Bi-partisan truce? The Republican's are in an out right assault on the Judiciary. Of course they are not going to impose a self generated truce. The Democrats are delusional if they thing that the Republicans are ever going to relent from legislating from the bench.
2
The murmurs we're hearing now from Republicans about returning to civility in the Senate will reach a crescendo when the senate flips to Democratic control. Let's hope the Dems wait a few years before agreeing.
2
Partisan sycophants serving their master, not the country. Begone!
VOTE in November, please. If this kind of action satisfies you, by all means support it. If you think it is a betrayal of this country, support those who will think of the good of the country rather than their increasingly rank party.
3
What in the world would make the Dems on the committee agree to a deal based upon the belief that Grassley has integrity? Or did they just do what was expedient for themselves?
We are where we are because of the fecklessness of the current Democratic leadership. The Republican plan and the 35 year execution of that plan re: the Judiciary has been clear for well over a decade, if not longer. Pelosi, Schumer, Reid, Hoyer, (I hate to say it) Obama, Biden et al have done nothing meaningful to stop or reverse the course. With the Garland and Kavanaugh nominations, the Republicans have rubbed the Dems noses in their complete and absolute lack of power re: judiciary appointments. Yet these clowns still think they have leverage when they make a deal?
1
Look at recent history. The GOP says one thing and does another. It's a sad thing when the supposed leaders of our country cannot be trusted. The decisions they made since becoming the Congressional majority worked only to give them uncontrolled power and reduce the many norms of civility and bi-partisanship that the body had developed over decades. Are they proud of themselves for destroying that institution?
Who are they answering to? Certainly not their constituents! Some hidden person with dark money has their allegiance. When we find out who, the whole nations will be shocked.
2
Guess what, the American people have spoken and they want their advocates to fight tooth and nail for them. The Democrats have failed to do this and the result is a well funded minority have taken over the GOP and run roughshod over the rest of us. This is no time to argue over means and just get results. Democrats have to energize their base rather than try to get the "deplorables" to vote for them. It's not going to happen. Lets start winning!
2
If the Republicans retain control of the Senate, they should move the judicial hearings to a larger venue so they can have one mass confirmation hearing followed by an immediate vote to confirm all of the new judges. Assuming that most, if not all, of the 15 to be vetted before the election are the remainder of those already approved by the Federalist Society when they recommended Brett Kavanaugh, they (the Society) will have to scrape up some more candidates for the next round, given that all of their choices leading to Mr. Kavanaugh's appointment will have been seated.
The GOP has already made the appointment process a total sham. The only point of having continued hearings is to give them more face time to bloviate on live television.
The resulting public distrust and lack of confidence in the partiality of the federal courts will take many years to overcome. I won't see it in my lifetime.
16
This is more Republican underhandedness. Surely there are good conservative judges who are not members of the Federalist Society and who are not biased against gay people.
The timing of this hearing is very disturbing. If the Senate is in recess, the Judiciary Committee should not be vetting judges.
I despair more and more of bipartisan action any time soon.
9
Obviously the GOP cannot be trusted to tell the truth. The Democrats have to take the House at least or we may all lose our right to vote if we're not a "conservative".
14
The Democratic Party leadership in the Senate and House got to go. Many of us will go vote, though the thought that Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Schumer won’t get out of the way is disheartening. This latest deal tells us that they aren’t paying attention to the lies after lies from the republican leadership. Shame on Schumer.
12
"This bed was on fire when I laid down in it.”
Then why would you lie down in it? You had a great opportunity to try to put it out by encouraging your colleagues to honor the spirit of the compromise. We need a bulldozer, not a wave to topple this Red Wall.
11
Deals are for suckers when there's more power to grab. Seriously, why do the Democrats continue to believe anything Grassley says at this point? They're apparently clinging to the belief that there is still honor and a person's word and precedent in Congress. Republicans believe none of that and have gleefully torn it all up, except when it's convenient to squawk that Democrats are somehow bending the rules, as we saw with the ludicrous Kavanaugh complaints that pretended Merrick simply never happened. And the Dems will continue to run to the football like Charlie Brown while Lucy, hardly believing that he could still be so gullible, pulls it away. Again and again and again.
15
This action by the Republicans surprises no one but the naive, feckless Democratic leaders - out of touch and out to lunch.
8
Movement Republicans have labeled everyone on the right who doesn’t march in lockstep with them RINOs. In fact, there can be no one more “RINO” than these Republicans who are intent upon destroying the American Republic.
5
The Donkeys have no life. They are cannon fodder for the GOP. Weak in thought and effort.
8
So, to be clear, you're saying the current leadership of the Democrat Party betrayed the young and the Liberal(er), those who have created the only pulse, the only excitement the party has seen in years, bargained away the one thing that matters more than anything, and then pulled a Susan Collins on their members: "Oh My God, look what that Grassley did! He promised me...!".
And these long, long, long running leaders, failures by every realistic political standard, are fully prepared to stand in the way of younger, more energetic, more forward-looking members, lose the most momentous election in our history, encourage the ward-level infighting and grasping for small power that keep voters away from the poles and candidates out of office.
Or, put another way, Democrat leaders are idiots.
5
The stupidity of the Democrats knows no bottom. From "Breathless" Harry Reid onwards, it is always about "the decorum of the senate" and such nonsense. Rubber knives all, 20th century relics, artifacts, stumbling about the chambers trying to create two generations between the current bunch of Democrats and any hope of new blood. SO DONE with losing under these fools.
