you heard several references to rowe v. wade whether or not judge cavanaugh, if he's confirmed, would be the justice to cast a deciding vote to overturn rowe v. wade or get rid of the right to legal abortion in this country. the president and ceo of the center for reproductive rights. when states pass laws that deny women reproductive rights, it is their lawyers that file these cases. thanks for being with us tonight. >> thank you, rachel. >> what is your reaction to the nomination of brett cavanaugh? >> here is how i see the nomination. the president promised to appoint to the supreme court only justices who would overturn rowe w. wade. and we need to assume that president trump has done that. the presumption is that he has nominated a man he feels confidence will overturn rowe v. wade. his record is not one that rebuts that presumption. he has decided one case on abortion in his time on the d.c. circuit, and in that case he ruled against the woman seeking access. and this was of a 17-year-old undocumented young woman who was i

yeah, i am not in love with this.it he is the first vote to overrule row v wade. >> you think. >> absolutely. he said rowow v wade. i can't remember the exact words. i think he said it was a freewheeling decision. >> shannon: you know there are people on both sides of the aisle who think it is not the best well written or well reasoned decision. >> i think that there's different ways you could have gotten to the result in row v wade he was critical of it. he wrote a decision, which i thought was aggressive. involving undoomed immigrants, who were being held and who wanted to have an abortion. he said the government could physically hold them, temporarily, but could physically restrain them to prevent them from getting an abortion. >> shannon: we'll leave it there.ti clearly that is something. there are conservatives who worry about the way he wrote that as well. plenty to dig through we will go through his record. >> we'll have a lot to talk about. >> shannon: yes, we will. we'll be right back. maybe you could trust you won't have to actually talk to your neighbor. are you watching the game

. >> the president is looking for someone who will overturn row v wade. >> democrats are wrngs the next justice could be pif tall to the survival of the landmark decision that legalized abortion and some republican senators will decide the fate of the nominee can be a deal breaker. >> the candidate for this important position who would overturn row v wade would not be acceptable to me because that would indicate an agenda that i don't want to see a judge have. >> with 51 republican senators and an ailing senator john mccain in arizona, the president can't afford to lose a single gop vote but in the midst of midterm season, that math could change with unexpected cross overs. >> there could be an interesting position for red state democrats facing tough re- election campaigns in november to go ahead and support the president's nominee because they do represent states where the president won overwhelmingly during the 2016 presidential election. >> dave, you think about the democrat senators like joe man chan and joe donly but the president says he's not likely going to ask how they would r

it's not as though any supreme court nominee is going to get up there and say i support row v. wade, or i don't support row v. wade, i'm going to be an activist or i'm not. isn't it based on decisions that have already been written and interpretations of those? >> you're the judge, you know better than anybody. this is just scare tactics. they've been pulling this out since bourque's nomination in the 1980s. row v. wade, as you said, we don't even know who the president is going to nominate. this is the left. they disagree with democracy when it doesn't go their way. they understand the stakes involved here, judge. if we have a cove justice and voted in by the senate we will inoculate the republic for at least a generation from the lunacy of the left. from the identity politics, the ideas that we don't need immigration policed on the border. the idea that you can give everything to everybody for free. the legislating from the bench that we've seen for years now. it will be defended in the supreme court by constitutionalists. >> -- ran for office, said he was going to put conservativ

there is obviously two big areas, one is rowe v. wade. the other is the possible avenues of challenge of the president of the united states, both through special prosecutors. >> i think that's right. i'd add two more. one is the affordable care act and what judge kavanaugh said about that. you are going to have senator warren on soon. judge said it was environmental. it is a fourth element of his confirmation i expect democrats to have very hard questions about. >> i am taking notes on my questions for senator warren who will be joining us in a minute. thank you for starting off our discussion tonight. coming up, senator elizabeth warren will join us. we will get her reaction to this nominee coming up. how will brett kavanaugh rule in a trump versus mueller case? to your bumper, cause.... i don't think enough people heard about your big day. but nothing says "we got married" like a 12 ounce piece of scrap metal. yo! we got married! honk if you like joint assets. now you're so busy soaking up all this attention, you don't see the car in fr

