Of course the GOP isn't treating him respectfully. I believe the point was that there's no reason for Obama to screw over Garland like that.
Exactly.
While I'm ambivalent on the confirmation (they really should at least put him through the wringer in confirmations and make their case why they think he doesn't deserve to be on the court), they're playing typical partisan games. They don't want their advantage on the court to go away, simple as that.
For Obama to essentially Charlie-Brown a respected jurist and yank away the nomination just as it's about to happen because he sees a better deal would be senseless and cruel. Unless Garland was in on it the whole time, but I seriously doubt that,
But if he is, he can sit through a couple of days of confirmation hearings and then announce he's withdrawing himself from consideration because he's so disappointed by how some people in the Senate have politicized the confirmation process (inevitably one of the Tea Party senators will have said/asked something inflammatory by then). Then Obama can give a speech about how he tried to extend an olive branch and offer a nominee that everyone could accept but the Senate Republicans spat in his face.
Then next year, the Senate will confirm 39 year old Shanequa Barrios-Chung as the first bisexual transwoman atheist SCOTUS justice on a 51-49 vote.
Except the SCOTUS 60 vote filibuster still exists, and Republicans WILL use it.
Schumer has already said if he's in control of the Senate and the Republicans keep up this charade, he will get rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.
