The U.S. Senate vote confirming Neil Gorsuch as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice had support from three Democrats, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.  However, Manchin’s vote only came after the change in Senate rules (which Manchin opposed) allowing a simple majority of 51 Senators to confirm justices to the Supreme Court.

Before that vote, Manchin voted against the motion to break the filibuster, which Senate Democrats intended to use to prevent the confirmation of Gorsuch.  West Virginians for Life will score Manchin’s vote to keep the Democrats’ filibuster, in order to block constitutionally oriented justices from the Supreme Court, as anti-life.

Liberal Senators under the direction of the pro-abortion lobby had used the filibuster to prevent  court appointees of Republican presidents from being confirmed.  Once Mr. Obama became president, the 60-vote hurdle for lower court nominations was eliminated in 2013 by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).  Manchin’s vote against eliminating the never-used filibuster for Supreme Court nominees was, in fact, a vote to stop all Supreme Court nominees of Republican Presidents, such as Neil Gorsuch.  His subsequent vote to confirm Justice Gorsuch is a sham and a hypocritical effort to fool the public.

We have not been fooled by his political maneuver.  He has demonstrated that he opposes the type of judge, who intends to read the Constitution and rule accordingly.  Senator Manchin’s second vote to confirm Gorsuch is a duplicitous vote, meant to fool pro-lifers in West Virginia.