McConnell’s SCOTUS power play makes him the unsung hero of 2016

When the postmortems are written about the election of 2016, much attention will be paid to the the decisions made by President-elect Trump and his team over the course of the Republican primaries and general election. Mr. Trump’s political instincts and policy platform, coupled with the skill and energy of his campaign team, led to an impressive victory at the ballot box.

{mosads}But if the postmortems overlook it, the history books surely will not miss the importance to the Trump victory of a decision made nearly nine months before election day by an unsung hero of 2016 — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

On Feb. 13, 2016, as the nation mourned the unexpected death that day of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Sen. McConnell stepped forward to definitively state that the Senate would not consider a nomination to succeed him until after the presidential election in November.

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” he said. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”

The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. #Scalia https://t.co/QXHfOpEY6G

— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) February 14, 2016

With the strong support of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, McConnell held firm in the face of a ferocious onslaught of opposition from the Obama administration and its allies in Congress and the press.

When the Democrats finally resigned themselves to the fact that President Obama would not get a third appointment to the Supreme Court, they gleefully predicted that McConnell’s decision would help them make the Court a major issue in the upcoming election, and would propel their party to win both the White House and a Senate majority.

Well, they got it half right — the future of the Court was a major issue in November. Exit polls taken on election day revealed that Supreme Court appointments were the most important factor for 21 percent — more than one-fifth — of voters. These voters preferred Trump to Clinton by 57 percent to 40 percent. Their votes not only provided the margin of victory needed to elect Mr. Trump president, but also helped return Republican majorities to the House and Senate.

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Americans who cared most about the Supreme Court and voted for Mr. Trump did so in large part because of his clear and consistent commitment to appoint “pro-life” justices to the United States Supreme Court “who will uphold our laws and our Constitution.”

He not only promised that his choice to replace Justice Scalia “will be a person of similar views and principles,” but offered a list of prominent jurists from which he would choose his nominee. He reaffirmed his desire to appoint pro-life judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade in his first television interview (with 60 Minutes anchor Lesley Stahl) after the election.

Trump: Women may have to ‘go to another state’ to get an abortion https://t.co/ONNq5rSdr3 pic.twitter.com/ubEXsMvUfH

— The Hill (@thehill) November 14, 2016

In contrast, Hillary Clinton promised to appoint justices who shared her view that an unborn child has no constitutional rights, even hours before he or she is born. Her election would have ensured that abortion on demand would go unchallenged for a generation or more.

Secretary Clinton opposed waiting until the results of the election were known before considering Justice Scalia’s replacement, calling McConnell’s decision to let the people be heard “outrageous.”  

“Elections have consequences,” she said, referring back to President Obama’s re-election in 2012.

She’s right — elections do have consequences.

The election of Donald Trump and a pro-life majority in both houses of Congress means that Hillary Clinton’s radical abortion agenda has been firmly rejected. Legislation to ban abortion in most instances after twenty weeks of pregnancy, a point by which unborn babies demonstrably feel pain, can now go to the desk of President Donald Trump, who has promised to sign it.

The same can be said for legislation to defund Planned Parenthood and its barbaric trade in the baby body parts. And a Supreme Court Justice committed to upholding our nation’s founding principles, including the right to life, will be nominated and confirmed.

The Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Scalia’s untimely death and the question of who should fill it was an issue that worked strongly in favor of the Republican presidential nominee, delivering to him millions of votes that might otherwise have gone to his opponent.

The tenacious efforts of Senator McConnell and his allies to make sure the American people had an opportunity to be heard on this issue were an essential part of Trump’s victory.

That’s the definition of leadership, and all those who care about rededicating our nation to its founding principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness owe him a debt of gratitude.

Dannenfelser is the president of Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life organization.

The views expressed by Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.