuring many of my Pines neighbors,” he added. “There’s a serious message here – but we had a lot of fun making it!”

Earlier this summer, I shared Sikes terrific tribute to Judy Garland and the Fire Island Ferry. “I can’t perform live on stage, so making these videos has been my only creative outlet,” Sikes recently told HuffPost. “And who doesn’t need a silly distraction from all the terrible news reports we read every day?” One of New York City’s most popular cabaret singers, Sikes has regularly sold-out concerts in Manhattan and across the country. With fingers crossed for better times ahead, Sikes is scheduled to perform at Feinstein’s/54 Below on March 31 at 7:00 PM.

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Bright Light Bright Light Takes You To ‘Fun City’

Bright Light Bright Light (aka Rod Thomas)
Out musician and DJ Rod Thomas (aka Bright Light Bright Light) dropped his highly anticipated new album Fun City on Friday. The Welsh-born artist recently chatted with The Advocate via Instagram Q&A about the new collection, which he calls a “celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.” “It’s really important to me to use this record and this platform to raise awareness for causes and people that are very close to my heart,” he told The Advocate. “Throughout the album, you will see stories about queer history, queer people, and tying it in with organizations who are really important.” The press is impressed: “Offers its own buoyant beat to dance through pain and trouble.” – Rolling Stone “Bright Light Bright Light has established himself as a purveyor of pulsing, electro-pop anthems that lean into glittery nostalgia.” – Huffington Post “A much-needed dance escape.” – Billboard Check out a few singles from the new collection, Fun City, below.

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Lindsey Graham: ‘Let’s Let The Next President Make That Nomination’

On the day after the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it’s interesting to revisit the words of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) from just a few years ago: “This is the last year of a lame-duck, and if Ted Cruz or Donald Trump get to be president, they’ve all asked us not to confirm or take up a selection by President Obama. So if a vacancy occurs in their last year, of their first term, guess what, you will use their words against them. You will use their words against them. “I want you to use my words against me. If there is a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said ‘let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination,’ and you could use my words against me and you’d be absolutely right.” The Washington Post reports that in 2018, when Graham was in line to take over the committee with jurisdiction over Supreme Court nominees, he said that ‘if an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait till the next election.’” Graham is in a tight race for reelection himself this year – the most recent polls show him tied with his Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison. How will his state react if he supports a vote on RGB’s replacement before the election?

Two other Republican Senators have signaled opposition to confirming a new justice so close to an election. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told The Hill in August of this year: “When Republicans held off Merrick Garland it was because nine months prior to the election was too close, we needed to let people decide. And I agreed to do that. If we now say that months prior to the election is okay when nine months was not, that is a double standard and I don’t believe we should do it. So I would not support it.” And Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), also in a tough reelection campaign, told the New York Times‘ Jonathan Martin earlier this month, she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October. “I think that’s too close, I really do,” she said. She added she’d also oppose seating a justice in the lame-duck session if there’s a change in presidents.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dead At 87

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (public domain)
UPDATE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a true American hero, has died at the age of 87. An announcement from the high court said the cause was complications from metastatic cancer of the pancreas. The statement added that Ginsburg died at her home in Washington surrounded by family. From NPR:

Architect of the legal fight for women’s rights in the 1970s, Ginsburg subsequently served 27 years on the nation’s highest court, becoming its most prominent member.

Her death will inevitably set in motion what promises to be a nasty and tumultuous political battle over who will succeed her, and it thrusts the Supreme Court vacancy into the spotlight of the presidential campaign.

Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

Sadly, Ginsburg’s passing gives Republicans a chance to possibly solidify the conservative-leaning of the high court to a 6-3 majority. In 2016, with nearly a year left in President Obama’s time in office, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to consider Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick B. Garland. Hours after Antonin Scalia died in February of 2016, McConnell said, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.” Democrats in the Senate, which votes to approve SCOTUS nominees, have almost no power to stop a simple majority vote on Ginsburg’s replacement.

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Trump: ‘I’m The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Puerto Rico’

(photo: public domain – Flickr/WhiteHouse)
Forty-six days before the presidential election, and with a very tight race in battleground state Florida (I’ll get to that), the Trump administration has suddenly announced a new $13 billion aid package to help rebuild Puerto Rico which was decimated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Hill reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will award $9.6 billion in grants to help rebuild the Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority addressing repairs to electrical substations, power generation systems and transmission lines. Additionally, $2 billion will be targeted to rebuilding the U.S. territory’s school buildings and educational facilities. During a press briefing today, Donald Trump told reporters, “I have to say in a very nice way, very respectful way, I’m the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico. Nobody even close.” Hold the phone… You may recall this is the same man who, in November 2018, told congressional leaders he didn’t want anymore relief funds going to Puerto Rico. He also claimed officials in Puerto Rico inflated Hurrican Maria’s death toll in an effort to make him look bad. In June 2019, when Congress was finally able to pass additional relief funds for Puerto Rico, Trump attempted to take credit for the move even though he’d worked to block such funding. At the press event today, Trump tried to say “Democrats don’t want to see” aid to Puerto Rico passed, but the Democratic-led House passed billions in aid to Puerto Rico in February amid Republican objections. Now, I’d sooner bite my tongue than be cynical, but it’s a fact that thousands of Puerto Ricans migrated to Florida after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. And in a race where every vote counts, the timing of this new funding certainly is convenient. Real Clear Politics average of polls in Florida shows Democrat Joe Biden just 1.6 points ahead of the Donald. If Trump loses the Sunshine State’s 29 electoral votes, his path to winning becomes VERY tight.

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Flashback Friday: Mary Chapin Carpenter ‘This Is Love’

Mary Chapin Carpenter (photo: Aaron Farrington)
Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “This Is Love,” from her massive 1994 hit album, Stones In The Road, has been bouncing around in my head lately. Longtime readers know the 5-time Grammy Award-winner’s music holds a special place for me. Full of melody, humanity, and thoughtful self-exploration. I’ve had this on my mind the past few days as a friend of mine recently announced a huge life change as his relationship of several years came to an amicable end, he’s leaving his home of many years and journeying on to the ‘what’s next.’ Recalling Mary Chapin’s lyrics, I found this sums up in the best way how we send love and support to those who move on to the next chapter. Hit play and listen. You’ll get it.

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Long Lines As Early Voting Begins In Virginia

(screen capture via CNN)
Today is the first day of early voting in Virginia, and CNN reports the lines at polling stations are very long with folks waiting over 2 hours to cast their ballot. One gentleman told CNN, “I don’t trust the mail right now – If I got to stand here all day, I’m going to vote today.”