there is obviously two big areas, one is rowe v. wade. the other is the possible avenues of challenge of the president of the united states, both through special pros c prosecutors. >> i think that's right. i'd add two more. one is the affordable care act and what judge kavanaugh said about that. you are going to have senator warren on soon. judge said it was environmental. it is a fourth element of his confirmation i expect democrats to have very hard questions about. >> i am taking notes on my questions for senator warren who will be joining us in a minute. thank you for starting off our discussion tonight. coming up, senator elizabeth warren will join us. we will get her reaction to this nominee coming up. how will brett kavanaugh rule in a trump versus mueller case? (vo) what if this didn't have to happen? i didn't see it. (vo) what if we could go back? what if our car... could stop itself? in iihs front-end crash prevention testing, nobody beats the subaru impreza. not toyota. not honda. not ford. the subaru impreza. more than a car,

overrule row vchroe v. wade. think we should assume that is his position >> some one, been amount the supreme court. written two books about it. you do hatch cave cases like ju souter. people didn't know much about him. were surprised by, how he ended up. >> yeah, i think of this as the the myth of the surprise president. its that, the, idea that, that presidents turn out to be surprised. if you look at all nine justice thousands, and, i would include kennedy in this. there are no surprises on the court. that the scrutiny that goes on today is different from the scrutiny that went on even when george herbert walker bush nominated david souter in 1990. the justices are picked because of how they're going to vote. if you look at the four democrats, kagan, ginsburg, breyer came out, true for robert, true for, thomas, and kennedy. remember kennedy was picked because robert bourke had been defeated. they knew they had to pick someone more moderate. they got some one more moderate. >> to disagree with my friend jeff. o

of the people who are vetted on his list are known to be or have spoken out about the ruling of row v. wade in the past. it will be interesting to see what that pick is. senate democrats willneed a little help to block the president. >> chris, thank you. >>> it 4:48 now. minimum wage workers in maryland will be taking home a bigger wiycheck. it go up to $10.10 an hour. someus lawmakersed for an even bigger increase. that legislation slled this year. >>> many new laws are in effect. for informati, you c open the nbc washington app. >>> newideo o a -- a pretty incredible rescue. this.at this is coming from taiwan. a little boy, a 4-year-old b got his head stuck on the balcony in the metal park of t be balcony. he was hanging there for a half hour. they had to drill a hole to repel down and get him out. 's okay. he had some bruises. you have to imagine that everyone who watched that happen has to be relieved he's okay. >> your heart just stops >>watching that. i know. >> what are they doing in asia. this is the second kid with a head in the railing likea you can't let them wander out on to the

the two republican senator who is is pro-choice and wants to preserve access to abortion under row v. wade. he said this yesterday. >> a nominee's position on whether or not they respect precedent will tell me a lot about whether or not they would overturn row v. wade. a candidate who would over turn it would not be acceptable to me because that would indicate an activist agenda that i don't want to see a judge have. >> joining us jason and paul. both are msnbc political analysts. the short list is out, and there is one woman on it at this point. there has been talk that a woman nominee might be the way to go. and that might help hold on to suzanne collins and lisa, the only two pro-choice republican members of senate. >> i guess, if they think voting for a woman will have an ideological difference. go back 20 years to clarns thomas. at the end of the day, i think senator collins is lying because every single nominee that the president is going to pick, whether it is a man, whether a woman, indian american, african-american, is going to want to end roe v. wade at some level. either she nee

came to protest and demonstrate were -- focussed on what impact theid prt's decision could have on row v wade. the landmark decision that made abortion legal in the united states. >> i'm hoping onef the comments i heard said he thought it would take two more justices to really be the death for row. i don't know. i bu here because i'm worried about row. >> a will the of voters voted in president trump because he promised to put forth a pro-life supreme court justice. we knew likelye there wouldn opportunity for him to do that. and we're here today because we ink we're about to celebrate another nominee like gorsuch. >> police had closed this street earlier. but have since reopened it to traffic. as protestors begin to leave. >> thank you. judge kavanaugh isar 53 old. and like justice gorsuch, he would likely have a long tenure. during his remarks he talked about his local roots. tas mother who served as a judge and before that ht in d.c. public high school. he talked about coaching his daughters basketball team and being part of a vibrant catholic community. when he was confirmed to serve on t

major questions to emerge with judge kavanaugh's nomination is whether he would seek to overturn row v wadevice president pence says the topic did not come up in the process of selecting kavanaugh. >> i stand for the sanktsty of life but what the american people ought to know is as it the president said today -- this is not an issue he discussed with judge kavanaugh. i haven't eitherer. >> president trump's pick for veteran affairs not without hist orc opposition. willicy will propel to the senate floor for final approval but not every voter was on board, marking the first time that a senator has rejected a nominee. sen bernie sanders voted against him. willicy's final enist are voed of approval could come as early as next week. >>> defending congressman against allegations he defended abuse. the former coach said at the time neitherer he nor jordan had any idea dr. strous was abusing students. they never discussed the doctor during coach's meetings. telling nbc news there is an investigation ongoing and if there are victims, then they deserve justice. >>> last week his lawyers ask that he

