I’ve been writing about the Senate Republicans’ total obstruction of the courts for more than a year. I covered the obstruction of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals here, last June. It will begin to come to a head next week when Harry Reid tries to force a vote to confirm Patricia Ann Millett. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel and write about this in great detail again, but there are three vacant spots on the DC Circuit Court, and we need to fill them. The Republicans are going to argue that the DC Circuit doesn’t need any more judges even though the size of the court is determined by law. Harry Reid will have to decide if he will go nuclear.
This is probably the most important thing that will be happening in the Congress next week, so keep your eyes out and pay attention.
Hope they do better than the original NLRB appointees did.
I’m sure that, should any right-wing Supreme Court justice retire or die in the next three years, the republicans will decide we don’t need nine justices on the high court anyway, at least until a republican can nominate one.
Btw, I note that John Cornyn refers to Obama’s nominees to the 9th Circuit as a “court-packing” attempt. That will quickly be the Fox News thumbnail lie describing the issue.
At this point, in the wake of the shutdown, if the Dems don’t just put their heads down and roll over those bastards, they’re a bunch of pussies.
Yes, time to crush. Time for Harry Reid to bring the pain.
I voted for Obama twice. And would do so again considering the alternative. But after almost 5 years, I can only conclude that he’s been a poor president.
The last five years have sucked in many ways, but that suckiness should not be attributed to the president.
He came into office at the height of the worst financial crisis since the great Depression, a crisis caused by the previous administration. Then for most of these five years, the Republicans have tried to block just about everything he wanted to do. Considering this, it’s amazing how much he’s achieved.
Sure, he made some mistakes, mainly in thinking he could get cooperation from a party whose only policy has been to make him a “one term president”. A policy in which they failed. Now they are left with nothing but their own hatred and nihilism.
Anyway, I expect the Democrats to be playing a much tougher game from here on in, as we saw in this latest crisis imposed totally by the republicans. The strategy will be different since Obama is not facing reelection.
Well said. What I find amazing is how much Obama has accomplished in the face of total opposition of the most cynical kind. ALL of the blame for the crappiness of the last five years should be laid at the feet of the Republicans. Sure, Obama made mistakes in assuming the Republicans had rational priorities and that he could appeal to their pragmatic side (which hasn’t existed in a while). I also think, as a man of color, he’s learned to constantly telegraph “Look, see — I am not scary, I am not not unreasonable.” But in a more conventional environment this would not have been a problem.
The crowning jewel of Obama’s presidency is the ACA and, for all its flaws, it’s nevertheless an amazing accomplishment. Over time, it will be a complete game changer. The Republicans know this, which is why they’ve been in total freak-out mode. They hate him for trying to help people and they hate him for being a black man in the White House.
I was born when Kennedy was president. In my opinion, every president in my lifetime (up until now) has been seriously flawed. Obama’s the first one whom I consider a great man; a person committed to making the world a better place.
People criticize him for not reining in the excesses of the security-intelligence agencies but there too I’ve got empathy for the man. First, imagine what a total freakout there would be if a serious terrorist attack occurred during his presidency. He would be cut less than zero slack, unlike the last man in charge who managed to make up for “My pet goat” by wearing a flight suit with a ridiculous codpiece. Second, it’s impossible to know what’s actually happening behind the scenes; therefore, anyone who casts blame at Obama is making assumptions (and usually projecting upon him as well).
I agree. As for Kennedy, I’m a bit older than you — I remember him very well. Sure he had flaws. But they did’;t off him for those minor flaws, but for the good he did and wanted to do. He was one of our greatest presidents and he paid for that with his life. As a country we are still paying for it.
Allowing the Bush crimes to go unpunished was a mistake by POTUS. HAMP was a disaster. But yeah, I cut POTUS alot of slack. He can only accomplish legislatively what 60 votes in the Senate can get him.
The last five years have sucked in many ways, but that suckiness should not be attributed to the president.
He came into office at the height of the worst financial crisis since the great Depression, a crisis caused by the previous administration. Then for most of these five years, the Republicans have tried to block just about everything he wanted to do. Considering this, it’s amazing how much he’s achieved.
Sure, he made some mistakes, mainly in thinking he could get cooperation from a party whose only policy has been to make him a “one term president”. A policy in which they failed. Now they are left with nothing but their own hatred and nihilism.
Anyway, I expect the Democrats to be playing a much tougher game from here on in, as we saw in this latest crisis imposed totally by the republicans. The strategy will be different since Obama is not facing reelection.
Time to go nuclear. Obama, as a 2-termer, should have a MAJOR impact on the courts. By 2016, he should have 1/4-1/3 of all sitting judges. This is why we have elections. Republicans are trying to stop this.
Drop the bomb, Reid. End this extra-constitutional filibuster of appointments.