Presidential impeachment isn't sufficient. Every act taken by this illegitimate administration must be undone once it's proven that the Russian plant in the White House was intent on destroying progress, nay democracy, and is ousted.
7
Mr. Leo, of the Federalist Society, said Mr. Trump “understood that the American people cared about judges, and he for his own purposes cared very deeply about it and recognized that he could be a president who could help restore the judiciary to its proper role,” he said.
From the same man who criticized judges in his Tweets: "so-called judge", and "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system."
10
Republicans and their corporate funders are anti-American and anti-Democratic. They betray every value that they talk about: Civil rights? Only for white men. The right to decisions about your own family and your own body? Only for the government minders. The right to vote? Only if you can afford a photo ID and live in the right district. Watch our for your children . . .they are nothing but prey for men.
The end result of Republican policies and plans is the great stripping of the American economy. "The first shall be the last . . . " You cannot generate a strong economy by sucking the dollars from those you depend upon to generate demand, nor build a future with poorly educated citizens. When the Spanish expelled Jews and Moslems in 1492 it was the high point for their economy. Everything was downhill for them afterwards. They never recovered.
Closing yourself off from the rest of the world and thinking that you can get a better deal going it alone in a global economy is the plan of an idiot who knows nothing about history. It is the beginning of the end for our economy and for our democracy. All this "me first thinking" that characterizes Republicanism is the surest sign of the end of the American experiment. No great nation can be built on a foundation of resentments and anger and punishing of neighbors while the richest suck the life out of the entire enterprise. That is what history shows again and again, no matter what the nature of the government.
13
I seem to recall a recent President admonishing the opposing party that, “Elections have consequences.”
13
A stolen SCOTUS seat, a slo-mo coup orchestrated by Trump White House and collaborator Republicans. This brutalization continues. How can it be stopped? How can the injustices of the past be addressed? America's harshness continues, but now with a new level of lawlessness.
10
As a lawyer, I am deeply concerned about this trend but two factors suggest it may not be so bad: (1) a robust judicial culture, in the vast majority of cases, of relative impartiality; and (2) fewer and fewer judges, especially when appointed at a young age, actually sit for life. For decades now, federal judges have left the bench before age 50 or 55 because the caseloads are crushing and the pay pales compared to private practice.
3
Democrats late in 2013 abolished the ability of 41 lawmakers to block nominees with a filibuster. (Why did we do this?) Now the Republicans are doing the same thing.
Could we not pass a law that only allows the Democrats to use this mechanism.
4
Unfortunately, the facts are far different that the Times suggests.
As of the end of the Obama administration, 54% of the federal bench was appointed by Democratic presidents, despite the fact that since 1980 a Republican was president for 56% of the time. This has been because of adept maneuvering by Democrats in Congress, but it has nonetheless produced a judiciary that does not reflect the basic political makeup of the nation. Trump is redressing that situation, and it is entirely appropriate that he do so. Had Clinton been elected, the federal judiciary would have been 80% Democratic appointees by the end of a second term. That would have been an intolerable situation in a democracy that is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, and it is a reason in itself to justify a Republican victory.
12
Conservatives are appointing conservative activist judges after complaining that Democrats were appointing liberal activist judges. Nothing to see here - keep moving.
10
Of the 59 nominations left stranded from the Obama administration 50% were women. Since January only 18% of the 62 District Judges, Circuit Judges and Court of Federal Claims nominations have been women. It appears that minority nominations have fared no better. I don't know why I should be surprised by this obvious sex discrimination given the demographics of the Trump staff appointees, but it's time for women to unite in outrage against this discrimination and the women lawyers of the ABA should be filing discrimination suits with the Justice Department.
9
The fault is not in Trump's appointments to the courts or with Harry Reid's elimination of the filibuster. It is with judges, both "liberal" and ""conservative," who have failed to restrain themselves from "doing justice," according to their lights, rather than leaving questions of policy to the people's elected representatives, except where the Constitution clearly and plainly (without resort to penumbras) commands otherwise.
If you want five justices, rather than state legislatures, to redefine the understanding of "marriage" that has existed in all societies for millennia based on a revelation that the traditional definition denies liberty without due process of law," you are also consigning to five judges the raw power to decide that limited regulation of political advertising denies non-natural legal "persons" their constitutionally protected "freedom of speech." And you are also giving them the right to decide that protections against racial discrimination in voting are no longer necessary, regardless of what the people's elected representatives think.
I recommend to everyone an opinion piece in today's Sunday Review titled "The Courts Are Messing Up Politics."
6
This is great news. Hopefully, it will bring back some balance to the courts.
11
Dear Mr. J. Parisdisio:
Bring back balance to the courts? Exactly what is that suppose to mean? Is there suppose to be balance in the courts? Balance in what sense? That for every liberal there be a conservative? That for every right there be a wrong? That for all the progress this nation has made over the course of its two centuries plus history there be a step back? To the days when America was great? Does that mean when it was more White? When men ruled with an iron fist? When women, minorities were subjugated to second-class citizen status? Or as many White Men call it, "the good old days"? If that's what balance you refer to then you can kiss that notion bye-bye. We are not going back to those days of yesteryear. They are rapidly fading. As Dylan said, "if you can't make for a new road then get out of the way". The times, my friend, they are a-changing, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it except accept it. Or not, but, make no mistake, they are coming.
DD
Manhattan
11
So much for the belief in partiality in the courts. This is how America ends.
4
"... a secret battle plan to fill the federal appeals courts with young and deeply conservative judges."
It's great that so many Democrats concluded that Hillary was just as bad as Trump or otherwise undeserving of the Presidency and thus gave us the current Administration. Yup, Hillary would have been just as bad, especially when it came to appointing members of the Federal Judiciary. Yup.............
12
Dear gschultens:
Well yup, this South of the Border neighbor appreciates your sarcasm. As you can detect by many of the missives of my fellow Americans, most of them do not have a clue to what the job of the Executive entails. Most of them were fixated on some nebulous idea of what it means to be president. Trumpians were the worse. They were filled with notions of how bad Hillary would be for US. As with Barack, they were told outlandish tales out of school about Hillary coming to take away their guns, as if a president could simply sign one of those ineffectual "executive orders" as Trump has done and, Voila!, it would be so.
Many Americans actually believed Barack was not born here, was a secret Muslim terrorist out to destroy the United States. Those lies were perpetrated by Trump himself and his not so bright Breitbart allies. Trumpians bought them hook, line, and sinker. With Hillary, all the sins of her husband were attached to her. She was called by some current members of Trump's Cabinet the "antichrist". That's right, the antichrist. Good grief, the yet to be indicted General Flynn shouted from the rafters of the GOP convention, "lock her up". Forget the fact she was not indicted, tried and convicted. The Republicans under Trump had turned into a vigilante lynch mob. They knew Hillary was guilty of something. She had to be. So let's dispense with juris prudence and cut to the chase.
Yup, we Americans did it all right. And we will pay, I assure you.
DD
Manhattan
12
This is the result of voter apathy, plain and simple. If we had 80% turnout among -- not just Democrats, but anyone-other-than-right-wing-extremists -- there wouldn't be a single Republican elected official in the country. The Republicans would have to go back to being the party they were before the 1960s.
6
Dear Duncan:
Americans should be ashamed. Their apathy elected this idiot in chief. Think about it, even in our biggest election, the one for president, only half of those eligible to vote exercise their right. Half, meaning that one has to assume the other half just doesn't care who leads them. Oh well, it's tweedledee or tweedledum. Let's flip a coin. They're all alike, right?
Obviously, they are not all alike. Trump and Hillary are not even in the same universe, yet because of such an apathetic electorate, and the assertion by one of the two major parties in this nation, the GOP, they managed to find the least qualified out of 17 Republicans who vied for the nomination. Can you believe that? Out of all the Republicans who ran, the sheer stupidity and outlandishness of Trump is what captured rank and file Republicans. No matter how ridiculous Trump's promises were, what despicable thing he said, the myriad of people he humiliated and berated, Trump came out on top in the eyes of most Republicans. The GOP could have put a stop to this nonsense. They could have prevented Trump from getting the nomination, just as the Electoral College could have prevented Trump from being elected by them to be president. They had that right and obligation to the country to do so. Sure, it would have meant forfeiting the election but so be it. Country over party, right? Wrong. And thus they have slid down that slippery slope, winding up with Roy Moore. And still they waver.
DD
Manhattan
14
And they call this a Democracy? Our government is for sale. Special interests own it now.
11
In another article currently in the Times, Mitch McConnell brags about what he considers his greatest achievement: "The most important decision I’ve made in my political career,” he said, “was the decision not to do something; it was the decision not to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Scalia.”
What better way to demonstrate just how venal the Republican Party has become than having the the senate majority leader consider an act of theft to be the greatest part of his legacy.
13
I thought Trump wasn’t doing anything. Looks like he’s making things happen
8
Just wonderful....his latest nominee to the federal bench has never argued a case, received a zero score from the ABA and is currently a "political blogger". This is a lifetime appointment. Beyond unbelievable.
12
But, he IS a frothing-at-the-mouth right-winger. What's not to like?
6
With the agonizing and questionably legal sidelining of Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination, the word was out regarding what the hard right would do to the court system. Sadly, it is coming to fruition and the nation is already being tragically hurt by it. (In what other way could Roy Moore's candidacy be seriously considered, especially since he was removed from judicial office twice already?)
It should also be noted that these new appointments are young doctrinaire conservatives, people who will be in the legal system for decades corrupting real justice in favor of harsh conservatism. It is another fruit of the bitter harvest the Democratic party forgot to sow: growing a new generation of leaders as opposed to recycling their "oldies but goodies." Each of the party's solons should be mentoring fresh blood from the grass roots on up. This needs to happen now, before 2018's and 2020's elections, although in too many cases, it may already be too late.
7
This dovetails with an editorial now running, "President Trump, Please Read the Constitution" with this as my comment:
Why should he bother!
The Constitution means what a majority of the Supreme Court says it means, no more and no less. He is now packing the appeals court, and depending on the vagaries of fate, he could make one or two appointments to the top court. The Civil Rights acts of 1875 and of 1964 both proscribed discrimination against African Americans by government and private entities. With no intervening Constitutional amendments the Top Court by 8-1 in 1883 negated the proscription by non-governmental entities.
Same law, different court. and dramatically different outcome. Whether Trump is voted out or impeached, the damage by his court packing will have changed our country for decades to come.
6
The conspiracy against democracy began in 1913 with the enactment of the Seventeenth Amendment which removed any control of the federal government by the people. We did this in the name of "democracy." Instead, we took the lynchpin out of the separation of powers and the checks and balances placed in our Constitution to protect our (all of us) liberties. Now we play politics between the 20 yard lines....instead of the 45 yard lines. A repeal of this amendment is necessary to even begin restoring a sense of sanity in Washington. Would we have been in Viet Nam, would extremist judges (of both viewpoints) be appointed...would the ACA have been passed...would we be in Afganistan (or Iraq)....This is only the beginning. We need to have ALL views presented on ALL issues and this cannot be done with the spineless corrupt congressman we have today.
1
This is very good. We need to repeal corrupt UNION dues forced on nonUnion workers!
7
The real problem, and conspiracy against our democracy, are the cultural Marxists on the Ninth Circuit.
Where would the DNC be without Lenin's Bay Area clerics?
11
The decisions of the Ninth Circuit Court that are accepted for appeal by the US Supreme Court show that about 80 percent of the Ninth Circuit Court's decisions were overturned.
In the 10 years between 1999 and 2008, the Supreme Court reviewed 660 cases from Federal District Courts. https://us-east-1.tchyn.io/snopes-production/uploads/2017/02/9th-circuit...
The Ninth Circuit Court had 107 cases reversed and 33 cases vacated.
That's a bad record for the Ninth Circuit- a very bad record, and indicates the Ninth Circuit judges don't care about the law. Thank God for the Supreme Court!
9
It sounds like they are nominating capable people who will follow the law rather than interpret it. Maybe we ought to consider that as proper behavior. If the law is not something an individual or group considers 'fair', there are processes in place to change it.
12
Do a little reading about the Wolfowitz Doctrine and then read about how Putin has effected this doctrine.
3
As the author of the article clearly states, this bitterly partisan fight over the US Judiciary began with Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden's despicable treatment of Judge Bork. The memory of their scorched earth strategy to deny a brilliant and honorable legal scholar a seat on the SCOTUS is seared in the memory of every Republican legal strategist now alive. This is payback. The political stars have aligned and there is now nothing to stop them from fundamentally reshaping US jurisprudence until, at least, the 208 election. Even if Democrats regain the Presidency and both Houses of Congress, and much like the long-lived liberal Warren Court, it will be several generations before these current changes can be undone.
9
Political agenda trumps country needs.
4
That’s the end. It will take a generation to fix this mess.
Sad....
5
More than one generation, I fear.
2
Trump is merely a pawn. This is what the GOP Senate thinks is good for America as it moves from a white male dominated society to a polyglot. They are frightened and so they allow unqualified zealots into the club. It's an attack on Democracy. It's an attack on brown people and women.
This is yet another example of the reason you do not vote against your party's choice because she wasn't progressive enough.
12
If you look at the world through race, all you see is race. Don't confuse the universe in your head with the one outside it.