pics anyone hostile to row v wade she is voting no. >> we don't know who the nominee is. testing out messages, row versus wade message, they will do a grassroots campaign but they don't know who the nominee is. it is a pr effort laying the groundwork for the obstructionism we are going to see in the future. >> do they run the risk, we have seen with other nominees but this is the grand one because of the pres.'s attempt to reshape the supreme court, they are no no matter what even before there is a pick, to oppose this no matter what. >> some of them will. kamala harris and cory booker and others thinking of running for president, probably already at no trying to figure out how to get other members and also 10 members running for reelection in states the trump won, five were trump by double digits. is a tough vote for them. they will be very quiet until they have to vote. >> brian phelan worked in the justice department, no one a group, demand justice and among other things are point to susan collins to stop pretending there's a magic question double give you legitimate r

announcement that anthony kennedy was resigning and they'll focus on healthcare not necessarily just row v. wadede. >> democrats have been concerned the only thing they seem to talk about are russia and stormy daniels. they started to zero in on the fact they needed to address pre-existing conditions, resurrect the cluster of use around the war on women. with this supreme court no nays, it gives them the opportunity to talk about the things they already decided they wanted to focus on. articulated it before the announcement of the retirement, before the announcement of the nominee. and i think they're just going to continue in that mode. regardless of what j.j. kavanaugh's views are on the subjects. >> dana: this morning, the other day, feels like a lifetime ago, this morning in the "wall street journal" talking about mitch mcconnell. you know you foe hem well. and any senate majority leader becomes public enemy number one. this is what the editorial board said. he says the only real power he has as majority leader is control of the senate floor. when antonin scalia died, mr. mcconnell said the

amy coneet ba she would likely face tough questions for her confirmatn hearings on row v. wade. >> kavanaugh isondered by many to be the front-runner. he was a former clerk for justice kennedy. >> he has bn o the sixth circuit for nine years and gained attention i 16 for his ruling that the irs targeted the tee part y because of its views. >> this is the second time for hartiman. he's the only candidate not educated in an ivy league school. present trump will announce his choice in a primetime adess at 9:00 night. >>> hours after making his big announcement, he will head to europe. his first sto in the u.k., where tens of thousands are expected to protest his visit. he will visit belgium and scotland before meeting with vladimir putin in finland. >>> mike pompeo is in vietnam after another round of talks in north koreaver the weekend. the u.s. called the meeting productive. but north korea appears todis disagr disagree. leaders had made progress on setting a time line for denuclearization. but just hours after he left the country, north koreath describe talks as regrettable and

barrett was more pragmatic two years ago just days before the presidential election about the chances row v wadewould be overturned in coming years. >> i don't think the core case, that women have the right to an abortion would change but the question of whether people can get very late term abortions, how many restrictions can be put would change. >> some conservatives claim it is judge barrett's faith that could be her biggest problem, david french of the "national review" says she is at the peak of her profession, she shares faith practices with millions of her coreligionists, her faith experience is their faith experience and the progressive seat to block her from the highest court because of that will betray our nation's founding ideas. let's talk about with mike huckabee who joined us live 2-way in. what do you make of this conversation that was so pointed with her during her senate confirmation for the circuit court level about what she really believes, the questions were do you believe in the bible, that is the tone a lot of people felt she was getting. >> are we still in america? it use

. >> the president is looking for someone who will overturn row v. wade. >> the democrats are warning the next justice could be pivotal to the landmark decision that legalized abortion and some republican senators will decide the fate say the issue could be a deal breaker. >> the candidate for this important position who would overturn woe v. wade would not be acceptable to me. >> with just 51 senators and john mc kaun in arizona the president can't afford to lose a vote. that math could potentially change with unexpected cross overs. >> there could be an interesting position for some of these vulnerable red state democrats who are facing tough election campaigns in november to support the president's nominee because they do represent state where is the president won overwhelmingly during the 2016 presidential election. >> the president says he's actually not likely to ask the candidates about how they would rule in roe v. wade. a lot of pressure coming that way. >> who were some of the names on the president's short list? we don't know them yet but we ca

v. wade the clear issue, that they will overturn row v. wade. brett kavanaugh is not going to be the person who chooses to do that willingly during the process. >> harris: nor is justice roberts by what we know. >> right. and, you know, on top of that, the liberal groups and the democrats are going to be lobbying murkowski and collins around the aca as well. they were holdout votes last year, did not vote for the skinny repeal of obamacare. and they're going to try to make the argument on those grounds as well, hoping to rerun that playbook from last year. it's not clear if that's going to work. collins and murkowski have talked about women's health more than the affordable care act so far in their discussions about this. but that will be another play in some of these ads. >> harris: a head scratcher as to why democrats haven't tacked about that, since they were willing to push against the candidates that hospital been named yet. you heard senator tom tillis saying i can't figure out why they wouldn't be tauging about that. in fact, he disagreed