4
Republicans have welcomed fascists, white supremacists and neo-Nazis into their party and now rely heavily on their votes. The idea that Republicans will behave ethically or honestly, with respect to something as critical to perpetuating their illegitimate occupation of our government as judicial confirmations, is naive in the extreme.
Take one look at a Trump rally. We are only a few years away from concentration camps if we don’t stop this.
15
The GOP has proved, once again, that it not only cannot be trusted but more importantly, that it doesn't give a damn about the will of the people, the lame excuse McConnell used in denying Obama's SCOTUS nominee even an interview. In fact, Mitch McConnell doesn't give a damn about the country. He continues to gleefully sow divisions that will haunt the country for decades, divisions dangerous enough, indeed, to split the nation. We are at war for the governance of the country and the rights of minorities; isn't that truly what the Civil War was about?
6
The GOP fights tooth and nail for its values. It doesnt care whether the Dems will play or not. The Dems always give in.
When the Dems eventually take over the Senate again, they will return the filibuster and other processes helping the minority so we can have bi-partisan agreement again.
20
@EmmettC, the modern GOP has no values. It cares only about power. Ignore the talk.
2
@EmmettC, they had better not until we get back two justices to get the balance back where it should be.
1
The R-Trump team is ascendant, politically and it's because the other side doesn't offer a competing narrative that appeals to the unshakeable middle-America voter. That group votes, consistently, and they pay attention to their issues, which may be different from mine but they are winning elections, duh.
3
Rather than continuing to negotiate with Republicans, the Democrats would do well to reflect on the nature of negotiations and treaty agreements between the United States and the indigenous tribes of North America. This is war, and a dirty one at that.
Conceding anything in the belief that it will yield a lasting quid pro quo is naïve and wishful thinking. Only the threat of fighting back, or the consequences of having successfully done so, will deter Republican power grabs. This will not change unless or until the Democrats are in the majority in the Senate. To the extent that Democrats are powerless to stop the onslaught in capitol, they might as well dispense with going through the motions of parliamentary procedure and take their battles directly to the electorate. The immediate prospects may be grim, but the consequences of business as usual are likely to include a longer and more dangerous misery.
6
Ideally, this will teach Sen. Schumer and his caucus not to try to be reasonable with rattlesnakes.
5
McConnell's actions in violating their agreement are both typical of him and despicable. He is totally untrustworthy, and Schumer must note that if he desires to continue to be the minority leader, when McConnell seeks his help for further legislation during the lame duck session. Especially with tax sham II along with the GOP's contemplated theft of our earned benefits which we paid for, to relieve their new self-inflicted multi-trillion dollar deficits.
The GOP has proven itself unworthy of bipartisanship. If and when the time arises and the tables are turned, extreme partisanship will continue, and now it is especially warranted on both sides of the aisle, in both houses.
51
@Quandry. There is a big part of me that believes that Schumer knew this is how it would work out and he didn’t care. Wonder what HE got?
1
This is what liberals don't understand: this is war. Nothing less. They care about how people feel and about getting the perfect candidate. You need any candidate with a D after their name. I don't care who they are, whether they're pro-choice or not, what they think about taxes and spending or anything else. We need Democrats. It's us versus them.
Conservatives understand the game that's being played. Liberals simply don't. And that's why they're getting crushed.
55
@MR, what you don't understand is that there is a choice between power and principle. The GOP picked power and abandoned principle. The DP chose principle and lost power. Those without principle have always had a worldly advantage over those with principle. That's just how it goes. The hope is that eventually principle will realize power, as it did in the civil rights movement. If not, then the only option for any decent person is to go down fighting, principles intact.
1
@MR No, it is because the GOP have no intent to govern and do not care if they break the system. We need to do a better job of fighting for voting rights and then get the voters energized. Then they have no chance.
1
@MR - I hear what you're saying, but i'm not so sure I want to live in an America where we all sacrifice our morals just to win.
Well, this kind of Republican lying and breaking of agreements surely follows the same actions in 1930's Germany by the National Socialist Party! (Nazis.)
10
To be fair you might give a little more background. The Democrats have only one weapon now in opposing judges: delay. The more they can slow down the confirmation process, the fewer judges get confirmed.
These hearings were postponed at the Democrats' request to these dates. Had they been held when originally scheduled, the Senate would have been in session. That the Senate is now in recess cannot be used as a reason to postpone. Delay, delay, delay has to be opposed sometime.
1
This maneuver is pretty sneaky. I wish the Republicans had not done it.
But it reinforces what the Kavanaugh hearings made plain: the Senate Judiciary Committee has polarized to the point where its hearings are meaningless exercises. Same with the Senate votes.
Sad to see our judicial system become so political, but it's the liberals who made it that way. Using the courts to make law as in Roe v. Wade and Doe v, Bolton was (I think) a foolish move. This is the result.
5
Did I read somewhere deep in this article that Ranking Member Diane Feinstein (D-CA), who is running scared for re-election, "agreed to Wednesday's hearing and another to follow it"?
Well, yes Senator Feinstein did agree to the Wednesday meeting and one to follow - if you can believe The New York Times, and who doesn't belief The Times?.
Apparently, the good Senator was under the mistaken impression that the Senate would be in session while it was in recess so she could chase votes in the Bay Area. That darn staff of hers keeps making tiny little errors, like keeping secrets and scheduling conflicts.
