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by Peter Mertz
DENVER, the United States, March 27 (Xinhua) -- As about a third of Democratic senators have vowed to vote against confirming President Donald Trump's pick to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, bipartisan conflicts in the United States seem to have further eroded its political environment.
So far 16 of the 48 Democratic senators have reportedly supported the decision of their leader Chuck Schumer, who called last Thursday for a united Democratic Senate to stall the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, Trump's pick to the highest court in the country.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua last week, two-term Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, democrat, said that his party may do everything in its power to delay the Gorsuch nomination.
"Out West we have a principle ...a code of ethics. Some people call it a 'cowboy code of ethics,'" said Hickenlooper, who will complete 16 years of public service for the western state in 2018.
"If somebody takes your steer, and you let it go, and there are no consequences, then you can be pretty sure he'll do it again," Hickenlooper told Xinhua.
"I think there needs to be some consequences," the governor added.
However, Hickenlooper himself backed away from his initial suggestion that Democrats stonewall Gorsuch's nomination.
"I'm not sure if (a filibuster) is the right move," Hickenlooper told Xinhua.
A "filibuster" is an American political tactic, although infrequently used, whereby one political party is allowed to obstruct the other party's vote.
Hickenlooper also admitted that Gorsuch is probably qualified for the job.
"Gorsuch is a major league talent, an intellect (especially) his academic training and his accomplishments," said Hickenloope.
"If this was 10 years ago, I think he would probably get 90 votes in the U.S. Senate," Hickenlooper said, noting that the current political climate would not allow such easy consensus.
Gorsuch's confirmation hearings will continue next week and he is expected to win the April 3 vote, which means that the Republicans are likely to avoid another setback in Congress for Trump who suffered a blow on Friday when lawmakers pulled a major healthcare bill.
Republicans enjoy a 52-48 majority in the 100-seat U.S. Senate.
However, if Democrats agree to a "filibuster" then Gorsuch's nomination will require 60 votes and be more difficult to accomplish.
"I feel like senators who want to defend the Constitution need to refuse to vote on any Supreme Court nominee whose name is not Garland," Washington political insider and Seattle attorney David Richardson told Xinhua.
Merrick Garland was nominated by then President Barack Obama in 2016 after the death of Antonin Scalia, an influential and conservative member of the Supreme Court, but Republicans delayed the Garland vote until Obama was out of office.
"They are literally defending the Constitution by voting against Gorsuch," Richardson said, adding that what the Republicans did to Garland was an outrageous and unconstitutional act that had no precedent in U.S. law or politics.
"The fact that Merrick Garland couldn't even get a hearing in almost 11 months, let alone a vote, I think was a distortion of how the American system is supposed to work," Hickenlooper said.
"Politics is an ugly business, no question," conceded Denver Republican strategist James Ryder.
"The Democrats can't get over that the election is over," said Ryder.
The Supreme Court, created by the U.S. Constitution in 1789, is one of the three pillars of America's federal government, along with the executive and legislative branches.
The nine members of the Supreme Court are considered the most powerful people in the United States, together probably even more powerful than the president.
