Discussion: Senate GOP Warns It May Go Nuclear If Dems Stand In Gorsuch's Way

Let them own it.

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Oh for Pete’s sake of course they would use the nuclear option. Who is not paying attention?

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Good. I can think of few better outcomes than an invocation of the “nuclear option.” That way, the odious filibuster rule is killed, but the republicans take the blame for its death. What is not to like?

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The only reason to maneuver to retain the filibuster rule is a belief that at some point in the future a filibuster would be successful against a Republican nomination. So, “we better let them have Gorsuch because something much worse might come down the pike later and we’ll want to be able to filibuster that.”

We are way past that now. Republicans have zero interest in following any rules, or allowing any rule to stand in the way of their power grabs.

THE FILIBUSTER IS A MYTH WHEN REPUBLICANS ARE IN POWER

Let them “go nuclear”, let the press go nuts reporting on how Republicans “went nuclear” and “killed the filibuster”, and hope that sinks in a little bit before the time comes when Democrats are in power and Republicans can’t filibuster shit.

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Force them to go nuclear. Count the days that Obama’s pick sat without even committee hearings and publicize it everywhere. Slow walk the hearings and interviews until the candidate is exhausted. It’s a long time to the midterms so to heck with the “red state” consideration. Change the countdown days that the Republicans refused even committee hearings to justify your opposition. That is the reason for resistance–not conservative vs. liberal or GOP vs. Democrats. Play their game the hard way and not the easy way.

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“If we end up with that gridlock, I would say, ‘If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,’” Trump said on Wednesday.


I wonder if he knows that the 2018 midterms will be a referendum about him,

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If Gorsuch is confirmed by the nuclear option the Democrats will need to impeach him or add members to the court the next time they have the power of the majority. Cheating President Obama out of his nominee and thus stacking the Court can not be allowed to stand. Period. Otherwise the institution will have lost all pretense of being impartial and its decisions will be nothing but tainted by this unethical power grab.

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OT: Is it me or has the tone of CNN’s headlines changed:

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Funny they would threaten to “go nuclear” considering they’ve had their finger firmly on the button since January 20 at 12:01 p.m. (ET).

Were it not for complete wanton destruction Rethugliklans would have no hopes, no dreams, no aspirations.

Why would a self-appointed Emperor worry about that? Sheesh.

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Let them go nuclear. That should actually be a Democratic objective. Turns out the filibuster is basically an exclusively Republican tool anyway. It gives Ds something to look forward to. It also gives them a very accurate narrative of one-party tyranny. President Bannon and Vice-President Trump will rue the day.

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Why are Dems even bothering to show up? We have no say, no power to legislate, are not being included in any dialog or lawmaking.

Just go the f home and let the GOP own this mess

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I would like to see CNN be the first to adopt the Olbermann Plan: Air all speeches, press conferences, etc. with a 7-second tape delay. Then whenever they tell a lie, stop the tape and insert a fact-check.

This would certainly help them fill the void left by the absence of Mr. Micturition’s minions’ CNN appearances. Hell, it’d turn a 30-minute press conference into a day-long broadcast.

Best of all, I’m sure Comrade Coir Coif would appreciate the “input” not to mention the extensive air time.

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So Dems need to say “OK. Go nuclear if you think that is the best option for the country.”
The reality is that they have little power. Dem voters need to see what happens when they are complacent, and Republicans need to learn how unpleasant it can be to own everything. The Dem agenda must be to slow walk things enough do that people will see the damage coming and complain.

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Ah, that’s the problem to begin with - the GOP owns the government right now and they don’t give a flying fuck about anyone but themselves. Stalling Gorsuch merely delays the inevitable.

I don’t remember the circumstances between the election and the inauguration, but if Obama had the chance to make a recess appointment, he should have.

Simple, get quoted saying something along the lines

“We will provide the same cooperation and level of respect that our republicant colleagues provided the previous President to this loser of the popular vote. The previous congress provided us with an example of the pathway forward. If you want to understand our approach, you should probably consult the one who developed it, mitch mcconnel, who by the way suppressed a report on russian interference into the 2016 election prior to voting, so we understand his level of commitment to open democracy.”

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So what? It didn’t help out Merrick Garland’s nomination that the GOP couldn’t filibuster it–they barred it from even being brought up.

So go for it. Next time the Senate is in Democratic hands, then we’ll see what happens.

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He did and I agree he should have. Although the appointment would expire at the end of the next Senate session, he should’ve slapped 'em just for the hell of it.

Would’ve been nice had he done it and included the line “Take that, bitch!” in the announcement.

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I didn’t realize that was how that works.

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Won’t matter much unless three of the cons expire. Thomas will probably live to be 103 and serve until he’s 102.

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