7
I love the sentiments from fellow progressives, but unfortunately perhaps as little as 5% of the general population ever even thinks of the judiciary let alone its potential impact on the country or even democracy. All of us who care about these matters own this debacle of ignorance of governance looming over our great experiment in self-rule. Maybe we should lose it for not protecting it. Meanwhile tell all of your friends to get back to their Ipads and their Facebook accounts to look at cat videos while the oligarchs reshape the country.
13
Bingo!
4
We will need an ongoing resistance movement to resist all decisions created by the stolen seat, and by other illegitimate and undemocratic process.
4
Yep, stuff happens, especially when the citizenry of a country can't be bothered to participate in its political direction. All of this flows from fringe politics becoming the dominant politics.
Live with it, or stop whining and get active about who you want to represent you. There's no free lunch, and if you're not looking, someone will steal yours.
15
Love those Constitutional Originalist.
The Founding Fathers gave us slavery and women didn't have the right vote.
Then there is the Bible. In addition to slavery, we got polygamy and stone a woman to death for adultery.
I never saw where they stone a man to death for adultery.
8
Britain gave us slavery, and voting. Complaining that the latter was very limited initially is like complaining that a newborn can't walk, talk or feed himself.
4
The point is that originalism in interpreting the constitution means supporting slavery and no vote for women. Clearly originalism has no place in today's society.
The same goes for the bible. The same place where the bibles condemns homosexuality is where it condemns eating pork... Rules that worked 200 years ago, or 2000 years ago do not generally work today.
4
@KBronson,
Getting your replies, thanks.
The Founding Fathers got to choose whether or not to allow slavery.
We can debate where slavery came from but your remarks are just a distraction.
The point is these Constitutional Originalist are defending the indefensible.
2
We certainly have had our historical lows regarding ethical behavior but I believe the damage done in the name of trumpism might be irreparable.
Economic predators and mindless religious extremists have joined forces to hijack our courts, legislatures and the presidency. Is this the beginning of our end?
7
The ending of democracy! Ultra conservative control of DOJ, EPA and the courts means that any American wronged by actors of the state will have no recourse to justice. Shortly state actors and corporations will be able to sue American citizens for claiming harm.
5
I truly feel sorry for our country.
4
One can only imagine the damage to the courts Hilliary Clinton would have subjected the country to.
Oh, and it's OK to be White and male. Whether Savage likes it or not.
8
Can the NYT supply a link to the stories they did on this subject when Obama, Bush 1&2 and Clinton did the same?
I’m sure all you commenters wrote these same type of comments during those administrations too, no?
8
While it’s true that every administration gets to appoint judges, the issues with the Trump appointees are threefold: 1) Trump has the opportunity to appoint so many judges because the GOP during the Obama administration deliberately refused, for purely partisan reasons, to even hear much less approve any of Obama’s appointments (see Gorsuch). 2) In contrast to his predecessors, an unusually large percentage of Trump’s appointments appear to be judicial extremists and/or have questionable qualifications. 3) There is little chance that the GOP House and Senate will honesty exercise their obligations to truly vet these candidates rather than simply rubber stamp whomever Trump stands before them.
11
But have you considered the so-called Biden Rule? Then-Senator Joe Biden said a president should not nominate and the Senate should not consider a nomination to the Supreme Court during the last year of a president's term.
That's why the Scalia vacancy waited and Gorsuch was nominated.
3
Remove/invalidate Trump’s Presidency and remove/invalidate every appointment this illegitimate “President” has made.
May the investigation of Special Counsel Mueller be concluded without interference and with all due haste. We are in need of the corrective arm of the law.
15
I wish I knew the legal means to do it, and to get it done quickly before the Trumpist cancer can spread further. I'm open to any ideas that a civilian can help with, sort of working with political candidates who represent my values and donating where I can.
1
While the writers do add a sinister spin to this story; there is no surprise here.
Lets face it, the Democrats are huge losers. The Republicans took the house, senate and white house and the majority of elected offices over the rest of the country. Yeah i know, liars, Russians, voter suppression, yada, yada yada, The national party fell apart under Obama, Clinton plundered it some more and the Republicans won the day.
16
The Republicans are winning the battles and losing the war.
Our country is looking more and more like a second world country.
Will never be as bad as Mexico but it has gotten closer after 35 years of trickle-down Reaganomics and will continue our decline with the Republicans in charge.
Just watch the deficit, not just the debt, these next few years.
And if they pass their tax cuts worse, still.
All put on the credit cards of our children and grandchildren.
9
Soon to be third world.
3
mkm: you are overlooking the fact that there were more Democrat votes than Republican cast for 1.) the House, 2.) the Senate and 3.) the Presidency.
3
If it comes out that Trump colluded with the Russians big league, how are his judicial appointments not tainted? I don't want a judge put in by Putin, who wants only to hurt the U.S. in every way, including the appointment of unqualified, right wing ideologues who will sow even more social strife. My first target would be Gorsuch. The Republicans have a death wish. What's going to happen if Trump's Republican appointees block future progressive actions that the non-gerrymandered electorate is strongly in favor of. Look at the demographic results from Virginia. The Republicans have to know that they're toast as more and more young people start voting (for Democrats). I would like to see some new terms injected into the public dialogue: the Republican Party of Trump, the K.G.B.G.O.P., and Donnie Kremlin. Give the R's some of their own medicine.
5
In retrospect, the Democratic Party should never have broken with decades of bipartisan precedent by refusing to confirm Robert Bork. Yes, Robert Bork was conservative but he was eminently qualified. Liberal judges who were also eminently qualified had been routinely confirmed before Bork. Even after Bork (and the treatment of Clarence Thomas, confirmed by only 52-48), the then moderates who controlled Republicans joined with Democrats to confirm the liberal and highly qualified Ruth Bader Ginsburg 96-3.
But it was too late. The Borking of America radicalized Newt Gingrich. He saw the Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden politicization of the judicial nominating process during the Bork hearings and decided it would be necessary to follow their playbook and meet tit with tat. After the Gingrich/GOP takeover of the House, the GOP as a whole became more radicalized. The Democrats escalated further in retaliation. Roberts only confirmed 78-22; Alito 58-42. Republicans began to refuse to confirm Obama lower court nominations so Harry Reid ditched the filibuster requirement. And here it is, tit for tat again. When political parties repeatedly break precedent for their own temporary political advantage, they set the stage for further radicalization, including their own base, with higher expectations; and alienation of moderates and centrists. The Bork hearings set the precedent for the wars around the judiciary we are now seeing and, in retrospect, it was in no way worth it.
14
Seriously?
Bork supported the rights of Southern states to impose a poll tax.
Bork stated his stated desire to roll back civil rights decisions of the Warren and Burger courts.
11
Indenpendent, No. Bork's words was spun to sound that way by a deceptive spin machine. He made the mistake of giving Senators more credit than they deserved and answered their questions as if he were giving a seminar in law school on constitutional law.
5
Bork was totally unqualified by temperament and doctrine. He was an extremist who was inappropriate for the position for which he was nominated, like a majority of Trump's appointees. Intelligence does not equal wisdom. A spin machine didn't disqualify him; his positions did. Stop trying to revise history.
3
The oligarchs and radical religionists are high-jacking the Constitution and the law. It is time for another revolution. Hopefully, it can be the bloodless, ballot-box kind...which should be paper ballots, physically counted more than once.
10
So these new judges have strong credentials and experience but they are at fault for being white and men. How bigoted is that? How bigoted and racist is that? I expect an article on American football league being criticized for being mostly black and male.
8
Wrong. The ABA has characterized some of these nominees as "unqualified". They are unqualified because some lack any judicial experience whatsoever. The blogger is especially obnoxious. Who blogs gleefully about supporting guns right after the massacre of 20 schoolchildren? That is not a person who will be a fair judge about any political issue.
11
Trump's latest, and extremely appalling, nominees for the Alabama Federal Judiciary is a perfect example of why a stupid, insecure, narcissistic HR director never hires anyone smarter than him/her.
About 2/3 of Americans - yes 2/3! - consider Trump UNQUALIFIED to be anything more than a bathroom janitor. So what has he done, time and time again, but nominate unqualified people to subordinate positions - people without experience who are unqualified for THEIR job and who, due to the political nature of their appointments, are up Holden to the Dotard-in-Chief.
At EVERY level, Trump is stacking the deck in HIS favor, with incompetence, derision, hatred and prejudice. He is catering to the lowest of the low, his brainwashed base. The "Great Divider", the balding bozo-haired narcissist and failed "businessman", is setting this country up for abject failure. If there are any responsible members of the Republican Party out there, NOW IS THE TIME to put a stop to this disgrace of a once-great political movement, and to unite this country with INCLUSION instead of division and exclusion. If this is not done NOW, the payback from those of us who are still capable of moral and ethical thought will be devastating. You hold your positions at the discretion of THE PEOPLE, and THE PEOPLE are very angry disgusted with you.
Perhaps Alabama deserves insults as this and Moore - they have done nothing to earn anything better.
10
Since the courts are being packed and the House is hopeless, it's up to the Republican Senators who have announced their departure to start to do what's right instead of what their party demands. This means representing all Americans and standing against doctrinaire types. All those glorious speeches and books are wonderful; now, folks, let's see some actions behind your words.
3
For more on the corrupt process of taking over the judiciary, here: "onservative Pipeline to the Supreme Court: With the Federalist Society, Leonard Leo has reared a generation of originalist élites. The selection of Neil Gorsuch is just his latest achievement." https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/17/the-conservative-pipeline-...
and "Trump’s Real Personnel Victory: More Conservative Judges" https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/trumps-real-personnel-victo...
Though I have a quibble. These judicial activists are anything but conservative. They rule in favor of kleptocrats and against ordinary people, against freedom and for voter suppression, against a clean environment and for poisoning our air, earth, and water.
And please don't forget they overruled people's choice Al Gore over GW Bush, whose brother the Governor and campaign manager the FL secretary of state were in the can for looting and exploitation by the ownership classes. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is no democracy here: the founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves.
10
Blah, blah, blah... Who do you think Hilliary Clinton would have chosen for the courts? Another Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas? Not a chance.
As for your tired argument against G.W. Bush, the final decision was always up to the Florida Legislature, no matter what ruling the Supreme Court came to.
5
G is absolutely right. Per the constitution, the selection of the electors to the electoral college is given to the state legislature, not to the people or to the state government even, but specifically the legislature. The loser moved the process to the state judiciary where they has complete control of the high court. Meanwhile the state legislature voted to confirm the initial vote certification and send the Bush electors to the electoral college. The state judiciary which the constitution gives no role in the process was meanwhile ordering an unequal vote recount. The US Supreme court could only act if it acted at all to stop what was a judicial usurpation and constitutional fiasco, the only thing in dispute was what reasoning it would use. It used the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment but might have used another.
3
Merrick Garland perhaps?
1
Mr. Savage. You write " Exit polls showed that court-focused voters helped deliver the president’s narrow victory." Please. Exit Polls refer to actual voters exiting their actual polling places. The president had a significant multi-million voter LOSS among these voters. His only "narrow victory" was in the electoral college. Accordingly he is implementing the ideological desires of a significant minority of the population, not the wish of the majority.
9
"His only "narrow victory" was in the electoral college."
Which is the only victory that counts.
3
It was bad enough when ideological tests were added to the test whether appointees were capable. Now, it appears that both capability and ideological orientation have been replaced by pure Tammany Hall style loyalty to the Boss.
3
Now we have to wonder if these conservative judges are going to ask us our party affiliation before passing judgement. Or will they be fair no matter who stands before them? No matter what, the bottom line is Trump should be choosing people who have the credentials, not what party they are affiliated with or their viewpoints. The law is the law, period!
3
Trump wants to undermine (and control) our judicial branch. It will be his lasting, sad legacy to fill the court with people who wish to do the same. Some of these judges appear to be qualified, but many are not. If Corker, Flake, Collins, et all truly believe in our democracy they should take care more in how they vote and whom they confirm in the end.
5
"But conservatives, who have rallied around Mr. Trump’s nominees as a rare bright spot of unity for the fractious Republican Party, see them as legal rock stars who will interpret the Constitution according to its text and original meaning."
It is incredible that there are those today whose interpretation of the Constitution insists on its "text and original meaning." Why then, were Amendments necessary? Advancement in so many areas have made it antiquated to rely on what was the norm in the 18th Century.
6
One important role of the judiciary is to act as a brake on the executive and legislative branches of government, which are more vulnerable to demagoguery and short-term popular passion. As such, it's an inherently conservative institution, not in the sense of adopting the partisan positions of any party, but in maintaining governing continuity through a tradition of adherence to written law, deference to legal precedent and resistance to novel interpretations. Regardless of which party has the temporary power to nominate judges, we, as a society should not tolerate the application of any so-called litmus tests that would suggest pre-judgement of any issue that might come before a court.
2
Please advocate to bring back mandatory American civics classes and compulsory tests in American history and political theory as a condition of all degrees. (Best have the them. Drawn up by computers to screen out all the anti American diatribes of today's generation of high school and college employees)
All judicial appointments are political and always have been. So too, the staffing of all US attorney Offices. How many political conservatives served under Pres. Obama?
