To no one’s surprise, Sen. Dan Sullivan has abandoned his 2016 principle about not voting on a Supreme Court nominee close to a presidential election and how vital it is to wait to hear from the voters.

Sullivan said with the vacancy on the court, “literally in the throes of a presidential election, I think one of the most important things we can do is let the American people, and let the Alaskan people, decide. Because this election, it’s now becoming very clear in November. Yes, it’s gonna be about who controls the Senate. Yes, it’s gonna be about who controls the White House, but it’s also gonna be about the control of the U.S. Supreme Court, which is why this is such an important election.”

That was in 2016, when Sullivan said the Senate had no business taking up a Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, eight months before an election that could change the power balance in the Senate and the control of the White House.

“The decision to withhold advancement of Mr. Garland’s nomination isn’t about the individual, it’s about the principle,” Sullivan said.

“Alaskans deserve to have a voice in that direction through their vote, and we will ensure that they have one,” Sullivan said.

In the days since the death of Justice Ginsburg, Sullivan and his staff worked up a statement about his new principle, which is the opposite of his old principle.

While national news accounts said for days it was a given that Sullivan would support whoever Trump nominates, Sullivan refused to issue a statement to Alaskans confirming what everyone knew.

Strangely, Sullivan is claiming that he hasn’t reversed himself at all and that he is sticking to the principle that the “Senate has generally confirmed a President’s nominee from its own party and not confirmed one from the opposing party.”

Sullivan is a big fan of word games. He wants to pretend he is being consistent, which is nonsense. He would do better to announce that he had his fingers crossed when he stood on principle four years ago.

When he announced his 2016 principle, Sullivan didn’t say he opposed voting on Merrick Garland because Obama was a Democrat. He said he opposed a vote because he wanted to hear from the voters.

Now he doesn’t want to hear from the voters and claims “historical precedent and principle” are on his side. Whatever you say senator.

The real principle, don’t forget, is that Sullivan will do whatever Sen. Mitch McConnell and Trump want him to do.

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