. >> a lot of talk about the fact he will rollback women's rights, row v wade, b against workers andt would be very negative, even rollback civil rights. >> none of those comments have any validity in his record. judge cavanagh has written 300 opinions, sticks to the text, precedent, looks at every case with an open mind and go by the book than the law without protecting any policy. >> a professor wrote a wall street journal commentary, these days the press is full of stories about powerful men exploiting or abusing female employees, that makes it striking to hear judge cavanagh speak of his decency as a fierce champion of their careers. my daughter will probably be looking for a different clerkship but for my own daughter there is no judge i trust more than brett cavanagh to be a teacher, advocate and friends. immediate reaction on the left, alexander brown's gansevoort attorney said that is a perfect example of the mutual backscratching of schools in the judiciary, give my daughter clerk the ship and i will support your nomination consequences be damned, you make me feel powerful,

what does that mean for row v wade and the constitution.th my bladder leakage, the products i've tried just didn't fit right. they were very saggy. from president trump's '. but with new sizes, depend fit-flex is made for me. introducing more sizes for better comfort. new depend fit-flex underwear is guaranteed to be your best fit. i've been making blades here at gillette for 20 years. there's a lot of innovation that goes into making america's #1 shave. precision machinery and high-quality materials from around the world. nobody else even comes close. now starting at $7.99. gillette. the best a man can get. >>> welcome back to "hardball." president trump is set to announce his supreme court pick on monday night. the president who prides himself on building suspense teased the grand reveal last night. >> as you know there is now a vacancy on the supreme court. and if you turn in monday at 9:00, i think you will be extremely happy. >> a source close to the president said that the president wants to maximize television exposure, warping again

. >> there are different ways you could have gone to the results in row v wade but he was very criticaldecision i felt was aggressive. involving undocumented immigrants who were being held and he wanted to have an abortion and he said the government could physically hold them. could physically restrain them to prevent them from getting an abortion. >> shannon: we've got a leave it there but clearly that something. there are conservatives worried about the way he wrote that as well. come back this summer because were going to go through his record. >> we will have a lot to talk about. >> shannon: thank you. will be right back. now you can quit cable. switch to directv and now get a $100 reward card. more for your quitting cable thing. that's our thing. call 1 800 directv. we're inspired by color, driven by clarity and dedicated to improving your view, no matter your vision. our prescription sunglasses are the most technologically advanced available, and are ten times more accurate than those produced by conventional labs. our polarizedplus2 technology enhances color and blocks harmful ra

some states have so called trigger laws which if row v wade were overturned it would make it illegal.viously something that made him still very popular among evangelicals. >> will you come back? sure. >> all right. good. you and senator jones. thank you. you're a turn on. thank you very much. quickly wrap up as always with today's big picture. from spain. check it out. very strong photo. waving yellow and black flares. arms up running through the streets in barcelona, one of thousands of taxi drivers rallying today against uber and apps like it. they say they're taking away jobs. some did turn violent evening apps to temporarily suspend services. photographer here for afp and getty. as always would love to hear your thoughts. i am going to be reporting more tonight on trade with nbc nightly news with lester holt. right now stephanie ruhle picking up coverage. i feel like this is a super bowl day. trade, taf tariffs. >> then uber. that company has almost $80 billion valuation all built on growth. people outside the u.s. don't want it to grow that could be a problem. thank you. have a g

overturning roe v wade would happen automatically because his picks for the supreme court would be pro-life. do you see that connection as automatic? if you're pro-life you're for overturning row v. wade, and that's how the public should consider it? >> i'm pro-life, and the job of a judge is to decide cases before the court, but one of the concepts that really means a lot in america is you don't overturn precedent unless there's a good reason. i tell my pro-life friends you can be pro-life and conservative, but roe v. wade has been affirmed many ways over the years. i hope the justice that sits on the court, all of them, would listen to the argument on both side but story decisis is a well known concept in our law. >> are you going to vote for somebody that doesn't believe in that? >> i'm not going to vote for anybody who tells me they decide the case before the facts are presented to them. i don't expect them to tell me i will overturn roe v. wade. i have a bill that says because a baby can feel pain 20 weeks during the birthing process there's a compelling interest to protect a child from abortion at that period. that's a novel issue that's never been decided under roe. i h