9
"... at a clip not seen in decades?" Sorry, but most of the appointed appeals judges were appointed by Democrats (Obama and Clinton). What I always hope for, with any appointed jurist, is that they are objective and true to their oath to follow the law, not their politics. Sadly, we have activist judges who do not follow the letter of the law. Hope this is a minority.
5
Boy I pray not to have dealings with the justice system in my lifetime, the Electoral system already got me out of representation.
3
This should not be a surprise. The Project for a New American Century is the Bible for the Far Right. Mentored by Cheney, Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, a Far Right think tank completed the document in 1995. Cheney began its implementation which called for, among other things, a major catastrophic event on American soil to justify its agenda. Cheney's Unholy Trinity made headway and now Bannon, via Trump's thirst for autocracy, is finishing the job. A single minded court system is one of the keys to hijacking a democracy and Bannon is doing a great job.
3
The people with Republican Senators should be telling their Senators that a vote for these unqualified Trump judicial l appointees will be the vote that sees to it that they will not be reelected. No one with such contempt for our democracy belongs in political office. Steal what you can now because if you vote in spite of the will of the people don't bother to run for reelection. These votes the people will remember. Save us the trouble in 2021 of impeaching all of these judges.
2
An important question for all to consider: Why is it so important for Mitch McConnell to appoint federal judges? Are not judges fully objective and responsible for applying the Law as written to cases before them? Justice is, appropriately, shown as blindfolded and holding a scale. Then, apart from the honor and salary of being a federal judge, what difference should it make whether they are appointed by an R or a D? The answer, sad sad to say, is that Rs, along with almost every other important Founding Principle in the Country, are corrupting the Federal Judiciary by appointing political hacks to sit in black robes and issue rulings. Scalia was a leading example. You could predict every vote he would make on the Court by simply asking What do the Rs want? Example 1: He promoted Original Intent (i.e. 1787) of the Drafters of the Constitution as the Only Only Proper Way to Interpret the Constitution but he held that corporations are people, just like you and me, when corporations as we know them did not even exist in 1787. Example 2: Neither Clarence Thomas nor Neil Gorsuch, both R appointments, were at the top of their law school classes and they are the only ones now or in memory who are not but the Rs knew they would vote as Rs, so they sit there and do so. There is nothing more dangerous and disgusting than to see the Rs politicize the Judicial System. And save your breath in saying the Ds did the same thing -- they did not. Check their votes and their qualifications.
4
This is so un-American, sick and wrong. To quote Mr. Sessions, "our" legal leader as Attorney General; "I don't recall" when bias, hatred, bigotry and greed have been so prevalent in American Politics.
The fact that Republicans stone-walled nominations to the Court for two years of the Obama Administration shows their rigged and biased agenda for what it is, and makes this situation stink all the more.
8
For those wondering how "normal" Republicans could vote for someone like Trump, this is why. Trump may be (and I think he is) a narcissistic buffoon, but his court appointments will be the salvation of democracy over government tyranny.
9
You have it completely backwards. The corporatocracy that exists today, indeed the plutocracy, has its roots firmly embedded in conservative politics, along with and funded by ultra-wealthy elements such as the Koch Brothers, American Legislative Exchange Council and conservative think tanks. The so-called liberal elites against which you rail have been trying desperately to wrest the country away from democracy-destroying politics caused these groups, who are akin to the robber barons of 100 years ago. While many working/middle class conservatives believe that regulatory policies were just too much, the policies have been an effort to rein in the abuses of power - resulting in real-world suffering for the underclasses - that are now being seen in just such events as appointing unskilled attorneys to the federal bench. There is no excuse for this. It's just very dirty politics. THAT is your tyranny. While you folks in Ohio are worried about abortion and gay marriage, you fail to comprehend WHY your jobs went away. Wealthy profiteers, backed by conservatives, sent them overseas. And still you vote against your own economic self-interests, unless of course you are indeed part of the wealthy conservative elite, in which case, the death of democracy and the rise of corporate sponsored authoritarianism suits you and your cohorts just fine.
3
Funny how the conservatives are no longer frothing at the mouth about activist judges.
3
Everything they accuse of others they do ten times worse. They take hypocrisy to the stars.
Welcome to the real Handmaid's Tale. The GOP will not rest until their religious virulent misogynist agenda is realized. I for one would love to see them all removed and imprisoned simply for existing. Yep, that's where I'm at...
9
This is why Republican Congressmen put up with Trump's foolishness. They're banking on a generation of right-wing judges. If American democracy survives that long they will have gotten their wish.
4
...and they keep saying he has not accomplished anything meaningful!
6
This upsets me more than most of the other assault perpetrated by the Trump Administration and the Republican congress. This is a blatant crime against the American people taking place in broad daylight. It's hard to not get so upset and depressed when seeing actions that will negatively affect our country for years to come.
5
This entire sordid business is edging the United States towards an undemocratic, theonomic government as envisioned by Pence and the nutters of the Federalist Society. Wake up and smell the coffee - Trump is merely a vulgar, loud-mouthed sock-puppet controlled by very sinister masters.
3
The playing field needed to be leveled. No...make that bulldozed.
10
Well, that's it, then. Welcome to thugland, where the courts are corrupt and incompetent extensions of corrupt and incompetent administrations and "justice" is meted out by politically motivated murderers. It is just the next step in becoming a fully corrupted failed state, otherwise known as a banana republic.
Sorry, America. Maybe yours was just a dream after all.
11
It's Almost Fake News when the Times mentions that the Democrats changed the rules about nominating judges in 2013 by ending the ability to filibuster judicial nominations for appellate positions WITHOUT mentioning the reason: the Republicans were filibustering every single nomination made by President Obama. The Democrats were between a rock and a hard place in the fight against the eventually-victorious Republican obstructionism, a "victory" which has been a defeat for the great American Experiment and the rule of law. In my opinion, that obstructionism was a criminal denigration of the democratic process.
19
In California, we’ve been living with this years. Democrats run the Legislative and Executive branches. As a result, we have a liberal state judiciary. Trump was not my first choice, but I knew that he had the best chance (thank you Harry Reid) to shape the Federal judiciary toward a conservative leaning. If the Democrats ran the US Senate and if Clinton had won, we would be heading towards the same problem we currently have in California - liberal activist judges.
13
You people are reactionaries, not conservatives. You don't even understand where you fit in the larger picture.
14
Yet, California is currently the best state in the nation.
3
I believe that the Democrats should retake all three branches of government by 2020, and then pass a new judicial act which expands the Supreme Court to 11 justices and install two liberal justices, or contract the court to seven justices and eliminate two conservative positions. Whichever idea would inflict the most pain on the Republicans would be my preferred choice.
7
You’re advocating “court-packing" as with the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937. The legislative initiative proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Perhaps you also wish to endorse FDR's Presidential Proclamation No. 2537, requiring aliens from World War II-enemy countries–Italy, Germany and Japan–to register with the United States Department of Justice?
Now that's a progressive idea: The forced relocation and incarceration of between 110,000 and 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps in the western interior of the country.
3
She might. Elizabeth Ziff a few posts later " I for one would love to see them all removed and imprisoned simply for existing". So we have declarations of all out war and calls for mass detention of Republicans here. The readership is unhinged!
2
It hurts partisans when the other side is winning the presidency or congress, or tries to fill up the judiciary. One commenter yesterday wrote it was a "conspiracy against democracy." Actually, regardless of which side is doing it, it is democracy. We have been swinging back and forth since Grover Cleveland, who broke the post-Civil War Republican hold on the WH.
If you are a moderate, and it may be a plurality still, although not when you consider partisans on both sides, it hurts when both sides act in their selfish - only we can be right - ideology. In other words always. Partisans at least get a respite when their side is in charge. Fortunately, despite the cries of partisans, every president, albeit in his own light, has had America's best interests at heart and no one has tried to completely ignore the constitution (despite the hyperbole and character assassination of the opposition) - just a little. It is often the minority, inflamed by loss of power, who acts act out. Reps. did during Obama's terms, and now Dems are.
The rational solution is unlikely. Democrats and Republicans would have to put up moderate candidates. But each side is told by their extreme wing that they will lose if they do so and maybe they are right. Besides, more extreme candidates are more exciting for everyone. Republicans could have nominated Kasich, Democrats Jim Webb. Instead, they put up the worst pair of candidates in history. One had to win. But, it is still democracy.
8
No, we no longer have a democracy. We have an oligarchy.
Billionaires buying Congressmen. Mega-corporations strong-arming politicians at all levels.
Tax law has ALWAYS given preferential treatment to the wealthy. And that direction is intensifying.
Greed and corruption have run amuck. Gerrymandering assures citizens that their voices and votes will be ignored.
This is NOT the normal swing of things!
Income inequality and GOP Congress categorically refusing to work and then being too cruel to represent their constituents represents a new low in American history. We are back to the days of robber barons and union busting.
2
Call me naive but I thought judges were supposed to rule on the law according to the Constitution. I dislike policy from the bench regardless of political persuasion. Seeing some of the decisions come from the bench that amount to hurt feelings does not bode well for the judiciary. You can bemoan the fact that Trump is doing the same as Obama, but it is no worse or better. Perhaps it is just balance coming back into the system.
6
Unfortunately for most republicans the world has changed since 1787, so 'according to the Constitution' is rubbish. This is the 21st century,but the GOP seems to be 'taking America back' . . . to the 18th.
1
He manages to appoint new judges left and right, and yet major science and technology positions in his own administration remain vacant.
5
The war to end the separation of church and state requires annihilation of science and scientists.
2
It's becoming evident Trump is history in 2020 and probably the GOP will be decimated. We need to impeach Trump on obstruction for which is obviously guilty (by his own admission) and do it now. Let's put this sorry chapter of our history behind us.
8
It is a hope, but it is certainly not evident that Trump is history in 2020. I thought it evident in 2004 that George W. Bush’s incompetence would end his presidency. Somehow it didn’t.
1
In David Halberstam's epic book, "The Fifties", he begins at briefly discussing the 1948 Presidential election, between Dewey and Truman. He writes about how Dewey was expected to be elected. Of course that didn't happen! He stated that as far as the Republicans were concerned, there would no longer be, "So much for the high road in American politics". Welcome to the presidency of Donald J. Trump; Republican!!!
4
Thank u Harry Reid!!! What goes around comes around and the Republicans are getting their revenge. Now Dems are feeling what the Republicans endured during all the years of liberal activist judges and their kooky rulings. Lots of us who voted for Trump wanted him to fill the courts w conservatives. ((incidentally I support abortion and the death penalty.) We feel that America is heading in the WRONG direction.
MAGA!!!!!
13
If you wouldn't mind, could you put down the capitals and exclamation points and fill me in on when it was, exactly, that President Obama nominated judges who'd never so much as prosecuted or defended anybody in court and were judged unqualified by the ABA.
Wouldn't mind knowing who he installed that was as far Left as these guys are Right, either.
7
Right, because living in a democracy is all about 'revenge.' This is precisely what is wrong with reactionaries who think that they are patriots: they do not understand the basics of government, or civility. If revenge is your standard as to how you, yours, and your neighbors should be governed, then all the 'caps' and 'exclamation points' in the world won't 'make America great again.' Revenge consumes those who espouse it; soon, no doubt, you will learn how cold a dish it is when served.
4
Wrong. McConnell engaged in a completely unprecedented obstruction of every policy and every nominee that President Barack Obama (who won by much, much larger majorities than Trump) proposed. McConnell's actions had no historical precedent.
During earlier presidencies, there were usually bipartisan support for the nominees of a president who was expected to select highly qualified judges who had been reviewed by the American Bar Association with their records also reviewed by senators. McConnell wouldn't even let hearings be held, or votes be cast.
That was against the Constitution.
This kind of glee about completely unqualified nominees, including ones who have zero judicial experience, is not American. If you support abortion, then say goodbye to women's reproductive rights now.
Trump is ruling like a dictator, including his attempts to obstruct justice by firing the director of the FBI, the acting AG, and various federal prosecutors, including those investigating his cabinet. He has also completely violated precedent by personally interviewing replacement prosecutors. He cares nothing about justice, just about his own political vendettas and future.
2
This is particularly horrifying as many comments have pointed out. To those Bernie Bashers, however, had the Democratic party and the media given him a chance, instead of force feeding Clinton down our throats, we would have had a truly progressive president in the White House. Trump's bizarre appeal, along with deep hatred and mistrust of Clinton by conservatives, put the menacing clown into office. Bernie would have taken us in a completely opposite (and positive) direction.
8
I definitely agree. For me, the seminal moment in the media’s coverage of the campaign was the day Bernie was speaking at a huge rally somewhere while the cameras of all the news networks were focused on Trump’s empty podium.
That was a moment to remember.
Whatever happened to separation of Church and State?
12
Elections have consequences. The Republicans will now shove openly conservative, anti-abortion, anti- gay right, pro-citizen's united, pro-second amendment Supreme Court nominees right down Democrat throats. There is no filibuster. Get the popcorn, sit back, kick your feet up and enjoy. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Unless Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Anthony Kennedy can find their way to a 1986 DeLorean with a time machine, the democrat social agenda will soon be on the ash heap of history, right beside the Edsel and other failed social experiments.
