I hope they ship Merrick a free NRA patch or send him a donation letter for consolation. Seriously though, just because the NRA says no we have to automatically not consider him? They are a lobby. Or are we not allowed to go against the NRA hivemind? How about they not presume something about a nominee who hasn't been able to prove something on the bench because the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet? Let the senators ask the questions and make a decision based off the answer.
You are free to agree or disagree, but so far they have been spot on in their evaluations of Obama's previous Supreme Court appointments- Kagan and Sotomayor.