a lot of pressure on row v. wade, putting pressure on murkowski and collins on their votes.his will not go away. this will be huge issue surrounding her nomination. neil: emily, it will be a tough battle. that is probably an understatement on my part. getting all the republican votes would be uphill battle as you said with susan collins and lisa murkowski. then you have to get some democratic support. maybe you have a chance with those up for re-election in trump-won states like joe manchin of west virginia, what have you, heidi heitkamp of north dakota, but what do you make of that? >> yeah, there is two reasons. there is two reasons this is going to be close no matter what. republicans hold such a slim majority in the senate right now. the second we're in midterm reason. the senate map for democrats is so tough. there are 10 vulnerable democrats running in elections states president trump won. puts joe donnelly, joe manchin, heidi heitkamp in tough position. those three voted for gorsuch. part of appeal for amy economy barrett, is from indiana. joe will vote the same on pr

. >> shannon: there's a question about he'll role back women's rights, rowe -- roe v. wade. >> he looks at every case and he'll go by the books and law without injecting policy preference. >> shannon: there was a wall street commentary saying these days the press is full of story powerful men exploiting female employees it makes it more striking to hear his female clerks speak of his role as a fierce champion of their careers and for my own daughter there's no judge i would trust more than judge cavanaugh to be a teacher, advocate and friend. immediate reaction on the left. a tweet from a civil rights attorney said the that's a perfect example of the backscratching of schools. you make me powerful, i make you powerful. >> judge cavanaugh has got ten praise for his judicial record and character and he's looking out for everybody. he's looking out for diversity and will be a powerful voice making sure women get equal career opportunities. >> shannon: almost half his clerks have been female and was the first circuit court judge to have all females in a class at the same time.

everybody is looking at support or supporter opposition to row -- roe v. wade.f overturning roe v. wade is actually republican women more so than republican men. 43% of republican women want roe versus wade overturned. >> wow. >> so chris, being a summer intern sometimes sets you on your career path in government. but if you look around, most of the interns particularly on capitol hill are from white and wealthy families. >> we pay our interns here. >> good for you. >> most people in psychic income. you are going to make a world a better place. >> resume material. >> yes. but this week, the democratic congressional campaign committee decided to pay a stippen to interns. interns that look more like america. working class kids getting a leg up on a career of government. >> that is only a few. i used to be working there. eli? >> this week with michael cohen in the news. i spend a lot of time talking to people in new york. and i was reminded by one of them of why it is that michael cohen did not wind up going to washington with president trump and joining the admini

we'll be foolish to wait to hear a name we know his intent with respect to row v wait -- roe v wade. >> and then with the nest on -- the next justice but how john roberts wants to move? asking what kennedy had for breakfast now is what roberts had for breakfast now it is an entirely different menu. >> we are out of time. thank you. [applause] journal"'s "washington live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up this morning, weekly standup reporter andrew and jamie discuss political news of the day. laura miller talks about the u.s. role in afghanistan and the military and political stability of that country. be sure to watch it c-span's "washington journal." live at 7:00 a.m. eastern this morning. join the discussion. >> a syndicated columnist talks about her book. >> we send it such confusing messages to young people. i don't envy them. this was a story that i put in the book about a number of women athletes who have opposed topless are semi-topless -- posed topless are semi-topless for sports illustrated. several have quoted that they are proud of their body

v. wade and the formal track. we're not only opposed to any candidate will overturn roe v. wade but also opposed to any candidate that will undermine rownd any other legal that protects and ensures reproductive rights. for the million women especially women of color, must overcome the barriers, lack of insurance coverage or paid leave traveling long distance, cultural stigmas immigration status and other to obtain abortions is not enough. we must fight one's ability to exercise the reproductive rights and personal liberties under roe. we expect that any trump candidate will be firmly against the formal contract which has led to significantly more black women, latinos and asian american women having health insurance and thanks to the aca, 70 million back people and 8 million asian americans now have coverage for preventative health services including reproductive health services without cost sharing. any support nominee was about to health coverage is [inaudible] not only do they pass the trump test and pose a threat to row the wade but they also have records of undermining immigrant rights, voting rights and other civil rights and issu