9
" Democrats — who in late 2013 abolished the ability of 41 lawmakers to block such nominees with a filibuster" This is where both Parties think in the "Today" mode. So now the Democrates painted themselvs in a corner, Not only are they not in Power but Trump is now in the White House. There is such truth to the old saying becareful for what you wish for.
10
I think the time for lifetime tenure has passed and we need a new approach to Federal Judges.
An initial appointment with Senate Confirmation as has ben the practice should continue for a term of 6 years, then the Judge should stand on the ballot for a voter led up or down confirmation for a second term of 6 years. 12 years is more than enough for one person to sit on any single Federal Court. Move up or move on.
The other change I would like to see is a written statement signed by every Senator that votes against a nominee in Committee or the full chamber with a detailed argument explaining why they found them to be unqualified. That should moderate the political aspect at least a little.
Finally, Senate rules should be changed to require that all Judicial nominees get a roll call up or down vote in the full Senate within 6 months of submission. No more stolen seats. The current Supreme Court is illegitimate (yes, Mr Roberts, it is) and Neil M. Gorsuch should never have been seated. The stench of his political strong arm placement on the court will not abate until he is removed, resigns or dies.
6
So when are you running for office so you can implement all your brilliant ideas?
Republicans have engaged in a particularly malicious type of judicial politics, refusing to review nominations for the judiciary from the Supreme Court down. When Democrats retake the House and Senate, they need to pass rules that require all nominations to be reviewed within a set time limit, say 60 days.
I would prefer to see these seats filled less through political machinations and more through careful review, but if that cannot happen, then Democrats have no choice but to play hardball themselves.
5
People refusing to do their jobs should be fired. Could you or I refuse to do our jobs and still collect a paycheck ?
Checks and balances are not working.
We can no longer wait the duration of an election cycle to remove dangerously incompetent office holders. We need a citizen’s oversight/ballot process. The time has come.
I was watching the film "V For Vendetta" with a friend the other day. I made a remark about whether this film could possibly be prescient the way some say "Orwell's "1984" is. My friend responded "We can only hope."
4
Yet another reason Republicans should be ashamed. Sure, the majority party fills vacancies with judges they feel will represent their values. But to my knowledge, Democrats have nominated qualified, sometimes even moderate, experienced people. Republicans seem most interested in filling spaces with puppets who will do the bidding of their wealthy backers.
5
Sotomayor, Kagan & Ginsburg, are so far left that to use the term moderate, is laughable.
8
Both parties have typically nominated people considered highly qualified by traditional standards and both parties have nominated moderates with experience. And both parties have nominated people who are not moderate but who play more to their base.
Under Reagan, Robert Bork was eminently qualified and quite conservative. Douglas Ginsburg was eminently qualified and quite conservative (although, like Bill Clinton and others, smoked marijuana). Since the Democrats could not tolerate the qualified Bork and qualified Ginsburg, Reagan nominated the very moderate and centrist Anthony Kennedy, who was easily confirmed. Under Clinton, the eminently qualified and quite liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed 96-3, totally bipartisan support, and notwithstanding the treatment of Bork & Ginsburg, consistent with decades of precedent because of her qualifications, regardless of her political leanings. Obama nominated the qualified and quite liberal Sotomayor, and she was confirmed. Obama also nominated Merrick Garland, totally qualified and reputedly quite moderate.
1
This is by far the scariest thing this administration has done and potentially the most damaging
9
Finally, the downtrodden 1% will be able to have their voices heard.
9
A wise man once said "elections have consequences" something Harry Reid, a Democrat, should have listened to before changing the rules.
12
While the Democrats continue their resistance President Trump continues to work hard for the country.
14
Your dwindling tax dollar at work. Extremists who want to whittle down government to postcard size can be expected to order the most invasive measures to control our private lives.
6
Thank you, former Sen Reid (D-NV)! Your short-term, day-trading-like approach to politics can only be summarized as, "What goes around, comes around."
17
This has been coming since Judge Bork and Justice Clarence Thomas. It was only speeded up by Sen. Harry Reid. All this can be laid at the feet of the Democrats, not that the Republicans are blameless, but that both parties have been in control for far too long, which is why we need a strong Third Party that is answerable to the people!
Nuff Said...Dennis
13
They should all be replaced since these weren't appointments for Republicans to place, but Obama's. Take It to the Supreme Court.
4
Federal courts and their judges are rarely covered by the "media" except in controversial issues and thus, largely unnoticed by the average voter. The judicial appointments and their significance to our society are very vulnerable to manipulation by senators and lawyers of partisan political ill will.
Much more consistent, sustained and analytical media coverage is needed.
2
This article has a whiff of “They started it.” No, They didn’t. We did when the Good Idea Fairies of the aging Democratic leadership abolished filibuster limits for judicial nominees, impatient with GOP Resistance to Hope and Change. Many at that time warned it was a shortsighted move that would be rued in hindsight. And that’s what has happened.
9
Excellent article! That is what we need the NYT for. The real danger originating from the Trump administration are not issues where America's checks and balances work (more or less) well to prevent the worst, i.e. health care or tax reform. As illustrated in the article, the most lasting damage will be wrought on issues that are way below the radar screen of most people and that will take several generations to undo. Please do a similar article on the plans to abolish net neutrality. Just imagine if government statements (and certain tweets) were disseminated with a 2hr preference compared to the rest of the media.
1
While the liberal media and writers in this paper were clamoring that all the Republicans wanted was tax cuts for the rich and thats why they were supporting tRump - they were missing the real story , and the real evil of Mitch McConnell.
Healthcare, taxes - these matter far less - in the end McConnell - not trump - will have changed the course of America for decades. Healthcare and taxes? In a few years they will overturn every single progressive advancement made going back to Johnson
Voting rights, women rights, gay rights etc all will be overturned by the Federalist Society and McConnell .
We progressives and liberal may be rejoicing for VA and the midterms but in the end - they won - McConnell always played a long game.
3
“What does that mean for the legitimacy of the courts in the United States? It’s not a pretty world.”
What does it mean for the legitimacy of the courts when they are predominately liberal or conservative? I am thinking especially of the 9th appeals court, predominately liberal, which is the one most overturned by the Supreme Court. Often overturned even by the lib supremes, I might add. How legitimate is that court?
10
This is why the electoral college should be ended. A person who loses the popular vote still gets all the authority accorded to the position. So with the Democrats ending the filibuster on judicial nominations the onslaught of right wing judges; who will fight to suppress the vote, give the NRA a virtual rubber stamp on their misguided efforts to lessen gun control while this rampage of senseless mass murders continues and ultimately end the right of women to choose about abortion, are going to pack the courts.
8
When you are arguing for judges who will rule contrary to the best understanding of the original understanding of the Constitution or law, you are arguing for biased judges. From the national government perspective, I see the Constitution as a blend of liberatarianism and perhaps non social conservatis. In that respect I would expect non biased rulings to fall along those lines. if you get a progressive ruling from a part of the Constitution that was understood to mean otherwise by those who ratified it and made it law, then you have bias.
10
I don't find their mind-reading of the dead any more credible than their projections of their own personalities onto nature.
2
The US Constitution was written to accommodate slavery, and obviously it still does. Stop treating it as a divine revelation. It is a deeply flawed work by people of a bygone time.
3
"The U. S. Constitution was written to accomdate slavery." It did not create slavery but in the interest to forming a Union by tolerating the satus quo. Later, the Amendmend process outlawed slavery. There was a penalty to having slavering in the Original Constitution in that for purposes of representation in the house, they were weighted three fifth compared to the same person being freed.
It is not a Divine document but rather an agreement between the states. The question then becomes what to do when it is our of sync with current needs. Do you change it by teinterpeting it's meaning to something new, or Amending it. Judicial activism takes agreement of the states that formed the United States out of it and replaces it with the option of a judge or a majority of the SCOTUS.
The question is not whether or not the original understanding was perfect, it is how to reconcile it. In that those in government have taken an oath to the Constitution by extension they have taken an oath to the Amendment process. Putting it at the mercy of a hand full of potentially judge shopped justices is not Democratic or constitutional in my opinion.
2
NO Judge should have a lifetime appointment. 10 years is sufficient. Society changes too quickly to keep them there forever.
20
Federal judges are not appointed for life according to the constitution. They are appointed to remain on the bench only so long as they maintain "good Behavior." Congress has a constitutional basis for codifying the limits of good behavior and setting up the process for removal of judges who do not perform accordingly. Term limits would require a constitutional amendment, which is much more difficult to achieve.
I would like the Democrats who are reviewing the judges Trump is appointing to set the stage for enforcing the Good Behavior clause by asking the future jurists how they will fulfill it and what can happen if they do not.
Human nature never changes. Lifetime appointments are fine.
2
Judges are not the problem. Term limiting Congress so that do-nothings that suck the life blood out of the country while enriching themselves is what's needed.
And the bloodsuckers come from both partied BTW.
With Wrey as the new FBI director trump now has a back channel communication option with the FBI director through Chris Christie. On the surface, it may have seemed like a safe mainstream pick but it is far from it. The choice of Christie's friend and defense counsel in the Bridge-gate scandal shows that Trump can and surely will push the envelope to solidify his inner circle. His next move will be to disembowel the FBI itself, the same way the EPA is being gutted, removing all remnants of its investigation into his Russian connections. With new FBI director Wrey expect funding cuts, resignations and dismissals. Doubtless this cleansing is already afoot with the deliberate surreptitious sabotaging of all related records throughout the entire administration. The system is rigged and the further we let this guy get away with this, the more damage he will do to our democracy. James Clapper is right, Watergate pales in comparison to the Russia pro
7
President Trump is not replacing conservative judges fast enough. We must stop the liberal swing to the left that occurred under Obama. We need judges who will follow the constitution and not inject their liberal bias into our court decisions.
The Democrats would have acted in the same exact manner if they had been given the opportunity. Fortunately, with the election of President Trump they were not given the chance.
There are too many cases on the docket to have left them to be decided by liberal judges. This is a very wise move on our president and most Americans approve of these appointments.
14
Wrong!
This country is centrist.
The courts should reflect the country not a single
Party.
3
WMK:
I find it both sad and self-serving how you blindly toss about "statistics" with no object basis (i.e. "....most Americans approve of these appointments").
Considering how only 1/5 to 1/4 of the total population voted in favor of 45 and how I am certain you neither referenced nor conducted a statistically sound survey sample to assertain such a conclusion ("most"), it is safe to say yours is a gross overgemeralization for the sake of convenience.
With that stated, I will also say get on the right side of history and STOP trying to defend a petulant baboon whose every word and deed is indefensible. The bench appointments he and his henchmen now move to gobble up will become the gatekeepers of gerrymandering and voter suppression more locally.
"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handle"
1
Just the Republican approach to law, as exemplified by Trump. If you don't like the law ignore it. Then get a biased court to enter an unsupported interpretation to let you get away with it. Then change the laws to punish the 98% in favor of the 1%. Incredible when Justice Ginsburg has to school fake Justice Gorsuch on the Constitution, specifically in the gerrymandering case, that it provides one vote for each of us. This will take decades to undo, assuming we don't become a dictatorship before then.
11
This is great news! Finally we will have true judges that hold to the constitution. Their are way to many liberals on the court that are attempting to turn this country into a secular sinful society. We must return to sanity and honor our traditions. Hopefully Ginsburg, Sotomeyer and Kagan will retire or miraculous leave the court.
13
The worst offender of the constitution is your president, he doesn’t understand it, can’t read it and doesn’t care.
5
As a resident of DC, I have the unique American experience of being taxed without representation. If we had representation, the GOP would not be in control of the Senate at the moment, which is why they will always resist changing the voting rights of the people of Washington (and I like many many others, are not government employees or lobbyists or anything related). Democrats aren't always jumping up and down to give us something like statehood either, because it means they can lose some of their power. So I encourage all of you living elsewhere to make this an issue with your representative.
The only voice DC residents have at the federal level is in the presidential election. Which is why I will never forgive McConnell and his fellow traitors for blocking the judicial appointment of Garland. The one and only place where I have an equal voice as an American was mowed down by traitors who are sworn to uphold the Constitution. The rage I feel about it is not describable.
12
D.C. was carved out in part so that the federal bureaucracy would not have it's own representatives in government. It has expanded ways beyond what a ten mile square can old and Maryland and to a degree Virginia represents the bureaucracy now. It is a union of states so of course only states are represented. If prefer action over whining you could move to a state. I would also support returning the District to Maryland where it would just be a city in that state. But separate representation as a state? Never!
2
"Trump had instructed his transition team to prioritize appointing conservative judges who would be 'strong' and could resist 'tremendous political and social pressure.'” ----- i.e. irreverent, dictatorial, and corrupt just like trump himself.
6
There are plenty of liberal, activist judges/justices methodically places in power by Obama. Yes, folks, stacking the judicial branch is deliberate. Now Trump is doing the same thing with conservative judge appointments and the left is suddenly apoplectic.
Is this naivety or simply more mock horror (i.e. typical partisan hypocrisy at its finest)?
In any case, it doesn't make the left look particularly bright.
Yes, elections have consequences. Duh...
However, to blame all of this on a political novice like Trump is giving him more credit than he deserves. The establishment right is using his Presidency to orchestrate and push these political appointments through. It seems clear a pre-selected short list of these conservative appointees had been drafted and waiting in the wings for some time. The gullibility of the liberal left knows no bounds. According to them, Trump is responsible for EVERYTHING.
