OT but this just in Circle Jerk for the Media
I’ll Use ‘Every Tool That We Have’ If Gorsuch Met A ‘Roe’ Litmus Test
WTF?
Heh. You think McConnell would allow a filibuster?
If you want Gorsuch to oppose abortion restrictions, you’ll have to make abortion clinics for-profit enterprises.
Stay united and resist, Democrats. Your base is watching. Even if it’s all for naught, it’s an important symbol for all of us. Let McConnell nuke the filibuster.
These smooth-talking, born-to-be justices (a la John Roberts) make me sick. So smug, so certain of their success, so fucking lucky to be born with every advantage. They haven’t known one day of adversity, of what it’s like to be in the shoes of someone not as fortunate.
Under current Senate rules, a minority of senators – indeed, as few as one – can filibuster, or hold up, a Supreme Court nomination, effectively requiring 60 votes for a motion to end debate and move on to the nomination itself.
Since the Republicans currently hold 52 Senate seats, it means the GOP needs eight Democrats simply to schedule a final vote. (After the 60-vote threshold is reached, the nomination itself needs only 51 votes to pass.)
I just don’t understand the strategy to resist Gorsuch on the merits (even though he is about as meritorious as any Trump nominee could be); then cave and not filibuster; and meanwhile fail to extract any kind of undertaking from the Rs that they will apply McConnell rule to Trump, ie not entertain any nomination for SC justice in Trump’s last year.
The only thing gained by this is the preservation of the filibuster–which is a weapon that in practice will never avail the Ds, because Rs will not hesitate to use nuclear option.
By contrast, you (1) antagonize and demoralize a large percentage of D supporters outraged by the theft of Obama’s SC nomination; (2) confirm the dangerous perception that Dem party is feeble, calculating, ineffective; (3) increase the risk of breaking up the D party; (4) legitimize the theft of a SC justice; (5) let McConnell off the hook on the nuclear option, which he keeps in his back pocket.
This is a catastrophe for the party. Ds must hold the line on Merrick Garland, filibuster, and let Rs own the fallout. As matters stand, Ds will own the fallout. So, so stupid.
I firmly believe that the US Senate must refrain from considering ANY SC nominee from a President who is under Federal investigation for ties of collusion with a hostile enemy of the United States. Holding any confirmation hearing on that nominee precludes the voices of the American people from having any say in who they want to sit on the Supreme Court. T rump is not well-liked among the American people. His tenure as POTUS is very questionable. It is better to leave the seat vacant until the next POTUS is sworn into office.
No one, not Blumental, nor any Democrat should expect anything but weasel words from Gorsuch. SCOTUS nominees, as well as nominees for most cabinet positions, are masters of obfuscation. Roberts did it by talking about being a baseball umpire: “My job is to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat” and saying he had no agenda.
All this. It’s not about Gorsuch’s caveman views or the fact that he would be more “conservative” than Scalia. The GOP owes us one nomination, and this guy’s is as good as any other. My only concern is that faux Democrats like Manchin will break the blockade. I hope I am wrong. Tit for tat, my friends, and if McConnell triggers the “nuclear option,” all the better for when control of the Senate returns to the Democrats. It’s long past time to make a stand against Republican obstructionism, voter suppression and gerrymandering. They can’t win honestly, so they cheat.
I kinda like the Russian Stooge argument. It would be wrong to make a lifetime appointment under such circumstances. I also think Blumenthal is trying to open an Overton Window to impeach and convict Gorsuch for lying under oath should a later election produce a democratic majority.