Way to pursue facts and truths without fears and favors, Times. A lesser beacon of democrazy would not have even bothered to bury this bit of irrelevancy deep in the bramble bush of partisan jurinalism.
2
Dems need to grow up and realize there is absolutely no reason to trust anything that comes out of the fascist Republican playbook.
8
I seem to think so much of what has happened, has happened since the last census. Things were in place and then it was allowed to all fall into place to assure a decade of Republican dismantling of AmeriKa. So perhaps 2020 becomes the census election, like 2016 was all about cementing a partisan judiciary.
It is all part of the plan and it is all working nicely for the kleptocratic oligarchy. Welcome to AmeriKa.
4
A lot of teeth gnashing over a fairly routine political maneuver. The GOP did not act as their political opponents wanted them to, and now it is the end of the world.
The Senate has always been a tough place but it always impressed me with its decorum and respect that its members used to show one another, and that more often than not led to bipartisan decisions. The circus that we see now is slowly eroding the unwritten rules, and i find this to be lamentable.
9
Agreements with the GOP, at least recently during Obama's administration, often meant little. Under Trump's leadership, agreements with the GOP mean nothing. Trump has repeatedly shown he is very willing to ignore agreements that are no longer convenient. The rest of the GOP is following suit. The GOP's effort to disenfranchise more than half the citizenry from their country and government continues and only we voters can end it.
6
How much is the GOP paying Democrat leadership to be able to run this country?
Anyone will tell you, ask a 7-yr old - the results from the GOP stacking the courts will be violence. Democracy is not fascism, and the people will rebel against fascists; Americans were born into a democracy and they expect to live in a democracy.
9
After decades of appointing left wing judges who defy the constitution, ie California, I am all for payback. Enjoy the view.
10
@Patrick Turner, so anyone not a right wing ideologue defies the constitution. And right wingers that ignore it are ok?
4
The Republicans are bullies in the election and Jeff Flake said recently they don't want to compromise with the Democrats any more. Their ideology has gone to their heads less government and everything for the rich. With destroy the climate added now by supporting coal. Now voting in conservative bully judges in at an alarming rate show the culture of corruption have no morals . They let a women abuser in the highest court and I bet the lower levels are invested with women abusers also.
8
@D.j.j.k
What was that woman abuser they let into the highest court?...that was never convicted of a crime only accused with no corroboration to back up anything? Shame on you for judging and innocent person guilty without that person even being indicted...
2
@ORnative
Shame on me. There were 3 women that came forward and said they were sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh . And the one week fake investigation was a spectacle. When we get in you will see an investigation on Kavanaugh and Trump the other women abuser. There were 2,700 law professors signed a letter Kavanaugh was not fit to be a judge. Truth isn't truth to the GOP but it is to the truth to rest of us.
1
When we get the chance, (2021?) we need to start removing these right-wing operatives from our courts. As far as I'm concerned by any means necessary. We need two thirds in the Senate? Expel McConnell, Grassley and others for their abominable treatment of Garland and their absurd cover up of Kavanaugh. Then push through the removal of Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Thomas, having previously impeached them in the House.
Throw the right-wing trash off of our Supreme Court!
Never mind that we'd be breaking established norms. The Republicans will break any norm. Time to fight fire with fire!
11
@Jack Toner
Didn't you get the message...Trump is going to be reelected in 2020...
3
Very clever these Republicans. Confirming 15 judgeships right in front of the Democrats and not one of them helped with the confirmations. Some might say this is pretty foxy. I say it is using their head.
They need to keep confirming more and load up the courts with as many conservatives as they possibly can. Republicans do it fast before you are stopped by the Democrats. They would do this if the shoe was on the other foot. Thank goodness it isn't.
9
@WPLMMT Sounds like someone who cheats at cards to me.
5
In other words, any sort of chicanery and dishonesty is acceptable, as long as it’s Republicans doing it. At least you admit it.
4
The shoe WAS on the other foot just a few years back. Dems didn't ram through anywhere near the number of judges the GOP is. The Dems kept to Senate standards until the GOP was blacking absolutely every Dem nomination, so the Dems got rid of the filibuster non-SCOTUS judges.
Conservatives on the courts just mean they will do the bidding of the rich.
5
Terrible journalism here: publishes Feinstein’s complaint but not Grassley’s reply.
Which says: this hearing was originally scheduled for Sep 26 & was postponed three times, for one week each, at Feinstein’s request — including the postponement to Oct 17. In other words, Feinstein agreed to a Committee hearing on the 17th. It’s she who is reneging on an agreement. It’s common, as Feinstein herself writes, for Committee business to take place during recesses with consent. As I wrote earlier, that is how logjams get cleared at session end. As Grassley writes in his conveniently unreported reply, Feinstein gave that consent when she agreed to a one-week delay from Oct 10 to Oct 17. She did not get an adjournment sine die. She got one to Oct 17. So this is hardly the GOP going rogue. They’re holding a hearing on the day Feinstein agreed to, It’s Feinstein trying to rewrite history because she wanted to get back to California to campaign (against a fellow Democrat, btw). Terrible reporting. Although probably good marketing — one-sided inaccuracies do keep the readership engaged.
9
Once again the Republicans are attempting to pack the courts with conservative judges and seriously impair our civil rights including voting rights. This is why voting and elections matter. It is everyone's duty to get out and vote and save our democracy. The constantly lying President and his Republican puppets are winning. This trend must be reversed.