As a moderate independent, I find the actions of both left and the right depressing.
No wonder 40% of American voters feel helpless and do not identify with either Republicans or Democrats. Our country is going in the wrong direction and the Congress and Senate are too busy with partisan bickering to notice. They are quite simply ruining our country. We need a parliament-style government because the Congress and Senate are unable to govern and work together. Sad.
11
I hopped onto Senator Chuck Grassley's twitter page to see the responses to these rapid appointments.
He's being called out on appointing a lifetime judicial appointment for man who never tried a case in Alabama, and who's worked a mere 3 years as an attorney. And as a blogger last year.
As well as others considered blatantly hyper-partisan in a conservative bent.
Grassley bragged about appointing more circuit judges than Bill Clinton, Bush II and Obama, despite Grassley and Republicans doing it under cloture, rolling over Democrats.
Shame on this Republican Party---it is constant party over country.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senate-gop-keeps-endorsing-trump...
5
Republicans decided decades ago to follow the Voodoo Economics of Ronnie Raygun, who they now deify. St. Ronnie showed them the way. Although compared with today's belligerent obstructionists in the GOP, Ronnie seems tame. What Reagan did was make government a miasma. It could do nothing right.
Reagan's most famous quotes told the tale: "Government is not the answer to our problems, government IS the problem", "The worse thing someone wants to hear when faced with a calamity is: 'I'm from the Federal government, and I'm here to help".
That paraphrased a line by LBJ. When disaster struck his home state Texas, LBJ flew down there with no fanfare, no entourage, to a shelter housing people who were displaced. There was no electricity, no lights, so LBJ shone a flashlight on his face announcing ,"This is your President. And I am here to help".
That's how it was back "in the old days". I was there. We had just lost a president to assassination. We had not yet escalated a war of lies into the Vietnam debacle. We still believed in the power of the positive, so emblematic back then. We believed anything was possible. We could conquer Communism and go to the Moon.
Now? We can't budge because our budget. Really? Well, Yes We Can, Congress, like putting back the tax structure we had in the Sixties, when corporations and the rich paid a lot more. Don't believe their threats to leave. They aren't going anywhere. The US is a cash cow, and they know it. Now you do.
DD
Manhattan
9
First the EPA, then the FCC, now the judiciary.
Seems like Putin is ruining the country we used to have.
6
This is all part of the demolition derby being systematically wreaked upon the US by the Trump/Ryan/McConnell/alt-right/AynRandites/"conservative" wreaking crew. When it's all over, it will take decades to put Humpty Dumpty (that is, the US) back together again. If ever. And all of those complicit, safe with their rentier tax breaks, and safe from the peasants in their gated communities, don't really care as long as Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, voting rights, civil rights, free press, public education (hey, any kind of education!) etc., etc. are in their curated dust bin of history.
7
Without a strong, bold, effective Democratic Congress, Trump will continue to do pretty much as he wishes. Our Democracy suffers from a lack of leadership and complacent Democrats.
7
Trump is rapidly learning the ropes of governing and keeping his promises. He is realizing as did previous presidents Clinton and Obama that judiciary can over turn executive orders and thwart his agenda and so it is not enough to reshape the supreme court but it is also critical to appoint judges in lower courts that may not interfere with executive orders.
8
"In the philosophy of Heraclitus it [enantiodromia] is used to designate the play of opposites in the course of events—the view that everything that exists turns into its opposite…." Carl Jung.
Interesting that Trump should endeavor to attempt to reshape our democracy into an oligarchy! . "Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich,[4] for which another term commonly used today is plutocracy."
Will he fail or succeed? Attempt's at reshaping the courts is nothing new -but on this scale? Some nominees will fall by the wayside. Still, time isn't exactly on Donny's side. Is the sky really falling? We have until next November will tell the tale.
1
Trump is working overtime, to leave his mark on the courts, the way a male cat marks its territory.
3
Just as other countries are stepping around our Denegotiator-in-Chief like something the dog left on the sidewalk to make trade agreements without us, many people within this country will simply ignore the illegitimately appointed "judges" and their wingnut "judgments." "Small government," the hollowed-out kind they are creating before our very eyes, means fewer people controlling information and our pocketbook and making our personal decisions for us, with fewer watchdogs to rein in their rapacious behavior; the wingnuts will dictate their repressive, stunted religious interpretations to everybody and get in people's lives like never before while abrogating their responsibility to the very purpose of government--to provide for the General Welfare of the People. If we don't turn the tide next year, one can envision a nation in name only in which Blue states and cities make their own laws and even foreign trade agreements that nullify and override the the illegitimate GOP unAmerican ones--de facto nation-states. The most worrisome aspect of this scenario is that, in addition to taking over the judiciary, they're maneuvering to take over the military as well. Incredible to think that our future, perhaps that of the world, rests on the investigations of one person, Mr. Robert Mueller III. Can he pry these awful people out with a crowbar before they are able to complete their coup?
5
Trump isn't changing anything. Mike Pence [his Koch Brother's staff] and Mitch McConnell are doing all the religious, conservative heavy lifting.
6
Folks who don't respect the system and only want to angle it and break it to serve expedient ends may regret getting what they wished for. History surely demonstrates that democratic principles violated to serve right-wing principles may just as surely be violated later in the same society to serve left-wing principles. I am sure there will be a severe backlash to the right-wing tendencies holding sway today. This recent setting of precedents of unfairness toward others that trash the best of our national principles is so very likely to boomerang. This is why, notwithstanding having to live in society with many whose views I can't stand, I've always preferred the center, i.e. mutual respect for individual and group differences and a willingness to compromise. Few societies ever get there, and now I am fairly sure we have lost it, probably for good. Foolish electorate: your country is in precipitous decline, because of you.
5
The history of the nation is the Boomerang Effect. Human nature being what it is, each political party tends to overreach and go too far to the extremes to satisfy their base, and the vast center of America rejects it in the following election. In addition, human nature being what it is, the humans who constitute each political party are often caught up in some sort of scandal that runs entirely contrary to their rhetoric and, generally speaking (Nixon and Watergate notwithstanding), the political party circles its wagons as a defense, and the voters frequently say forget it. The voters bring the only accountability they can and reject the given party in power.
FDR & Truman followed by Ike. Ike/Nixon followed by JFK/LBJ. JFK was moving a little more cautiously & then after assassination, LBJ's arguably vast overreach gave rise eventually to Ronald Reagan as a response. Reagan/Bush followed by Bill Clinton. Clinton followed by Bush/Cheney. Then Obama as response to Bush/Cheney insane overreach. Trump, etc.
2
This is the singular reason why I voted for Trump.
MAGA!
9
They said, "Hillary or Trump, it won't make any difference, they're both [whatever]. And what does it matter which party controls the Senate? They're both [whatever}." They were political fools.
8
As he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a lady asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well Doctor what have we got — a republic or a monarchy?"
"A republic," replied the Doctor, "If you can keep it.”
(From the notes of Dr. James McHenry, a Maryland delegate to the Convention, first published in "The American Historical Review," vol. 11, 1906, on p. 618.)
Not only is "government of the people, by the people for the people," spoken of by Abraham Lincoln that Thursday afternoon in November of 1863 being systematically replaced with government of, by and for corporations and the obscenely wealthy (with malice toward everyone else), but we are also witnessing the ultimate coup de grâce to the secular, constitutional and democratic republic created by the Founders: the total makeover of the federal government by the handlers of a president who lost the popular vote by THE largest margin in the nation's history, aided and abetted by a GOP-controlled Congress (the overwhelming majority of which are a collection of sociopaths, misanthropes and even sadists, and who have the temerity to call themselves "Christian" — though there is nothing remotely Christ-like about any of them: the literal meaning of the word).
Sinclair Lewis was wrong; it CAN happen here — and has.
Sic transit gloria mundi (or at least that of the United States of America).
11
Across the Trump administration from the nepotism in his White House, the cronyism and ethical problems that required so many waivers in his Cabinet, and the destruction of individual government divisions such as the State Department which has lost some 60% of its senior experienced personnel, there has been a Trumpification of public servants.
As with the judiciary, unqualified people are filling these positions, loyalty to Trump and extremism are replacing ideals of public service and patriotism. This happens on the regimes of dictators. Whether it is the Cultural Revolution in China or the emptying out and Nazification of the civil service in Hitler's Germany, this is in the playbook of how you force your dogma and substitute fealty for citizenship. Republicans and Trump are systematically ensuring that all Americans are not represented. Minorities will be persecuted; there will not be tolerance of different religions or views; vendettas against "elites" or "liberals" or those with different political views will be carried out.
Experience and education and expertise bring with them wider perspectives and understanding and tolerance. Wisdom comes from experience. Narrow minded intolerance comes from bigoted limited life experiences and biased backgrounds.
The best and the brightest used to go into public service. Now we will have the worst and the far rightest. This is not just a brain drain. It is a death spiral.
10
Mnuchin is one of the most disingenuous reptiles I've ever seen. Icewater doesn't just flow in Trump's body, all his minions are cold fish too.
2
Collapse is imminent when public policy becomes toxic to sane people.
The judiciary changes under President Erdogan in Turkey could indicate the direction of the U.S. system. But I learned that it could even become worse as I checked law and justice under the Third Reich
5
Franz Kafka could write an encyclopedia about Trump. His daddy had a lot in common with The Donald's.
2
Trump is truly a plague on our nation – the epitome of disaster.
C'mon Mueller – although Trump will have to be forcibly removed from the WH kicking and screaming all the way.
8
This reason, and this reason alone, is the only reason Donald Trump got my vote. Other than that, I find him a buffoon.
4
Steve, a man who is a buffoon in all other respects will appoint people who ar are also buffoons--in the cabinet, at the federal agencies. and to the nations federal benches. And, not surprisingly, that's exactly what he's done.
2
To get completely unqualified judges in office? Ones who cannot garner the recommendation of the ABA? Ones who are best known for blogging on guns after the massacre in an elementary school? Ones who have never once even been a judge? These are stolen seats from Gorsuch on down.
But Judge Moore is the kind of Republican that many right wing people like. It doesn't matter than he is a buffoon, a child molester, an zealot. He has an R after his name, so the rest doesn't matter.
4
As Barack Obama never seemed to tire of telling us "Elections have consequences."
12
The White American Plutocracy, step-by-step:
Step one: Citizens United ruling, "corporations are people," white-wealth injects dark money into politics - 2010.
Step two: White-supremacist propaganda to win presidential election - 2015-2016.
Step three: fleece the country with tax cuts to the wealthy, 85% of whom are White. They collect $2tn, pass go - 2017.
Step four: saddle the government with debt, to be paid in higher taxes and less services by non-whites, who make up a large majority of the poor and lower middle class - 2017 to 2022, to be paid 2017-2045.
Step five: Populate the judiciary with 1950s-era conservatives to block any contestation - 2017-2024.
That will surely, irreversibly, Make America White Again, for another century. Republicans will be hailed for "taking the country back."
It will be a non-democracy like it has been for most of its history, except for the period 1964-2010, reverting as we speak to a plutocracy of the white, wealth-owning class.
Any complaints? Few judges, mostly white conservatives, will hear you, and if they do, you're only thrown a crumb or two if you wear an impeccable suit and ask nicely while taking insult and attack, like the MLK people in the early 1960s.
Still dissatisfied? The U.S. government now and hereafter summarily assassinates its own citizens. Your leaders will be killed and thrown into the ocean.
Good luck, colored people! This land is NOT your land. It never was, and never will be: just ask the colored natives.
7
There's always emigration. Canada has lots of vacant land, and it has much stricter gun laws.
3
Exit polls showed that court-focused voters helped deliver the president’s narrow victory.
When will you folks recognize that you LOST.........306 - 220 does not constitute a "narrow" victory. Well, maybe to small minds it does.
Clinton's are never coming back
10
None of us care if the Clintons are coming back; it's the crazy-right that is obsessed with them. What we care about is getting Don, Mike, Mitch, and Paul out of office before they destroy the democracy that our forefathers built with their blood.
3
3 million more votes is not a loss. Russia's help meant that gullible people were influenced by a hostile state to vote for the least qualified, most unfit person in American history. There is a reason he is deeply unpopular. He has lied more than 1,500 times now since becoming president, all of which are documented. On Veterans Day, he was trashing intelligence agencies, those people who risk their lives to defend the country from terrorism and other enemies, and on Veterans Day he was praising an ex-KGB thug and dictator of a Communist hostile nation. Republicans didn't care about country, the USA or anything but getting this ignorant bigot in office.
2
Yes the electoral college the only system in the world where the minority wins over the majority. Pretty pathetic for you 36% Trumpsters!
2
Thanks, Bernie Bros. How about y'all get real next time. :P
7
Maybe the Bernie Bros are upset that Hillary bought the Democrat nomination when she purchased the DNC.
But I forget. The Democrats are the party of piety and the little people.
Chris, Hillary is responsible for her loss.
It's temporary. In January 2021 they will all be fired and replaced. Every day we wake up and we are 1 day closer to taking the country back from these lunatics.
3
Two words for you, Jim, to illustrate that it’s worse than you think: life tenure. Barring impeachment for gross misconduct, you cannot fire them! Woe is us...
