Discussion for article #247476
He Earned ‘Respect’ From Both Sides Of Aisle
To state the obvious : this isn’t about Garland.
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The President also highlighted that Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch supported Merrick’s confirmation.
That was my favorite part.
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Obama abandons progressives once again and appoints an older white male “moderate” to Supreme Court when he could have appointed a younger progressive person and influenced the court for a generation.
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The President also highlighted that Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch supported Merrick’s confirmation.
That was my least favorite part.
I think you’re missing Obama’s long game here. I have no doubt that Obama and his team have gamed out the plausible scenarios at play here and have their collective eye on the middle and end game. We shall see.
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the “reputation of the Supreme Court will inevitably suffer.”
I would argue that already happened with Scalia, Thomas, Alito, etc. And now he’s thrown the country under the bus.
Pfft. If a POS like Orrin likes him I know something’s wrong.
I agree that this must be Obama’s chess game.
It’s going to look worse than it is if the GOP starts their stupidity about back-burnering the nomination until 2017. Hillary isn’t going to play quite so nicely.
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Your theory of who he should have appointed depends on how much of a long drawn out fight you wanted to watch. This nominee looks like the men who’ll presumably oppose him so that might lower the bar for the expected vitriol, but knee jerk opposition is what they do. The next Democratic president will likely have several opportunities to nominate someone not white, not moderate, younger and can have that fight at that time.
@becca656 Hillary isn’t going to play quite so nicely.
Neither will the anticipated Democratic majority in the Senate.
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I would share your disappointment if Obama realistically could have “a younger progressive person” confirmed under the current circumstances and thereby “influence the court for a generation.”
This is the kind of game President was born to win. He has a plan. And I trust it will end with net-positive for us.
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One person said it was his/her favorite part, and you that it was your least favorite part. I guess, for me, it’s both.
This is foolish nonsense.
A nominee who is not confirmed will not influence the court at all.
A “moderate” justice will have a profound impact on the ideological balance of the court since he was replacing somone from one end of the right spectrum.
Obama has a choice to make an empty symbolic gesture–i.e. nominate a young progressive, transgendered, burmese immigrant midget in a wheelchair who will never get a hearing- or engage in a massive political battle, the consequences of which will have a lasting impact on the country for decades.
In this battle, a nominee’s “progressive” ideology is a weakness as much as conservative ideology was for Robert Bork. Republicans would have no problem saying a progressive is not acceptable. It makes their job easy.There is absolutely no reasonable argument to be made against Garland.
Either Obama succeeds (a) by getting Garland confirmed which results in a seismic shift in court ideology, or (b) by successfully prosecuting the political case against Republicans well enough to tip the balance in the Senate.A Democrat in the White House with a Democratic Senate can change the court even more profoundly. If republicans see this as a real risk they will cut their loses and confirm Garland.
Cut out the “old white male” bullshit while Bernie Sanders is going to be the progressive standard bearer in this country, would you?
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I was hoping Obama would nominate someone from a western university instead of another Harvard grad. But at least he isn’t another Catholic.
Of course, likely his qualifications are moot.
Merrick Garland is fine…in fact, BIG CLAP for being the piñata for the stupid, cowardly GOP Senate…It doesn’t MATTER if he’s a white male. He is progressive just not a fire breather. I love how even MY party tries to redefine ‘progressive’ ‘liberal’ or whatever to fit their individual ‘needs’.
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With respect for you, I have to assume you’re just having a very bad day: on this particular occasion I see your remark as plain stupid. Yes, he could have nominated some sassy antagonistic Black Lives Matter lawyer. And how would that have played? Or are you even from USA?
I think he lobbed them a real stink bomb here, forcing them to confirm or be exposed as the loathsome racists they are. With a little GOP antisemitism thrown in too. A genius move.
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Hiram Stephen Williams · UCLA
We must make space for decency in our lives once more. And this could be a start.
Exactly. It is actually a heroic act and he deserves our salute for that. By accepting this nomination his real chance to serve for SCOTUS may forever be gone, and yet he’s willing to go out and do the piñata.
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More like slammed a knife in the chest of evil and now the twisting begins. ha ha
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I don’t get why it’s all identity politics with you.
The Alternative:
The next President will be sworn in at the end of January in 2017. And even if they name their nominee on their first day in office, it typically takes on average about three months to nominate and confirm a new Justice. So, the question is will the other Justices and Chief Justice Roberts appeal to country to get someone confirmed? Maybe, because I can’t imagine the Supreme Court being short a Justice all the way until April or May of 2017.
The idea that because it is Obama, the Republican controlled Congress would delay the process by nearly 11 months defies history.
It is definitely going to be a fight, and it may get pretty ugly at times, but because Obama nominated someone this month, confirmation may come sometime before July.
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