11
In conducting a secret "training camp" for law clerks it hopes will one day be conservative judges, the Heritage Foundation promises “generous donors” will make “a significant financial investment in each and every attendee.” Sounds like the foundation is now buying judges. And is that how Kavanaugh's $200,000 credit card debt was suddenly paid off when Trump nominated him for the Supreme Court?
26
GOPs are chuckling at pulling another fast one. Dems are screaming about it. When Dems get back in power they'll pull the same things using this as justification, and the GOPs will scream.
We need standards and rules which are followed consistently, or we'll spend forever in partisan "gotcha" moments like this. IF the Dems can be more grown up than the GOP, maybe they'll be able to push some rules through:
An obvious one would be that no judges are appointed or confirmed within __ months of an election for Pres or Senate. GOP understood this principle when Garland was nominated, but now seem to have "forgotten" conveniently.
Another might be that anyone who has to be confirmed by the Senate can't be fired by the President alone.
Certainly some about politicians not firing or influencing those who are investigating them.
And one that every President of either party has understood until recently; Assets placed in a blind trust, so the Pres and his kids can't intermingle "diplomacy" trips with selling space in buildings named after the Pres.
And another that all the rest understood; disclosure of tax returns.
Others would relate to disclosing who is paying for campaigns and ads; GOP would hate that change, and Dems may not like it either. Maybe we could even hope for a Constitutional amendment that says corporations are not people.
We need to bring McCain back and make a few hundred clones. We've got a lot to fix.
8
Committees often work when the chamber itself is in recess. This especially occurs near the end of a session. This is how logjams get cleared. The GOP controls the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Committee operates by majority vote, so they can approve nominees as they wish. Nothing here changes any outcome. The only thing that is unusual is the Democrats want logjams. Tough.
3
Ms. Rushing’s conservative credentials are well established. She is a member of the Federalist Society.
Fewer than five percent of American lawyers are members of the Federalist Society. It's simply too far right. And yet, they claim six of nine members of the Supreme Court.
The Federalist Society, By Ed Meese out of Robert Bork, was established expressly to put arch-conservative originalists on the federal bench. And all Republicans support that cause.
It's a slow-motion coup.
12
@Occupy Government The Federalist Society is not far right. I was a founding member of my law school's branch way back in the early 1980s. It's more mainstream, and boring, than you would think. Quoting liberal justice Elena Kagan: "I love the Federalist Society". Other liberal justices have also spoken at Federalist Society meetings.
I have not been a member of the Federalist Society since graduating from law school, but I have kept up with its activities. If you think it is carrying out a "slow-motion coup", you're mistaken.
5
After the Democrats recapture the House, they should make passage of ANY of Mr. Trump's bills conditional of restoring unlimited debate in the Senate. i.e., requiring a vote for cloture, thus giving Democrats veto power in the Senate.
No restoration of Senate rules, no more Republican laws passed through the House.
13
The article is mischaractrising what’s going on. These judges aren’t in fact being confirmed, but having their nominations ready to be voted on AFTER th midterms. They will have a chance for the senate to vote on them at that point. There’s nothing unto words or disingenuous about that, other then the fake outrage of Democrats who were trying to stall action into January where they might be able to kill the nominations if. Captured The Senate.
6
I read the article and it was pretty clear. Nothing was mischaracterized.
15
After everything that has happened since 2008, when McConnell openly told the country that the GOP's legislative goal was to limit Obama to one term - then the stolen seat filled by Gorsuch - then the disgrace of Kavanaugh - Democrats in Congress still think they can compromise with these people?
This is why it's time for a new generation of Democrats, who understand that we are in a life-and-death struggle to preserve our democracy, and old rules of fair play and decency will not be honored by their opponents.
44
@David
How do we demand Schumer resign as Senate Minority Leader?
1
McConnell's Corporate States of America, will not be stopped by anything. Including civility!
7
I think Republican Senators are acting on a unpleasant truth in modern American politics. In 2016, with their Garland-Gorsuch shell game, they made a political statement that -- so long as Republicans controlled the Senate -- no Democratic President would be permitted to make any future judicial appointments.
Now these people aren't delusional -- or at least not completely so. They are well aware that once Democrats regain control of the Senate that favor is going to be returned. And there is a better-than-even chance that exactly that will happen come next month. They're desperate to make what appointments they can now, because they've realized that soon they won't be making any at all.
Of course, they have nobody to blame but themselves.
3
At what point does this just become the Republicans acting to annoy the Democrats? I think that that’s what is going on, now. The Republicans have been in a long slow boil of outrage since the 2008 election and they just want to spread the misery while they have the ability to do it. What really is the point of appointing judges because they are conservatives? Are conservative judges really going to undo history? Are they going to reverse the laws of nature that continually act without regards to the preferences of people?
The country cannot function democratically while tolerating inequities of wealth and power that give a minority control over everybody else. Government is how society organizes and maintains a stable country in which people can live and pursue their interests safely and securely. A big and diverse society requires a big government. Conservatives conserve, they oppose change to preserve a status quo that provides consistency and stability. But they oppose adapting to change, they fight against change.
But our world is changing and our way of living is changing. Even all these conservatives to endure will have to change. So what are the Republicans accomplishing? A lot of friction and noise to no good purpose.
1
I can't think of anyone less qualified to be filling judicial posts than Donald Trump.