Two thirds of the Senate doesn't come up for election in 2018, and of the third that does, two thirds of the seats are currently held by Democrats. This system is one sticky wicket of rat's nests.
1
There is zero legal ground to impeach these newly appointed and duly approved justices. But dream on...if it helps you get through the day. Lol...
3
This has been going on from the beginning and is the real tragedy of Trump if things don't switch to full on fascism.
25 years lost.
6
The next 25 years will see the total amount of CO2 emitted by human activities over the past 200 years increased by 50%.
2
This is Mitch McConnell at his despicable best. This began with Bork. Republican anti intellectuals elevated a bigot, misogynist, and overall creep that the Repubs went nuts over and continue to use as an excuse for madness.
The next 40 years of corporate courts for America will be the dystopian religious corporate world of Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men.
How much lower can you go? We are about to find out.
8
If the president is illegitimate, isn't everything he does illegitimate? Mitch McConnell will be remembered in history, as the man who broke the Senate and helped kill America.
10
Time to leave this autocracy for a free country.
Bye bye.
10
If you need transportation, let us know...
5
If you're a Trump voter, don't ever rail against Affirmative Action now that the U.S. President sees fit to appoint someone to the Federal bench who has never tried a case. Affirmative action has never resulted in anything so gross.
12
Judges can be impeached, too.
5
15 federal judges have been impeached in US history.
But you keep hoping, Rocky.
4
If the Dems had some guts they would remove them when they get a majority.
3
Republicans don't care about Trump, about Bannon, about Roy Moore - they care about the rebulican agenda. They sat on their hands for eight years, now they are installing judges and policy that will stand for years. For what? An abortion vote? A tax repeal? A "W" on the board? These people will defend a sex offender, a pedophile, to get a "win." Unbelievable.
10
Yes. But don't forget that all the evil they do is in the name of Jesus.
1
We have to have a way to nullify all actions of this Fake President and GOP congress; once we expose them of cheating.
This includes all justice appointments from Jan 20th 2017 on-wards.
6
this is an all out war - and nothing else.
3
Democrats, Liberals, and Progressives of all persuasions KNEW this was the GOTP's Game Plan all along. They saw it coming miles off - and the Right openly, proudly declared it. They even said they would block Clinton on Supreme Court nominees for Eight Years if they had to!
Democrats saw the Writing. They knew what was at stake. Yet, even then they could not unite, they could not stop tearing their own down. They could not help but adopt the Right Wing Distorted Hype about Clinton. They could not unite around their final candidate, one of two that were ultimately not so far apart from each other on most issues!
Trump, and every dismantling of America's future, was a given if the Right won. The Right declared it, and the GOTP Ideological Radicals Elitists will do as they always do. The fault is not in the Right: We had Years to see and understand that the Right was morally and politically bankrupt. So many on the Left and Center voted for Trump, or stayed home out of Spite anyway. So many others simply could not be bothered to get out and vote... even many of the poorest who had the most to lose.
This is the result. We will likely be 50-100 years recovering from the damage done by a Radical, Polarized Judiciary, and the most ignorant and vindictive President in our History. It's not about our futures anymore: it's survival. It will take our children's lives to undo the damage back to 2008 norms.
Are you happy now? You got your revolution - and it will cost us everything!
13
You're correct, correct, correct. Here's how I sum it up for myself: Republicans are evil and Democrats are feckless. I choose feckless because it's not evil.
1
unqualified "president" nominating unqualified justices
And the Senate? unable to do its job as a check/balance
this is how democracies die
6
This is what you’re able to do in America when your government is fat and rich and half the voting public buy into it. Let’s see if that half is any better off at the end of DJT than they were at the end of the last George Bush.
2
62,979,879 delorables will never, ever admit to how thoroughly they were conned by a vulgar, simpleminded carnival barker.
1
Destroying liberal democracy one step at a time...
4
The vast majority of voters in this country have no idea that "liberal democracy" doesn't mean "Liberal democracy." They couldn't even guess as to the difference. Stupidity and ignorance are the prices we pay for spending decades arguing about how to educate our kids instead of actually educating them.
2
If the stacking of the judiciary doesn't get the dems out to vote in 2018 (the heck with all these purity tests) and take back the Senate, then our children and grandchildren will live under laws that favor the wealthy, the corporations, and the theocracy. Time for dems to put aside any differences and take back Congress in 2018 in order to stop this hijacking of the judiciary.
7
A fatal cancer is spreading and metastasizing, consuming and devouring our democracy...our treasured Nation. It is dying in the hands of a man who will not stop until he has imposed his malignant and demonic cruelty on all of us...
6
Good for Trump - all he is doing - as reported here in the strongly-biased leftwards NYT and the majority of its readership - is restoring some of the imbalance created by the President who wanted to "transform" the USA, the "king of debt" and broken healthcare promises, Barack Obama - who further said, "Elections have consequences."
9
I clearly remember Trump bragging about being the King of Debt, and replacing the ACA with cheaper and better health care for all. How did that work out for you?
7
Sounds like Mr. Trump is a lot more saavy then Mr. Obama!
8
Appears Trump's judges will rapidly prove to be stunningly incompetent and will rapidly be impeached & replaced...as soon as every Republican in Congress has been run out of office and sent back home...except, they'll never go back home, but stay in DC as lobbyists.
1
By the time there are enough Dems to start impeaching federal judges, this democracy will be in such tatters that far more urgent (not necessarily more important) repairs will have to take center stage. There will be so many holes in the ship that need to be plugged that the problems with the main engine will have to wait. And between now and then, those judges will tear at the fabric of liberal democracy until it is nearly unrecognizable to those of us who grew up seeing how it is supposed to look.
Where have all you astonished voters been for the last two decades? This has been a “planned from the top” corporate assault on our government from the Party that loathes government and has had the money to win elections. The Air waves have been the battle ground and now the Internet. They will soon be joined on TV by another right wing reactionary purchaser and propagandizer. See how they operate in Turkey and Russia.. Our democracy has been undermined since Reagan and it is now being utterly destroyed from within by business moles operating to eviscerate any and all regulatory rules over our air and water etc. These right wing judges will do the bidding of the Party in power as long as it is right wing and authoritarian. They are Making America Mince Meat. And America’s Resentfuls and Angries are loving it because they think it won’t affect them.
Tomorrow’s leaders will be the Chinese and the Russians thanks to the super selfishness and un-American Congress that would rather have a pedophile in the Senate than a Democrat. You elected these guys, Mr. Midwesterner and Mrs Southerner. Get used to the stupping, it’s what all predators are best at.
6
The headline on the front page for this article starts with "Trump helps reshape"....
Please. The words "Trump" and "helps" should never be juxtaposed. He has no genuine desire to help anyone or anything but himself.
4
I know. It's like the guy who posted above saying that Trump is savvy. On what planet?
2
Gee, looks like elections have consequences.
9
This is disgusting and evil...Yes, time to change the rules and change the appellate courts time rules... not lifetime for inappropriate and not qualified
judges... what a scam..
best said remarks by TM:
Stacking the judiciary with conservatives, gerrymandering voting districts and suppressing voters, hollowing out the diplomatic corps, purging scientists from federal agencies, rolling back environmental regulations, undermining public education, re-institutionalizing racism/sexism/xenophobia/other prejudices, refusing to enforce objective standards of qualification and character in federal government officials, etc. What exactly is the endgame, here, Republicans? How far do you intend to go? Since some GOP members believe it's better to be a child molester than a Democrat (see Alabama), I guess the overall eradication of any influence by citizens with a progressive/liberal or even moderate/centrist philosophy is the ultimate objective. Apparently, we aren't supposed to have a voice in public policy now. You know what's best for me. So when will you be announcing an official state religion? When will you outlaw the Democratic party? When will you start rounding up non-Republicans and putting us in "re-education camps" since we are such a menace to society?
1
So, if these illegitimate judges are not removed, once Trump is removed, then they only leave the bench when they die or resign? Okay then. Got it.
1
We could enact legislation that prevents this, but yes, that's how it works. Federal judges have lifetime tenure; the idea is that since they're there forever, they gain the advantage of seeing the long run benefits of moderation and are unlikely to be strongly partisan over time. On paper, it works.
1
Democrats, use the blue slip and anything else you can think of to revolt against these conservative judges. Much depends on it, please preserve our country's tradition of being fair and just.
2
As always, the Republican party has to cheat in order to have their way. Now that we have a schoolyard bully in the White House who lies, steals, and cheats with reckless abandon, it will take years to undo the damage his administration and [his] congress have thrust upon us.
2
The last time the uber rich and the ultra religious ruled the world it was called the Dark Ages. This is proof that history repeats itself.
1
WHY, WHY,WHY are judges appointed for their political bent?
HOW can they possibly be IMPARTIAL?
I 'm sorry about the caps, but I find it appalling that Americans can even entertain the IDEA of this aberration.
You should remove the blindfold from the statue of Justice above your courts because they do not offer a fair trial.
Shame on you, America, for allowing your courts to be one-sided and tainted by politics!
3
Next time we need a Canadian's opinion on how to run our country, we'll ring up Justin Bieber. In the meantime, MYOB.
4
Ever stopped to think that Bieber would probably make a much better informed AND more mature president than the loose cannon that America has elected?
Don't tell us to mind our own business when Trump is a danger to world peace !
1
Trump is "reshaping" the judiciary? so is he reshaping the judiciary in his own image? Will he appoint racists, misogynists, and traitors to this country like him?
2
The country is not actually ideologically split. A state organ
(Fox News), a host of right wing think tanks, some billionaires, a few bloggers, and some Russian trolls methodically and deliberately lie to the American people. By appealing to various “isms,” they have scared 1/3 of Americans into believing that we are a country in decline rather than the greatest country on earth. Left on their own, most people are common sense centrists as poll after poll indicates. This vile experiment will end badly for Republicans, but not before taking a great moral toll on our country.
2
Trump feels that poor people are bad. They must be punished for this offense. He needs to change the courts so that poverty can become a punishable offense.
Don't worry everyone, Global Warming will be the great equalizer. The uber rich will be in their castles living as large as possible till the environment gets to them. The ultra religious will be in their churches until the environment gets to them. Everyone Else...well you see the pattern.
1
We are in BIG trouble. The selfish autocrat, who only cares about the monied class and protecting HIS interests, is so deeply damaging to the country. I shudder to think of the horrid footprint he will have on this country for decades to come. Once again, for those who voted for this unqualified THUG, you will be hurt too! Bad judicial appoints effect all of us!
1
The answer to this attempted hostile "conservative" takeover of OUR judicial system is a law that sets judicial term limits at all levels. Retroactive.
Unless, of course, Investigator Mueller manages to prosecute under a widespread RICO law and The Con Don and every single one of his money masters/supporters are found guilty of treason - which they are because they are trying to take over OUR government.
Then, every single appointment The Con Don made/makes would be thrown out and we could get on with restoring/preserving democracy in The United States of America.
4
Well here’s another bright spot of the Trump Administration.
Keep up the good work. There are a lot of leftist extremist activists on the federal bench. Witness the tyranny from these leftist judges in Hawaii and Maryland who write constitutional la from the bench that suits their political agenda.
5
You mean just as ultra conservatives do?
1
Throw every last Republican out, there are no good ones.
Any man that voted to confirm these fellows hates women, it is that simple.
It's a revolution that is being lead by women, picking up signs and ballots.
Never before have women had to be so aware of a revolt against their personhood and an organized conspiracy to make them second class citizens.
3
I am extremely glad these kind of judges are finally being appointed instead of a wave of liberals. In fact WE should all be glad!
5
If Trump is removed from office.
1
They laughed when he ran.
They said he had no chance.
President Obama said " Donald Trump is not going to be President"
Money hungry cable news gave Trump free air time,,,
She ignored working class Americans.
She hung out with the rich and famous.
Voters are sick and tired of that.
The press and Liberals think an election in Virginia, where thousands of Washington Swamp folk work,, and of course vote Democrat is a game changer.
Not.
He won.
He picks judges.
Period
7
Obama appointed 2 women, one of whom rumored to be gay to SCOTUS, 55 justices to federal court of appeals, 158 to federal district courts. 5 of the above openly gay, a majority of women, around 42% people of color. All progressive liberals in his mold. His appoinmtnets have changed the courts, perhaps or 2 generations.
For those readers bemoaning the Trump appointment of conservatives, it's part of our political system. You may not appreciate or approve of his choices. Some folks did not appreciate Obama's America.
2
And this is why trump will never ever be impeached. Every republican including John McGain, will line up completely behind Trump. And it is why they were all involved with helping Vladimir Putin. There are a lot of republicans in the Russian camp. These people have sold their soul.
1
The D's opened the door to this disaster and now they own it. Obama picked liberal justices and packed certain courts where the progressives bring their cases to delay and obstruct. Turn around is now an issue for them but it all gets traced back to Harry Reid and his divisive style.
5
If the argument is that republican federal judges are a threat, then the argument is that the government itself is a threat. There is a difference between having a government which won't implement your policy preferences and one which is a threat.
I do hope we are all anticipating what comes next. Judging from the comments NYT Picks, I imagine you are all preparing for some sort of coup.
