Showing posts with label SCOTUS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SCOTUS. Show all posts
Gorsuch Confirmed 54-45, Chuck Schumer Hardest Hit
Gorsuch confirmed…this is not exactly breaking news, is it? In fact, he's getting sworn in today at the White House. But, I saw this over at Polination, and the numbers struck me.
A) “Joe Donnelly (IN), Heidi Heitcamp (ND) and Joe Manchin (WV)”Fifty-one would have been a bare majority. Gorsuch passed with three to spare. Three Democrats voted to confirm…Hmm. A bandwagon, perhaps??
Q) Name three Democrats up for reelection, in states that voted heavily for Trump.
One of the dirty little secrets of politics, is the ability of Congress Critters to cast a vote in such a manner so as to bamboozle, to use our former president's favorite word, one's constituents in order to deceive them, as you fleece them of their votes. First, is there any one among us who believes that if the vote were say, forty nine to forty nine that any of these three would have cast a deciding vote to put a conservative on the Supreme Court and risk the wrath of their party to do so? I don't think so.
Each party in the Senate and House have a Majority and Minority "Whip". The whip is responsible for counting votes and making sure that the party faithful follow the party line, or face the consequences. With just one exception, that is, hot button issues in an election year. We've seen this in the past.
Trump could and should double down on SCOTUS nominee
Dean L
Donald Trump has been president for less than two weeks and the opposition – the media and the Democrats – have tried every way to gin up opposition to every single thing he has done. For the most part he has been immune to the pushback. He wants to be president for all Americans, whether they are political opposition or not. But with the Obama-administration-driven partial, temporary immigration ban he is facing a mock firestorm of opposition.
Donald Trump has been president for less than two weeks and the opposition – the media and the Democrats – have tried every way to gin up opposition to every single thing he has done. For the most part he has been immune to the pushback. He wants to be president for all Americans, whether they are political opposition or not. But with the Obama-administration-driven partial, temporary immigration ban he is facing a mock firestorm of opposition.
This is a fire that is easily put out by a factual rebuttal of the histrionics involved. Yes, this was done far less smoothly than other president Trump executive orders and it is definitely a learning opportunity for the neophyte administration (not a teachable moment – a phrase I detest and thankfully one that will slowly fade with it’s principal, former president Obama). President Trump wants progress and he wants it quickly. There’s a happy medium to be found between speed and forethought. That balance has yet to be fully realized.
Nevertheless, there is another learning opportunity at work here that president Trump has already realized – he is going to shift the conversation quickly away from the awkwardness to which the media is now bitterly clinging and towards his next action – his SCOTUS nominee. The immigration firestorm will fade as the facts about the Obama actions that led to this limited ban become more and more of the conversation. Shifting the conversation to new ground is an quick win, and president Trump knows it.
What is less clear is whether president is going to double down by selecting Neil Gorsuch over Thomas Hardiman as his first nominee. Gorsuch is better nominee as a rock solid conservative. Hardiman is likely a good choice but less so. The advantage towards Hardiman is he is likely to be more easily confirmed than Gorsuch, less likely to face a filibuster.
Indications are that Trump is leaning towards Hardiman.
But here’s the thing – if Trump does appoint the less conservative nominee it will look to supporters and foes alike that he’s buckled. That will embolden his political enemies that he was able to crack so easily and disenfranchise his supporters that he isn’t going to drain the swamp and instead caved at the first sign of trouble.
You can’t drain the swamp without facing stiff resistance. Fierce resistance is to be expected throughout the Trump presidency regardless of what he does right now. So why buckle? Instead president Trump should continue to be bold, very bold. Maybe even bolder than Gorsuch like surprising everyone by pivoting back to William H Pryor.
Why? In addition to agitating his political foes to the point of apoplexia, heartening his supporters, he will be sending a signal that he’s made of sterner stuff than his predecessor – domestically as well as abroad. And that’s an important point to establish early. If the president is the dealmaker-in-chief the last thing he needs to do is inform those he will be dealing with that he’s sitting at the table in a position of weakness (i.e. that he can be pushed around). If Mexico or Russia or China see president Trump as negotiator Obama 2.0 this is going to be a slow, painful and unproductive four years for the president.
Furthermore, president Trump would avoid the nepotistic charges that he’s listening to his sister on Hardiman. Fiercely independent and not willing to give the media the ammunition to strike at his nominee on the grounds of their choosing.
And should a Trump nominee face a filibuster, let’s get that done now rather than wait and face a more fierce, organized opposition from Democrats in a few years with a second nominee that might not even come during president Trump’s first term.
President Trump was elected to clean up Washington. Now is the time to go big or go home – literally – because tomorrow will be too late when all the momentum is gone. It’s the reason the left is trying so hard with the fierce urgency of now to stop Trump in his tracks before he even gets started. Hopefully president Trump sees that and acts accordingly.
Chuck Schumer on Not Confirming Bush Court Nominees
“We should not confirm any Bush nominee to the Supreme Court, except in extraordinary circumstances. They must prove by actions, not words, that they are in the mainstream rather than we have to prove that they are not.”Cue the “Shocked, shocked!” members of the liberal establishment that Republicans might hesitate to confirm an Obama appointee that could shift the balance of the court.
A sampling of reasons why SCOTUS was wrong
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| Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. |
Here are a few other places on the Internet that agree with my personal opinion, the Supreme Court has made the wrong call on Obamacare.
Via Joel Pollak at Big Government;
For conservatives, it will be difficult not to see the Court a political institution whose rules and culture are hostile. It is now customary for Republican appointees to become more left-wing over time; the reverse almost never happens. The answer cannot be to win more elections. A bigger shift, in the legal academy perhaps, will be necessary to restore what conservatives consider the Framers' constitutional vision. And that could take generations.The Supreme Court has made a wrong decision, for the wrong reasons, in defense of a wrong policy. If citizens do not rush to the polls to undo what has happened–and after today, I am not certain that they will–our health care system will be ruined, our Treasury bankrupted, and our Republic endangered.
Bad Day for Liberty
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| Fear rules the day, not liberty. |
The Supreme Court today made a decision that will reverberate for a century. I'm not overstating it when I say that this was a fundamentally bad decision, a terrible precedent and a truly shameful day in American history. Before I delve into the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, let me add a glimmer of good that may come out of this decision to uphold the constitutionality of Obamacare (PPACA). There are two ways to look at this; the glass is half empty and the glass is half full.
Glass half full: This should really motivate the conservative base. Get out and vote for Senators and Congressmen and even Romney. It may also help ensure that there are more conservative justices on the Supreme Court, since even thoughs deemed dependable, are clearly not. Getting out the conservative vote has taken on new importance.
Will a Supreme Court decision decide the election?
By Dean L
My two cents on what the ruling on Obamacare might mean for Obama's chance at re-election and Republicans' chances to ensure that doesn't happen.
This week is shaping up to be a pivotal week in the Obama presidency vis-a-vis his chances to be re-elected in November. The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is expected this week to hand down its ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act a.k.a. Obamacare. While the November election seemed to be on a slow but predictable path to a specific outcome, the ruling by the SCOTUS could very well be a game changer. What happens after the ruling will depend on what the ruling is.
My two cents on what the ruling on Obamacare might mean for Obama's chance at re-election and Republicans' chances to ensure that doesn't happen.
This week is shaping up to be a pivotal week in the Obama presidency vis-a-vis his chances to be re-elected in November. The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is expected this week to hand down its ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act a.k.a. Obamacare. While the November election seemed to be on a slow but predictable path to a specific outcome, the ruling by the SCOTUS could very well be a game changer. What happens after the ruling will depend on what the ruling is.
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