16
The leadership of the Democratic party (and it’s a stretch to say that) is not up to the job. Republicans time and again take advantage of every bipartisan gesture and proceed to ram through their undemocratic agenda. I think a shaking up in the leadership is long overdue. I don’t agree with those who blame Nancy Pelosi, she has been effective where Schumer has not much of the time. I find the minority leader to be a sellout and weak willed. We need in the leadership more voices that reflect the will of the party’s rank and file. They are there, we hear from them daily in interviews and footage of hearings. I lend my voice with donations to individuals who reflect my views. I will not donate to the party with Schumer as leader.
4
@MG. WHAT precisely can Dems DO? They don't have votes to atop GOP?
Better VOICES? Dems can irate and pound table all they want -- GOP have more votes.
Why is that hard to understand?
5
Dear Democrats,
When you have power again, remember these moments.
8
It’s the US who will pay with our lunch money. The republicans have shown themselves to be devious and corrupt time after time. Party before country. The dems keep thinking they will play by the rules. Schumer needs to go. The leadership needs to get turned over, before we have incompetent and corrupt judges everywhere. I blame the dems for throwing out the filibuster and the r’s for taking it to the next level. We will never have competent judges as long as it is solely based on party affiliation. We are in trouble
10
Good Old Boy, Chuck Schumer made the deal. He knew it was no deal. He knew he was just helping to further the Koch brothers and their International Mafia Robber Baron brethren agenda.
He has always known. I believe he is one of them. I believe he is on their payroll.
Please, democratic/independent lawmakers in OUR U.S. Senate do NOT put this coward in charge of anything. He is assisting in the demise of democratic governance in OUR United States of America.
Sickening but not shocking and that makes me sick to my stomach with fear.
8
The deal was meant to get Democrats home to campaign so that they may gain an advantage in the 2018 election. These people would have been confirmed anyway despite Democratic foot dragging. Unfortunately once again Republicans have proven themselves unworthy of trust. So much for civility.
1
I hope all the people who voted for Trump by not voting, or voting for some candidate who didn't have a chance are happy with the oligarchic theocracy they have helped to create. Good bye USA, hello Christian Taliban and Robber Barron Empire.
Great job. Next time, if you want a third party candidate, do the work necessary to make them viable in a national election. You people could have made a difference, instead you decided to give everyone the finger and walk off in a huff.
Elections have consequences.
12
@JW...Why are you assuming that all of the US citizens who didn't vote at all, and all of the US citizens who voted for someone other than Trump or Clinton, would have voted for Clinton? Put in your parlance, tens of millions of US citizens gave Clinton a finger and mooned her, too. Maybe they didn't like being called deplorables and red necks.
3
@JW Amen!
time for spineless dems to walk out and stay out.
5
Will Democrats ever learn that a deal with Republicans isn’t worth the paper it’s written on?
21
@Ronald Stone...As y'all love to say, ya can't fix stupid.
1
What happened to Spartacus?
5
I do not blame Republicans for rushing through these judgeships. Do you blame them after Brett Kavanaugh's shabby treatment during his Supreme Court testimony confirmation by the Democrats? And to make matters worse the horrid treatment he was shown during the Ford-Kavanaugh hearings of false sexual abuse.
The Republicans do not want to subject prospective judges to this madness that just occurred. They want to avoid these highly qualified men and women from being discouraged from applying and even being considered for these very important judgeships. They see the injustice of putting these people through unnecessary and unfair questioning by these Democrats. Some acted like bullies. They do not want to have a potential circus erupt like we saw for Brett Kavanaugh.
The Democrats would behave in the exact same manner if the ball was in their court. Also, they are most likely to vote against any nominee put before them by the Republicans. They have said so in the past and these appointments would be no different. The Republicans need to get these men and women approved pronto and that is what they are doing. There are important cases waiting to be heard and decided and time is of the essence. I think these Republicans are pretty darn smart to be acting in this speedy manner.
6
@WPLMMT I'm sorry, but you are a fool. You consider a 36 year-old who is 11 years out of law school and has never been a judge before qualified for a lifetime appointment to a federal court? It is because of people with your point of view that this country is broken beyond repair.
3
My hope is that it will be a long time before the American people fall for the lure of voting for another moronic celebrity candidate.
1
I would suggest that you might take a historical look. The Republicans *started* this trend under Obama. What Democrats have said since then only indicates that the Republicans willfully broke the system. This wouldn't be happening--with the now "necessary" tit-for-tat to try to balance it--if the Republicans hadn't stonewalled everything humanly possible under Obama, including confirmations.
2
Cheer up Democrats, you aren't alone. Remember that Charlie Brown kept trying to kick that football one more time despite knowing that Lucy was going to yank it away at the last moment. Like you, Charley believed that this time around he could trust Lucy. And like you, too late he realized he got it wrong.
46
@mpound...What did Einstein say about insanity?
Democrats have been the majority of voters in recent elections and yet won the minority of Congressional seats because of various factors, including gerrymandering. The majority of our population do not want the same things as these far right legislators and judges do, but that doesn't seem to faze the conservatives. We are becoming a country ruled by the tyranny of the minority, as evidenced by this further ramming through of far right judges to lifetime positions. Most of Obama's thoughtful nominees for these positions were not even considered while these people, many considered unqualified by the ABA, are jammed right through. It is sad to think that laws will be passed and decisions rendered distasteful for the majority of our citizens.