3
way overdue. This should make the liberals furious and that means it's good for this country.
4
Why do I get the impression that the NYT is being less than honest in this article? During Obama's term, 329 judges were confirmed. That is about 38 per year. Of these, 55 were at the appellate level, or 7 per year.
In Trump's first term, 14 have been confirmed in 9 months, so a much slower pace of confirmations. Of these, 8 were at the appellate level, which is a bit higher rate than Obama, but also may represent his giving priority to these openings.
3
It is obvious Putin is running both the US State Department and CIA. Donald J. Trump does everything Putin tells him to do. It is obvious there is no way to remove Trump at this time.
1
A political scientist should write a book on how the Trump administration and the Republican Party are doing their best to turn the country into a fascist state despite the fact that we supposedly live in a democracy where all views are to be respected. The current Republican Party and the Trump administration are the product of myopic white suburbanites and religious conservatives who refuse to join contemporary society but long for an are that never existed.
1
The NYT headline is wrong.
This stacking of the courts with right-wing, anti-democracy ideologues is all McConnell. It was McConnell who stole the SCOTUS seat, and McConnell who ensured that hundreds of open judicial seats remained unfilled during President Obama's term.
McConnell is the anti-democracy architect of this plot to return the United States to the 19th century. 45 is simply the tool to implement the plot.
2
I see the left is panicking over judicial appointments as reality sets in. Trump has hammered the news media, he has hammered Hollywood, he has made a mockery of the Fake News, and the bi-coastal elites are beside themselves. Get used to it. Power is shifting. You have "political" hacks in the Justice Division, the loud mouths in Saudi Arabia who lambasted Trump have now been arrested or shown the door, and the most vocal critics of Trump --the democratic hacks (Harvey Weinstein, Spacey, the Clintons et al) have all been shown to be empty suits. But yet, those from the left still think their opinion matters-it does to other like minded folk, but do their opinions matter in the scheme and shift of power? Nope. (Oh yes--it was those from the left who sold all their stock when Trump became President--another brilliant move!)The left ain't got nothing, and like the lackeys who disparaged Trump, they also have been neutered. It's a great day in America!
6
When faith trumps reason, technological civilization resets to zero.
Stop giving trump credit for doing something. This was planned and ready before he even stepped in to the WH. Mitch McConnell is the de facto king of the mountain now.
3
trump seems as if he is skating on the edge of being indicted for treason, which is possibly the only crime for which a sitting president can be indicted. If he is, shouldn't all his appointments be rolled back as being the results of the actions of a traitor?
2
Linked to this is today's article, authored by Vivian Wang, entitled "Trump Nominee for Federal Judgeship Has Never Tried a Case."
If, indeed, it is political error for President Trump to elevate to lifetime judgeship a lawyer with no trial experience, then President Obama should be held to account for his endorsement of Judge Gregory H. Woods, III, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. As Judge Woods freely admitted in the “Questionnaire For Judicial Nominees” required of every nominee by the Senate Judiciary Committee: “I have not tried any cases.”
See Woods’ Questionnaire sworn to on May 14, 2013 at page 17.
3
It is most educational to try a case or two as a juror.
1
Quite amazing that so many commenters are blaming others for Hillary's failure instead of her.
When her private server was discovered why did she not step aside for the greater good of the party instead of repeatedly lying?
Why did she not campaign in Mich, Penn. and Wisc.?
Why did she not end the Goldman Sachs speech controversy by simply returning the money or donating it charity?
Why did she not hold a press conference for almost year?
Why did she not pick a better running mate?
Etc..
She was such a poor candidate that Trump beat her. Quite an accomplishment by what her supporters think is such a capable, qualified, and intelligent person. Guess her supporters are as delusional as she is.
7
Back to Hillary again? No matter what she did or did not do, she isn't the issue any longer. We have a dangerous situation here and if we want to save our democracy we need to focus on how to contain the malignancy that "won" the election.
1
I can see a lead weight on the scales in the way my own vote in presidential elections has never mattered even once in any presidential election in my voting lifetime, just because of where I lived at the time.
No worry about the poor. Hillary will give them her money she cares so much about them.
It was Reagan's nomination of the very conservative Bork and the majority Democratic Party response to it that unfortunately set the path for this conclusion. The Democrats treatment of the Robert Bork nomination and the subsequent impact on politics became known as the "Borking of America" for a reason.
It has been reported that Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden's treatment of Bork radicalized Newt Gingrich, who decided it would be necessary for the GOP to respond in kind for the GOP to retake the House. The whole "don't take a knife to a gun fight" thing. Together with a young John Boehner's exposure of the House Franking & check bouncing scandal and Rostenkowski corruption, that is exactly what happened in 1994.
BTW, I am speaking as an Independent voter who typically votes Democrat, especially at the Presidential level.
1
Bork was the first post Roe v. Wade crank put up by the right to life under vindictive psychopathy movement that treats pregnancy as God's punishment for sex, and birth itself as an "original sin" that justifies abuse of people afterwards.
I suspect that Republicans will have to face these same judges that they are putting into courts all over the land. If they are all "hang 'em high" judges then we will have packed prisons for decades to come filled with both democrats, independents, and Republicans. That's fine with me. I obey the law, but I know quite a few Republicans who cheat on their taxes and do some pretty shady business deals. Good luck in court.
1
This revision of the American Judiciary is exactly what American needs at this time in an American restructuring away from the liberal-left unatainable utopian 'vision' <-(if you will!) -of the past 45-years or so!
A total return to fiscal and social sanity based in 'Reality' <-(Again, if you will!) will take two terms of the Trump Administration. . . and hopefully, an additional two terms of the Pense Administration!
The World has thrived in the post WWII era- and the World continues to need a strong America! Peace and Prosperity through the Strength of a strong, Democratic Republic that America has been- the Obama administration notwitrhstand!
2
This is nothing new. After tort reform was attempted – to limit the amount of money in large court settlements – Karl Rove bought the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with money from big corporations, and they started spending money on judicial election and filling appellate seats to have judges in court positions to control appeals and final court settlements. Now your multimillion dollar settlement against “Big Corp” gets cut to $250,000 and that’s it. In effect, Big Corp bought the judge.
Author and lawyer, John Grisham, wrote a novel called The Appeal that showed how it was done. Big Corp gets sued and loses; they appeal, they get selected judges appointed or elected, and the settlement kicked out or drastically reduced. Grisham called the book his non-fiction fiction.
4
Of all they've done, this is the greatest sin the GOP has committed.
2
What's really to be ashamed here, given that 'Trump-gonna-be-Trump', is how cheaply the Republican senate has sold out the judicial branch of the US government just to appease their self-manufactured political Frankenstein (funded by Republican donors) and to 'win' their next election in order to continue serving their donors' twisted interest in maintaining the necessary Fear and Loathing of the alt-right base that got themselves a President Trump in the first place.
Rather than protect government from the excesses and predations of their home-grown fanatics, bred in the hothouse of state politics, the gutless senatorial GOP is rolling over to allow the most fanatical of their base to infect the nation's judiciary for decades to come. Not with any demonstrable electoral mandate, mind you! But with a Republican majority elected by a national MINORITY of votes, thanks to the wonders of the EC! For the past 3 cycles! They can't win an honest national majority--the norm for most of American history--and their president did not win the popular vote. Yet, they insist, as representatives of the MINORITY of American voters, to know best how to deal with healthcare, reform our tax system, and how to interpret the Constitution.
The national Republican party is a gangster party, where money rules and gets to write the laws with as little public input as possible. They DARE to call that 'America'. This minority-coup has to be stopped. Because it's obvious the GOP won't do the job.
4
This is a very biased article, which, unfortunately, is typical of what today’s New York Times has become. Frankly, this piece should have appeared in the Opinion Pages, not the news sections.
The article repeats the observation that the Republicans effectively blocked Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland’s for SCOTUS. This correct, but unbiased reporting would have noted that the Democrats explicitly support such a process, for example through clear statements by Schumer and Biden made when the political tables were turned.
The more important point is that Trump is doing just what he should be doing, trying to fill vacancies in the Federal judiciary with qualified judges. This editorial views “originalist” judges, that is individuals who interpret the law based on what it says, as somehow malevolent. This is exactly backwards. What is scary is judges (and Justices) who rule based on their own political beliefs; Justice Ginsburg is perhaps the epitome of such a person. Judges and Justices are unelected and serve lifetime tenure; their role is to help enforce the law as the Founders and legislators intended, and not to write new law themselves. This is how democracy works.
Judicial candidates must be qualified to win approval of the Senate, and Trump’s candidates have almost all met this standard. Approval by the ABA is not required, and indeed the ABA is today basically a liberal organization, and hardly impartial.
On this matter, Trump is doing as he should.
6
Obama had 38 judicial nominees per year confirmed over the course of 8 years. Trump has had on.y 14 in 9 months. This is simply Savage attempting to secure his position at the NYT by touting the party line.
2
With all elections, most definitely national, being very close most of the time, you know many election outcomes are decided by Judges, most notably Bush V. Gore, and what the Republicans are doing is rigging elections, far worse than any rare voter fraud. And you were worried about the Russians interfering?
2
And note this gem from Mitch McConnell (he of no-national-interest-is-more-important-than -ensuring-that-Barack-Obama-fails-as-president fame): “The most important decision I’ve made in my political career,” he said, “was the decision not to do something; it was the decision not to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Scalia.”
Who knew the Constitution vested that power in the Senate majority leader?
Oh, wait ... this is the majority leader who serves a president neither of whom has ever read the Constitution ...
4
No trial experience. So, can my horse be a Judge? He's a regular Clever Hans.
5
What comes around goes around and both sides have been playing games. Does it surprise anyone that the author of the article is not happy.If it were the other way around the article would have a positive sound.As far as I am concerned the appointments have been political since Bork was turned down.The Democrats got that ball rolling but it could just as easily been a Republican.
1
I hope everyone who stayed home or voted for Jill Stein because "it doesn't really matter, they're all the same" reads this article.
3
Republicans are overplaying theur hand here. They are a minority party and only in power due to gerrymandering and uneven nature of Senate. When the Democrats come back to power, review of all such appointments including Neil Gorsich should be on the table
3
However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
George Washington
1
I thought the new rule was that Presidents are not allowed to install Federal judges in the last year of their term....
7
Where was the concerted, visible, unyielding outrage from the Democrats and the Obama administration during their eight years as their judicial nominees were blocked? Where was the shut down the Senate tactic? As I recall it was strictly an inside Washington very polite objection with a lot of rhetoric heard only by C-span watchers. In short, very few Americans either knew about it or cared.
At the time, and op-ed pieces here noted it, many said the Obama mantra was "Don't be an angry black man as it frightens too many". So, in the spirit of no drama Obama, the GOP got away with it. On so many issues the GOP treated President Obama with contempt, and the milquetoast Dems and their supporters couldn't be bothered.
2
So the courts are not independent of politics. Who knew?
3
Mr. Trump's sister, who I think believes in the judicial system whereby Judges are appointed on their knowledge, expertise and lack of bias would be judging cases before them, and she must be horrified by what her brother, who will go down as the worst president in all of American history, is doing. But no one who doesn't flatter him has any chance of swaying his opinion. To quote him, "SAD".
Why are theses life time appointments anyway. Given the very political nature of these seats, shouldn't they have limits?
3
we no longer have an independent judiciary.
2
Forget, for a moment, the ultra-conservative ideology of most of President Trump’s nominees for the federal bench. Mr. Trump is degrading the federal judiciary by naming people who are absolutely unqualified by their lack of experience.
As someone who has tried more than 200 jury trials to verdict around the country, I am astounded by Trump’s contempt for the courts and for our system of justice.
The Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are fully aware of how unfit many of these nominees are to serve. They know that a finding of “unqualified” by the American Bar Association is a bipartisan determination by experienced lawyers of a nominee’s unacceptable unfitness.
For those nominees who have escaped full vetting by the ABA through the lack of cooperation by the White House, the public needs to know that a good legal education, even coupled with serving as a clerk to a Supreme Court justice, is simply not enough.
Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa and his Republican colleagues on the Judiciary Committee know all of this, as does Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Once again, we see the willingness of Republicans on Capitol Hill to put the interests of the Party far ahead of duty to country and to its citizenry.
7
Republicans don't believe in democracy and now they are packing the courts with judges who don't in democracy. Our democracy is already a sham which is demonstrated by 2 minority presidents and extreme gerrymandering which gives the minority republicans the majority in congress and extreme voter suppression. Bannon is already studying how to call of the 2020 elections if he thinks there's a chance Trump can lose.
It's a sad commentary on our democracy when we appoint judges based primarily on their political affiliation. We don't need political hacks on our benches. Any world class democracy needs impartial open minded judges. We have a very long way to go.
1
Is there any way to stop this? If one potential nominee has never tried a case, there must be some way for review for that person and all the others.
2
For those liberals who didn't vote last November and despise trump, this is on you.
For those liberals who protest voted for Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein, or any one not named Clinton, this is on you.
For those liberals who just could not vote for Clinton because you were angry with the Democrats for, horrors, being political in their advocacy of Clinton over Sanders, this is on you.
This is on all the so-called purists who felt their own sense of self-righteousness was more important than voting for the most qualified presidential candidate we're likely to see in our lifetimes. Thanks for your passion and disastrous lack of foresight.
