> The Republican party had no reason to hold confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland - the votes did not exist to confirm him.

The senators are supposed to go to the hearing and then decide whether they think the guy should be confirmed. For you to say he didn't have the votes is to admit it is just a power grab.

Why not just hold the hearing and vote against him if you don't like what you hear? The silly thing about this is they could have just gone through the motions, just like they are doing now.