- The Washington Times - Friday, March 31, 2017

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Friday he’ll take part in Democrats’ attempt to filibuster Judge Neil Gorsuch next week, drawing a rebuke from conservatives who said he’s being hypocritical in trying to block President Trump’s Supreme Court pick.

Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said in an op-ed for the Hartford Courant that Judge Gorsuch wasn’t forthcoming enough with details about his judicial and political philosophy.

“In short, he has left us with substantial doubt,” Mr. Blumenthal wrote.

But conservative activists blasted the senator and pointed to a letter 14 Medal of Honor recipients wrote last month saying Mr. Blumenthal should be careful about questioning others’ credibility.

The military heroes said Mr. Blumenthal ran into trouble during his Senate campaign when he admitted he had overplayed his own military record, making it seem like he’d served in Vietnam during the war, when in fact his duty had been stateside.

“The fact you repeatedly and consistently claimed to have served in Vietnam is a gross case of stolen valor in our opinion,” the Medal of Honor recipients said.

Mr. Trump himself leveled the same charge at Mr. Blumenthal on Twitter last month, saying the senator had told a “major lie” about his own record.

The lobbying of Democrats has intensified as a final vote on Judge Gorsuch looms April 7.

In Montana, three key judges and a former judge wrote a letter to senators endorsing Judge Gorsuch for the Supreme Court, adding to the pressure on Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, to break with his party.

“Judge Gorsuch will provide valuable insight and perspective from the Western states on a Supreme Court that is dominated by Justices hailing from the Eastern seaboard,” the letter read. “Judge Gorsuch admitted to preferring dry flies to wet flies during the lengthy confirmation hearings, and that’s an opinion all Montanans can respect.

Sen. Joe Manchin, West Virginia Democrat, and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota Democrat, became the first Democrats to announce support for Judge Gorsuch this week.

To overcome a filibuster, Judge Gorsuch needs 60 votes, but Republicans only hold 52 seats. Although Mr. Manchin and Ms. Heitkamp have said they would vote for him, he would still need other six senators from the Democratic Caucus to assure his confirmation.

If he is unable to overcome the filibuster, Republicans will be faced with the decision on whether to go “nuclear” and change the Senate rules, curtailing the power of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.

Mr. Tester and Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Michael Bennet of Colorado are under particular pressure. Mr. Tester, Ms. McCaskill and Mr. Donnelly are up for re-election next year in states Mr. Trump easily won, while Mr. Bennet is from Colorado, where Judge Gorsuch lives.

The conservative Judicial Crisis Network, which launched a $10 million ad campaign in support of Judge Gorsuch, announced on Thursday a $1 million ad buy for Missouri, Indiana, Montana and Colorado.

• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.

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