It is also true that this is not a white country, it has never been a white country, and it should never become a white country. Although I'm white, I recognize that one of the great strengths of our country is its diversity (not a dirty word). We have always been a country of immigrants, and we need immigration---from everywhere! This is what the future should look like.
People must take their civic duties more seriously and vote the Republicans out. They have proven themselves to be poor leaders, dishonest and corrupt. It is a serious matter to say that we must take our country back. We have lost our moral authority, our leadership role in the world, and our right to the respect of our allies.
25
First, Democrats should all take a pledge to never, ever vote for a judicial nominee with Federalist Society connections.
Second, as a NY resident, I can't wait to vote for Schumer's primary opponent.
21
@Paul Drake
Exactly. Talk about being in the pockets of a special interest group! How blatant can you be? The true measure of Republican complicity, in undermining our Democracy.
1
@Paul Drake
So what? GOP does not NEED even one Dem vote
3
Since when is the Constitution a special interest?
1
If any Republican has a problem with Democrats adding two seats to SCOTUS in 2021, look back at this day and keep your mouth shut.
16
@Crosby...Adding Justices is a dumb idea. Impeach ALL sitting Justices and pack the Court with far left 30 year old socialists who could dismantle the entire Constitution and institute a new order reflecting the demographic tectonics of the next century. C'mon, Crosby, think!
What a horrible idea, wanting the Senate to do its job and confirm or deny judge nominations when they want to be campaigning. What is the world coming to.
6
In his farewell address, George Washington warned America against political parties. The Constitution assigns them no role in government. The Constitution permits the Senate to establish parliamentary rules, but not rules that usurp the Constitution. The Constitution provides that Senate judicial appointment confirmations require a simple majority. The Senate’s “60-Vote Rule” is clearly unconstitutional because it overrides the Constitution’s simple majority provision. So are “truces” or “agreements” between political party hacks that prevent measures from coming to a vote. Any senator should be able to introduce a measure and call for cloture at anytime. It doesn’t have to be “fair” to Republicans or to Democrats. Not all Americans have acquiesced to rule by political party. According to Gallup, about 44 percent of Americans are independent while 27 percent are Democrats and 26 percent are Republicans.
8
And once again the Democrats roll over. Old, compromised, and incapable. I look to the young Democratic Socialists.
50
Hey GOP members!
My name is Scott and I watch Judge Judy. Can I give you my number? I hear you overlook qualifications to fill Trump judicial seats. I am qualified right?
11
My understanding is that the Democrats caved in and gained nothing. The article appears to have made every effort to avoid the simple truth. Is this the new normal at the NYTs? A repeat of the 2016 election where the Times did everything it could to destroy Clintons chances. Note the Andrew Gillum piece, the Elizabeth Warren piece, and this.
8
@The Iconoclast...You must have missed the two (2) endorsements of Clinton for President by The Times. You must have missed the full out assault on Sanders by The Times [read some of Krugman's stuff]. Heck, you must have missed the entire 2016 election coverage by The Times.
2
Congratulations Republicans, you have made a miracle cure! Justice is not blind anymore!
16
@Richard Coyne
No. But it sees only red.
5
Oh why not, honesty in a judge isn't important, so why should honesty in a Senate agreement
7
Another American value goes down in flames. It looks as if justice isn't just anymore. Judges are simply partisan operatives in black robes.
And by the way, who elected the Federalist Society?
98
@Edward. The American public, largely ignorant, elected the Federalist Society every time they vote Republican.
3
The republicans lie and cheat to get their way. That is clear. It is neither collegial nor professional, and it violates the protocol and integrity of the Senate. It’s time to vote them out.
53
@Zane
The Republican Party continues to demonstrate they will not play fair... question is, why do Democrats keep believing they will? When will the Democrats get the message? We need tough, bold leadership... and we don't have it in Schumer or Pelosi.
1
Just like the republicans to not honor a truce or agreement with the democrats. Where is the unity & bipartisanship that is suppose to guide this country? Now one party is setting up the future in its image & not listening to the people. They are in a hurry in fear that they will lose in the mid terms & not be able to ram more of their policies against the people down our throats. Vote them Out!
11
The democrats who have been taken for a ride all along, appear to be a species who never learn.I have no sympathy for them when they again and again fall into the trap of Mitch & Chuck. They deserve what they get.
2
@Sash Yes, they do deserve it, but the country doesn't. Current Democratic leaders are hopeless losers, as Bruce Bartlett, former Republican but not a Democrat, constantly and accurately points out (I recommend his twitter account).
1
After North Carolina's own deal-gone-worse-than-wrong wrt transgender and bathrooms, Democrats should've expected this from the "covfefe" GOP.
On 11/6, let's replace the covfefeans with Americans.
The GOP: Bad people. Bad policy. Bad faith.
23
Perhaps "needless to say" in the predictably liberal "New York Times," but no mention is made of the MONTHS of Democrat delays on judicial appointment all during Trump's first two years -- and long before the battle over Kavanaugh. This is the GOP answer to those nearly two years of obstructionism.
5
This statement belies the facts. Dems we're in the minority and could stall nothing.
8
@Dr. Svetistephen Well, before that there were the years of Republican delays on judges proposed by President Obama. But that's so far back in the past it is not important, right?