row know, senator hirono of hawaii. ms. hirono: we knee the spth said he wants his supreme court nominee to be someone who will overturn roe v. wade so judge kavanagh should not get the ben noist doubt. he should prove he can be a fair and effective justice, knowing full well he's already been vetted by the federalist society and the heritage foundation, whose goals are to overturn roe v. wade and repeal the affordable care act. not to mention at a time when we have a president who pushes the limit of his executive powers, we want to know where judge kavanagh is with regard to executive powers because the indications are that he views executive powers as being vast. as i said, at a time when this president pushes his executive powers to the limits, should we have somebody on the supreme court who believes that there should be an insulation of the president against either criminal or civil proceedings as long as he sitz in office. so this is a very troubling nominee. but it's par for the course for this president. we think that -- i certainly think that the he nominated him because he's very concerned about the mueller investigatio

rowe is overturned tomorrow, will be ready to help women in that case. >> both of california senators have taken a stand on twitter. kamala harris said we cannot go back to the days before roe v. wadewhereas dianne feinstein says the court must protect the rights of all americans. "abc news" will have live coverage of the supreme court nominee announcement at 6:00 here. >>> the fires ravaging so much of california, they are starting to make progress on the deadly fire. it killed one person and flames crossed to oregon now. it scorched more than 35,000 acres and wiped out dozens of structures. crews are up against it. >> they have a lot of challenges, erratic winds and the fuels are very ripe to burn, very dry down in the lower elevations. >> the county fire in napa and yolo counties is the largest wildfire in california has burned more than 90,000 acres. they are optimistic they will have it fully contained by thursday. they have it contained 70%. about 100 buildings are threatened by the flames and at least making good progress. >> they're prompting a warning by california's attorney general. >> michael finney. >> there are three counties currently under the state. the attorney ge

v. wade and i don't think they would pick a judicial nominee if they weren't fairly certain they would be a vote to overturn rowe on the supreme court. >> kristen, your view of that? >> i think that's right. all of the nominees on president trump's short list were cherry picked by the federalist society and heritage foundation. we know, because president trump has made clear over and over again, his goal is to appoint two or three justices to this court who will overturn roe versus wade. there is every expectation the person he identifies as the nominee tonight is somebody who will carry out his agenda. it is time for the senate to do its job, this fight is not over, just beginning. time for the senate to fully vet the nominee named by the president. we can't return to a world in which the reproductive rights of women is cast aside. >> russ feingold, on the latest news as everyone is bracing for what could be this gigantic fight. the "new york times" noting minutes ago there is a buzz at the u.s. courthouse as brett kavanaugh spotted leaving in a black sedan accompanied by security agents presumed to be secret s

v. wade. she also talked about intense focus she's gotten since justice kennedy stepped down. >> i'm consistently ranked as the most bipartisan senator by georgetown university. that's been in five years in a row. that i don't tow the party line, that i don't hesitate to break from the administration. they support the administration when i think that the president is right. i oppose him when i think he's wrong. and that's what i'm going to do in this case as well. >> my last question. we appreciate you taking the questions. >>> i just don't want to hold up. we're we're supposed to be in the parade. >> why not commit to voting no on a nominee that will not tell you that roe v. wade is -- >> i think i've made it pretty clear that if a nominee has demonstrated hostility to roe v. wade, and has said that they're not going to abide by that long standing precedent that i could not support -- >> you need -- >> that nominee. we don't even know who the nominee is. >> a lot of people are looking and say we need to hear that from you. >> but they have. i did a whole podcast. but what i'm telling you is how can you ask me to take a position on a nominee who's identity i don't yet know? i'm amazed that peo

and we hear the same thing about rowe roe v. wade every time there is a supreme court vacancy. it was a big deal when sandra day o'connor was appointed to the court 37 years ago. yet roe v. wade is still the law of the land. it's pretty clear justices have a way of surprising us. who could have predicted that justice scalia would strike down a ban on flag burning? it's a fool's error to find how a justice will rule on some hypothetical future case. but this regular uproar about roe v. wade shows the difference between how many democrats and republicans view the courts. liberal outside groups and many democrats have a litmus test. they seem to be very results oriented and focusing on policy outcomes of judicial decisions. they expect, they even demand, their judges to rule in favor of their preferred policies. liberal outside groups and their allies simply want judges to be politicians hiding under their robes. that's why senate democrats were so blatant in changing senate rules so they could stack the d.c. court of appeals. former leader harry reid made no bones of making sure