Schumer had a lengthy interview with Politico yesterday [March 23, 2017] after announcing he would filibuster the Gorsuch nomination.

In an extensive interview with POLITICO Thursday, the Senate minority leader made his most definitive statement to date that Democrats will deny Neil Gorsuch the 60 votes he needs to clear a Senate filibuster and ascend to the Supreme Court. Dismissing the notion of a deal to confirm Gorsuch floated by some members of his caucus this week, Schumer all but declared that Donald Trump's nominee will not receive the requisite eight Democratic votes — and that it will be up to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as to whether to try to blow up the filibuster to get Gorsuch through.

Republicans need 8 Democrats to vote for cloture to end a Democratic filibuster. Intense grassroots opposition to any side deals that would seat Gorsuch have had an effect:

While many Democrats are still assessing Gorsuch after four days of hearings this week, sources within the caucus said Thursday that the high court nominee appears increasingly likely to fall short of 60 votes. They attribute that to pressure from liberals, who blasted Democrats after POLITICO reported this week that some Democrats are mulling a deal with Republicans to confirm Gorsuch and preserve the filibuster for a subsequent nomination.

Politico counts 13 Democratic senators who haven't made up their minds yet, or won't answer questions on how they'll vote on a filibuster:

• Tim Kaine (VA and the 2016 VP nominee)
• Joe Manchin (WV)
• Jon Tester (MT)
• Michael Bennett (CO)
• Amy Klobuchar (MN)
• Angus King (ME) ...[Independent]
• Claire McCaskill (MO)
• Mark Warner (VA)
• Chris Coons (DE)
• Maggie Hassan (NH)
• Joe Donnelly (IN)
• Bill Nelson (FL)
• Heidi Heitkamp (ND)

Democrats can lose 7 cloture votes and still maintain a filibuster. There are several other Demcoratic senators who have said they would vote No on Gorsuch's confirmation, but have not taken a public stance on a filibuster.

Republicans could choose to change the rules and allow a majority vote for cloture on SC nominations. Their margin for error on such a move is very slim. Only three Republicans would have to vote against a rule change for Democrats to prevail.

The firm opposition to Gorsuch's nomination is unusual, even in these extremely partisan times. No recent Supreme Court justice has received less than 60 votes, with the exception of Samuel Alito, who was confirmed 58-42.

The staunch opposition stems partly from the view that this is a stolen seat. Gorsuch is before the Senate because Republican senators refused to consider Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court for almost a year. Intriguingly, Judge Gorsuch's has voiced a public opinion on Garland and such delays.

Back in 2002, Gorsuch wrote an article decrying the delays in Judge Merrick Garland's nomination to the DC Court of Appeals. Gorsuch wrote at that time:

Meanwhile, some of the most impressive judicial nominees are grossly mistreated. Take Merrick Garland and John Roberts, two appointees to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Both were Supreme Court clerks. Both served with distinction at the Department of Justice. Both are widely considered to be among the finest lawyers of their generation. Garland, a Clinton appointee, was actively promoted by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Roberts, a Bush nominee, has the backing of Seth Waxman, President Bill Clinton's solicitor general. But neither Garland nor Roberts has chosen to live his life as a shirker; both have litigated controversial cases involving "hot-button" issues.
As a result, Garland was left waiting for 18 months before being confirmed over the opposition of 23 senators. — UPI

Maybe Gorsuch should put principle before personal interests and withdraw in favor of Garland.

This article appeared on Daily Kos, March 24, 2017

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Addendum. There is another reason for Senators to refuse to vote on any Trump appointment. FBI chief Comey testified that Trump is under FBI investigation for collusion with the Russians.

As Michael McFaul wrote in the Washington Post on March 23, " the Russians "were unusually loud in their intervention," violating our sovereignty by meddling in one of our most sacred acts as a democracy and not seeming to care if they were exposed. The Russian theft and then publication of private data from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta produced a significant impact on our electoral process. The DNC chair was forced to resign and Democratic supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) became more enraged at Clinton, causing many of them to stay home on Election Day. Clinton's image was damaged continuously by daily media coverage of these stolen emails. Of course, many factors combined to produce Trump's victory, but Putin's intervention most certainly played a contributing role."

Should a President living under the shadow of an investigation for possible collusion with a foreign power...the high crime of treason... be permitted to make a lifetime appointment? Call your Senators. Text 228426, give them your zip code and be connected directly to your Senator. Or call 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senator.

You saw the effect of calls to stop Trumpcare. #StopTrumpSCOTUS.