9
@Dr. Svetistephen
Do you want to discuss 8 years of Republican obstructionism under Obama? The Republican refusal to confirm Obama's nominees to the federal courts, which led to the albeit stupid move to kill the filibuster? And most egregious of all, the Republican refusal to hold hearings and a vote for Merrick Garland when Obama still had a year left to the presidency, which consists of 4 years and not 3 years? Democrats confirmed Kennedy during Reagan's last year in office. Unfortunately, democrats are not as ruthless or clever to have obstructed a Supreme Court nominee had the roles been reversed.
12
It is no wonder that people no longer vote and don’t care about politics in the USA. Except for selling news, what is the purpose of even reporting political events ? The Republicans own the Supreme Court. From Trumps tax returns to his acts of treason, everyone knows how it will all play out. It is just smoke screens and mirrors.
8
Note to Sen Schumer: don't bring a penknife to a gunfight.
10
I am outraged. The Republicans inSsenate forced through a candidate with questionable credentials, and the Democrats sought peace by giving them 15 more conservative judges? Dem senators, shame! Disgusting.
14
When will the Democrats wake up and quit trying to cut deals with the right wing nuts.
27
Senate rules changed. House rules should also change in a couple months to allow blanket impeachment proceedings for all judges nominated by an illegitimate regime.
27
A President and Senate elected by a minority of Americans is packing the Court. Lets stop pretending that the USA is a democracy.
76
@HL Correct - this is a republic!
1
Senate Republicans have so far used their narrow majority to confirm 29 appeals court judges nominated by Mr. Trump, far more than any other president since the creation of the regional circuit court system in 1891. They have confirmed an additional 53 district court judges.
these crooks are stealing the country right under our nose to benefit the rich and the powerful
wake up, people.
74
The Dems fell for the GOP bait again. There is no deals with the McConnell GOP, they will lie, they will play towards a "deal" and then go back on their word. These people just care about pulling as much money out of the economy for their own benefit and then "blaming" all the problems they have created on the Dems and "handouts".
These people are crooks, corrupted and evil. The Dems cannot take ANYTHING McConnell or any GOP senator says as a deal, agreement or truth. These people are ruthless. They are trying to do everything they can to maintain control.
The Dems, Schumer, Feinstein, Durbin CANNOT MAKE ANY DEALS, these folks lie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17
Adams started this in 1800 with midnight appointments. Stop calling these men conservatives. They are reactionaries.
If the Democrats should ever regain Congress -- unlikely as the country is showing its fascist roots all too clearly -- then they should demand all these midnight appointees decide they have 'diplomatic illnesses' that force them to resign, or be impeached.
10
Another example of why Mitch McConnell is not to be trusted. That is nothing new. If you want Mitch McConnell to run this country, vote Republican.
If you crave some balance in the government and to start to rid the Senate of Menace McConnell, VOTE DEMOCRAT. Balance is what is important here. Fairness for all in this country!
31
@Sandra Vote for candidates who will stand up to the Republicans. Most of those in office now can't face the heat. Get out of the kitchen Schumer and friends. You have no integrity.
"The hearing demonstrated the lengths to which Republicans will go to put conservatives on the federal judiciary..."
This sentence belongs in an opinion piece, not in a news story.
3
@HurryHarry
It's not even news. We already know what lengths the GOP will go to, in order to pay back the people who purchased their jobs for them.
Too bad the working person can't afford their own representatives, maybe we would count too.
3
@HurryHarry
Correct. This is another of their unlabeled "news analysis" pieces.
3
@HurryHarry...The Op-Ed section of the New York Times has moved to Page A1 above the fold. That's a brilliant move. Who wants to rifle through page after page, searching furtively for Real News like The Times used to print, when you can start off your mornings with a stiff jolt of NEVER TRUMP? Kudos to The Times for smart niche marketing.
3
Schumer has his lunch stolen again.
26
@Edward Blau
Schumer can't, apparently, think his way out of a paper bag much less find lunch.
Time for some real leadership in the Democratic Party, instead of the same old same old. And please, inexperienced 20 something baristas need to season a bit. One extreme does not invite the other.
Hillary, please shut up and go away, if you really care at all about anyone but people named Clinton.
2
@Edward Blau - That which is freely given is not "stolen."
4
Play nice, and LOSE. Seriously.
103
@Phyliss Dalmatian Seriously, is right! 2012 Obama appoints more high level positions during recess than any president in history. Reps were outraged, but that didn't matter. Obama said he could do it, and did. This was not the will of the people. So, who is playing nice?
1
The tone was set when someone once said, "Elections have consequences." Yes, they do, Mr. President.
4
While I lack a law degree, I was a pre-law major in college. If another opening becomes available during this "approve anyone" phase of the GOP leadership, please consider me. Judge Judy may also be available.
10
And here we go...not voting has consequences.
Nothing surprises me anymore. The only thing we have left, is our vote. And in November we will see if Americans will continue to support this deeply flawed administration, or voters will send a clear message that enough is enough.
You need to vote...now more than ever.
29
If the Democrats do manage to win the senate this year - a tall order because they would have to win about 75 percent of the seats up for election this year - they would be well within their rights to not confirm any more Trump judges for 2 years.
If the Democrats do manage to win the Presidency, House and Senate in 2 years, they would be well within their rights to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court and all the other courts and pack them with Democrats.
It is ridiculous that most people have voted for Democrats in six of the last 7 elections but somehow -through structural disadvantages and some gaming of the system by Republicans - the courts keep being packed with Republicans.
81
@Michael Smith
“…they would be well within their rights to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court and all the other courts and pack them with Democrats”
Not good enough- The unconstitutional judge must be replaced and if it turns out that Trump was not really elected President all other Trump appointed judges must be reviewed as well.
It’s a pretty clear signal that the GOP is getting nervous about the possibility of losing their Senate majority and are hedging their bets by ramming through as many appointments as possible. The pundits and pollsters seem to agree that it’s an unlikely scenario, but the sudden GOP push may be a good sign.
Let’s hope the glass is half full.
19
"The pundits and pollsters seem to agree that it’s an unlikely scenario, but the sudden GOP push may be a good sign. Let’s hope the glass is half full."
@Norman McDougall - What's it to you? Do we in America tell Canadians how to vote?
4
Chuck Schumer doesn't get it. He needs to go. You don't make deals with the devil.
He agreed to confirm 15 judges and let senators go home. McConnell broke the deal. Here we are again.
Enough with triangulation! This is why people want a resistance!
---
'Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking' https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-2ZW
114
Absolutely right! In addition, rather than a full boycott the Judiciary needed to have two of their most prosecutorial inquisitors (Kamila Harris?) put these horrific picks through their paces. At least reveal the most outlandish of nominees and expose the most partisan of partisans.
3
@Rima Regas The people who don't get it are the ones who voted for Sanders and Stein. If you win you don't have to resist.
@Rima Regas Look up "Obama appoints high level positions when senate in recess" - it was Obama that started this to the extent we see now. Time for both parties to implement some decorum and rules that apply to both parties - no recess appointments.
1
Still waiting to learn what Democrats got in return for letting McConnell fast track all these judicial nominees.
84
@Chris
They got to go home to campaign for the mid-terms. So did the Republicans, but the ones who don't need to campaign are apparently running the country alone. God knows what they're doing.
9
Rock on, Mitch! Rock on! This is the most important work you can do for the country. Make the Senate a 24/7 judicial confirmation machine.
5
@AR Clayboy This is not a sports event, or a rock concert. It is the Senate, and our democracy. The Republicans on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary have demonstrated, once again, that they have not a shred of integrity amongst them. If any of us thought that the Kavanaugh debacle was as low as they could go, the Republican Senators have once more disgraced themselves and the body of which they are members.
36
If your concept of the most important work for the country is to exacerbate our already toxic partisan divide, then of course you will applaud a man without a shred of ethical compass.
13
@kathpsyche With all due respect, the Senate's job is to advise and consent with respect to judicial appointments. Historically that meant assessing the nominee's credentials and qualifications; not blocking anyone you disagree with. Beginning with Robert Bork, it has been the Democrat Party that has turned this into blood sport. And you are right, dredging up some 30 year-old unverifiable, un-inevestigatable and unprovable allegations to derail an obviously well-qualified nominee is about as low as you can go.
Obama was fond of saying that elections have consequences. He was right. One consequence of 2016 is that we will have more judges who view the Constitution as having a specific meaning and forming the core of our societal agreement, rather than as some ancient text that must be recast to meet every progressive fad.
Our democracy will be served by a judiciary that honors and respects our Constitution. Rock on Mitch!!!!
Not great optics but this doesn't quite violate the Senate's "gentleman agreement" to confirm 15 judges and let Dems go home for campaigning.
The reality is that when the lame duck session begins, these judges still need to be confirmed out of committee and then full senate. What took place yesterday was clearing the procedural hurdle to set up a committee vote.
The real issue here is how powerful the judicial branch has become with Congressional gridlock.
The rise of the judiciary hurts democracy: it prevents real compromise since legislators have no incentive to compromise on bills if the bone they're thrown in voting for a bill they don't like can be line-item struck down by the courts.
35
If some legislators don't want to show up for work,that's their problem. If your not there, you concede your right to complain.
8
Asking some of these questions s embarrassing for the Senate. What's next, Barbara Walter's old question about what sort of tree the candidate would be?!?
But this is all part and parcel of the new nonsense that these hearings - something that is NOT required under the constitution - are a "job interview"; thus any irrelevant question is fair game. And clearly, we are not well served by it. Somehow the Republic survived when we didn't engage in these show proceedings. Something needs to change!
7
Once the 60-vote cloture requirement was eliminated with respect to judicial nominations and senators lost the right to veto (blue card) nominees, the confirmation process became purely majoritarian. There's little that Dems can do to slow down McConnell, short of winning a majority in the Senate. Even if Dems win back the presidency and the Senate in 2020, the Repubs will have by then appointed a huge number of judges. There's no way to sugar-coat this. The big question for Dems is whether they are willing to move more to the center politically in order to improve the chances of victory in 2020. It's time to start thinking strategically rather than purely ideologically.
22
Or better yet, move to the left and start growing some teeth, among other organs.
"Center"-right is what the Bad Faith GOP want, so they can go far-right and then far-whackadoodle. Let's fight back against bullies, not give them even more lunch money.
12
@SR. Always recall thet the GOP primary voter will applaud leaving grandma uninsured in front of the er door and applaud splitting up families. I doubt this is the typical gop voter but thats the gauntlet any gop candidate must pass. At this point the Dems need to lose the GOP lite ideas and go hard on womens rights, medicare for all, human rights at home and internationally and drug-prison reform. The deplorables wont change and the classic gop is now Trumplandia.
Allison Rushing - what an apt name!
37
@Jim S. It would be even more apt if her first name was "Unqualified."
1