7
President Trump has attacked the Justice Department as untrustworthy and partisan. Perhaps he was projecting his intentions towards the judiciary. If you want to undermine faith in our legal process, these actions represent an excellent start. Aggressive judicial tampering is a sure path to civil unrest.
On a brighter note though, the move is also an act of desperation. Republicans are attempting to stack the courts because their time in legislative predominance is coming to a close. They will not find the 2020 census redistricting nearly as kind as their 2010 experience. That's assuming SCOTUS doesn't knock down the current maps first. Republicans are going to spend a long time in the wilderness after this administration. They're currently seeking refuge in future litigious battles.
That partisanship has com out of the judicial closet may signal the end of our democracy. When the holy grail is partisan advantage not adherence to the Constitution all claim to being a patriotic American becomes specious.
The mere thought of a judiciary that is comprised of nothing but conservative hacks makes me physically ill. And to appoint judges that have been identified as "not qualified" or who have no trial experience is beyond belief. I am just one person and the best I can do is write protest letters. Isn't there anything else that can be done to stop this atrocity?
2
Go listen to Ted Keenedy's speech against the Bork nomination. He predicted this extremism a long time ago.
Harry Reed will long be remembered as making one of the worst decisions in Senate history which was eliminating the filibuster for judicial picks.
My heart is broken over the future my granddaughter will inherit in Trump's America.
5
Since it is seeming more and more unlikely that the Republicans in Congress will do their job and impeach this man, I'm getting to the place where I think the only good news is that the Party in power always changes, and everybody eventually dies. I imagine the rate of Senate approval of appellate judges will continue at breakneck speed, as it looks like there's a really good chance they'll lose their majority in '18.
I read this article with much delight. For me and the rest of America this article brought great news. Thank you President Trump for remaking the US judiciary into that for which the patriots fought. Return America to its beginnings, as the nation has long strayed from the path upon which it was originally set. I support the President. I support Trump. Thank you.
4
Elections ave consequences and these are the results. People ( especially those that crossed over ) voted for their tax cut ( meager in comparison to what the millionaires and billionaires will get ) and didn't think at all about the consequences of a radically right judiciary being installed for generations to come.
Having said that, straight up or down votes ( if you have majority ) are allowed under the rules, and republicans have the numbers. What is NOT Democratic is if a President happens to be of the opposing party and republicans do not even allow a straight up or down vote, or even meet with the potential judge. They filibuster and essentially steal the seat.(s)
This was done for the Supreme Court and is being done with every one of these judges now. ( that could of been installed in the last term.
1
Should we be surprised by the ideological partisanship? It has always been present. Federalist versus Democratic-Republican, Democrat versus Whig. It's just that philosophically, in the post-World War II, American Century era, we, as a country, have had more of a "consensus" on social and political values (or so we think), although it has largely been corporatist and white and male dominated. The courts are a big part of it.
The rule of law--and its divining--is our substitute for state sponsored religion. Judicial construction (interpretation) of the law gives meaning to our form of "ordered liberty."
The Jeffersonians made the courts a major issue in their time. And in the post-Reconstruction period, social, political, and economic conservatives have done so since the advent of the regulatory state and the Warren Court giving a different reading to phrase "equality before the law."
But we are now in a different time. The pendulum is swinging. Those elements of the ruling class now in power want to turn the clock back (or so it seems) to that of a time reminiscent of the Age of Jackson, with its white, laissez-faire economic and social philosophy. As Jacksonian Democratic Senator William L. Marcy put it, "to the victor go the spoils."
In our Lockean liberal society, the answers are persuasion and the ballot box. But aren't these under attack too?
2
Great article that continues to expose the right wing campaign to take all branches of government, including the judiciary, away from the people allow the rich "owner" class to rule the nation. A recent book, Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean, exposes what we are longing through, a multi-generational political plot to return the USA to a pre-modern society run by property owners. Fundamentally anti-democratic, this plot aims to change the rules of governance and has come to permeate conservative theories of the current era. Republican focus on creating a compliant judiciary is a key strategy to enable politicians to disenfranchise the majority. What's hard to fathom, is how conservative leaning educated people have bought into the idea they are thinking critically when they place idealistic faith in libertarian ideas.
Right wing republicans in charge of the government nominate judges who absolutely, positively will not construe employment, environmental or employee benefit laws to protect the people that the laws were enacted to protect. Justice Scalia laughably but sadly once construed (in 1993) the federal pension law, ERISA, as providing no better remedies for workers deprived of pension plan funding than 14th century english law. And Scalia was always so certain, like most ideologues, that he was right. The more professional judges traditionally acknowledge trying to find the better solution in an uncertain world. And now a President whose only concern about the law is that it not be applied to him, gives free reign to the right wing republicans to ram through more people unfit by attitude about judging to be federal judges. And the hundred million American people of voting age who did not vote and do not follow government could care less. And so it goes. What would Kurt Vonnegut write about all of this ? And would Jon Stewart come out of retirement to give us his two cents plain on a weekly segment on the Stephen Colbert show, Please ?
1
Elections ave consequences and these are the results. People ( especially those that crossed over ) voted for their tax cut ( meager in comparison to what the millionaires and billionaires will get ) and didn't think at all about the consequences of a radically right judiciary being installed for generations to come.
Having said that, straight up or down votes ( if you have majority ) are allowed under the rules, and republicans have the numbers. What is NOT Democratic is if a President happens to be of the opposing party and republicans do not even allow a straight up or down vote, or even meet with the potential judge. They filibuster and essentially steal the seat.(s)
This was done for the Supreme Court and is being done with every one of these judges now. ( that could of been installed in the last term.
1
Appointing and confirming judicial replacements is the only area of government in which the GOP has shown it is remotely competent.
The GOP is, in short, the nation's largest HR service....
The fact that candidates for lifetime judicial appointments are nominated on the basis of their positions on issues to come before the court implies that their role will not be interpreting the law but advancing their political causes at the expense of justice. Polarization of the courts will be one result, although it is not in itself, if honestly arrived at, a dangerous one; intellectually honest judges of both conservative and liberal persuasions can disagree and still their decisions can serve the country. The truly dangerous result will be the discrediting of the legal justice system, from the Constitution on down. When the Supreme Court grants or refuses its imprimitur to laws on the basis of political policy, the end of democracy will be assured.
What is happening to the courts is another reminder that our democracy as we have known it since WW2 is doomed with 4 years of Trump and the now reactionary GOP in charge. And I think even the GOP will be impacted as Trump becomes more and more emboldened to exercise his authoritarian instincts. Think of the transformation of Germany in the 1930s. The elites thought they had a funny little guy whom they could control and found out they could not.
Why do progressives have such a short memory? Didn't Harry Reid put the Democrats in this situation? Focus on Harry R's short-sighted decision. That would make an interesting article, but we knew Trump was going to do this. Let's find a candidate that is electable in 2020 (Gavin Newsom), and develop some policies that focus on all Americans and not just the loudest splinter groups.
2
This Republican Congress that is now changing the Federal Judiciary by pushing through backward-looking deeply conservative judges who do not reflect the views of the majority of young Americans will be gone within the next 4 years. All the old white men like McConnell and his cohorts will retire knowing they would lose their seats, as well they should, to more progressive legislators. However the young Americans who will have to live with this reactionary judiciary will be suffering the consequences of this Trump-McConnell disaster for decades to come. The only hope is that future progressive Congresses will be able to pass legislation in Congress that bypasses the Federal judiciary, just as Conservatives have been hoping to do. These reactionary throwbacks that Trump is nominating to Federal courts will just sit on their benches with few significant issues coming before the courts. When "Conservative" courts try to overthrow the legislation by judicial decree the Progressive legislatures of the 2020s will simply pass stronger legislation to make the Federal judiciary irrelevant. What goes around comes back around. Wishful thinking, I know, but one can hope for evolutionary progress.
When the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider any Democratic nomination to fill Scalia's seat, many people argued that the Republican Senators were violating the Constitution by refusing to do their duty. I think an additional constitutional violation occurred: By refusing to provide advise and consent, the Republican Senate prevented the President from performing his own constitutional duties, thereby violating the separation of powers.
The American Bar Association is an industry advocacy group. They oppose tort and class action reform, and no surprise they oppose politicians who support those reforms, mostly republicans. They should play no role in the judicial nomination process.
While all the noisy drama of Trump's outrageousness was and is on display, this was quietly going on behind the scenes. Stacking the courts with conservative judges was the real prize for Republicans in this last election. Law will now be shaped in the conservative mould without Congress having to do the heavy lifting.
By far the most depressing thing that I've read since the election. I like to be optimistic, I like to think that one man can not ruin this country but lately it is hard to believe that everything is going to be ok .
1
Most important line in the article: “Start by filling vacancies on appeals courts with multiple openings and where Democratic senators up for re-election next year in states won by Mr. Trump — like Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania — could be pressured not to block his nominees.” This strategy only works if the Democrats let it. Time for members of the party to take a good long look in the mirror - and to remember that for very bad things to happen, “good” people simply have to do nothing.
"Conservative/Liberal" judges? What happened to competence and experience as qualifications? Once political positions become the standard for judicial selection, the independence of the judiciary is destroyed...and with it the pillars of a civil society.
The Republicans and the Trump administration are taking apart our system of government, and the courts will soon no longer be able to protect us.
What did one expect? Republicans obstructed, delayed and blocked appointments from Obama all in the name of "advise and consent" and have suddenly have a judiciary committee that doesn't even care to do a bare minimum review of the Republican nominees. Hypocrisy writ large. As to Trump's nominees, all they have to be is very conservative. No credentials or jurisprudence experience required.
32
When the people voted in Obama, that vote carried with it a desire for certain policies and appointments. Republicans blocked them all. Now, having stolen power, they initiate a series of appointments and policies that are both harmful to the people and ultimately the seeds for the destruction of the USA. Republicans, enemies of our democracy and its people.
46
War is brewing between the classes. It will not end pretty if Russia or China thinks it can jump in while we are engaged in Civil War 2
"Stolen power"? Perhaps you should go back and count Trumps electoral votes and the number of states he won over Hilary.
The coupe d'etat started one day after Trump won the electoral college vote. His royal narcissism has become a vehicle for Steve Bannnon's neo-American nationalism for the sole purpose of destroying the traditional republican party described as the swamp on Capitol Hill. This Alt-right movement plan is to usurp our constitutional government by inundating the judicial system with hand picked ideologues of the same persuasion. When the call for impeachment should be deafening, the enablers on the hill sit dumb, deaf, and blind to the obvious tsunami about to hit the America. Trump et al believe that their hand picked judicial servants are key to their unimpeded push for power and self-enrichment, most coveted by Trump, without consequences. The intended erosion of the constitutional checks and balances have been the main target of this administration. The media has been attacked well before 2016, and the current of divisiveness are reminiscent of 1930s Germany. The Putsch has started and too many of the Main Street elected representatives remain dumb, deaf, and blind because of their spineless personal political self-preservation and not the well being of our democratic system. The question remains, how long will they remain silent before America becomes victim of certain evil.
23
Problem is, our system is a Republic and our population has largely acquiesced to the charms of ignorance and political leadership.
Everything about the law is "conservative." Who wants a legal system which is unstable?
2
Who wants law based on false stability in the name of originalist certainty?
Actually, the Constitution, on which our legal system is based, is considered a liberal document.
1
This is the number one reason that I voted for Mr. Trump. Fantastic news, keep it up sir!
12
Well, I'm going to register dissatisifaction with the "that's the reason I voted for Mr. Trump" line. Can you please elaborate on what makes judicial appointments that favor the wealthy, and which are hostile to women and minorities, 'what you voted for'? What, exactly, is your vision of 'justice'? Does it include considering electric shocks to convicted individuals, as one Trump appointee apparently believed?
Do tell, I would love to hear about your vision of justice and why it is you would support such appointees.
3
Yes, how dare gays and lesbians have equal rights.
3
So maybe the Republican establishment IS capable of 'three-dimensional chess.' First level: social values. Second level: taxes needed to pay for public programs. Third, and ultimate level: pack the judiciary, to neuter the two democratically chosen branches of government.
Putin can't hold a candle to Republicans, in the destruction of our political and social cohesiveness.
21
I must say this is a well written article. Usually I have a lot of criticism. This time not so much.
I summarize. American two party system. Winner takes all.
"Elections have consequences ..."
14
That’s exactly right. The losing party gets no say. Al Franken won by a few hundred votes yet , by his voting record, one could surmise he won in a landslide. He has forgotten the 49.9% of the Minnesota electorate that didn’t vote for him. No middle of the road governance for Al.... As far left as he can go.
1
Trump's handlers are reshaping the court. Trump, himself, does very little.
8
It's clear that Republicans don't have one idea of respect for democracy and democratic processes.
14
The GOP has been very successful in dismantling democracy. It's a disgrace and I hope it is the beginning of the end of the party. Their actions are un-American!
17
So many hated Hillary that the true political long game was abandoned for some visceral immediate self gratification in voting against her. The result of "not her" votes and voters sitting out is what happens to an extremely passive and ignorant voting block more interested in "what's in it for me right now" than those who now firmly hold the levers of power. You get what you get, and you'll be getting it for decades. It's why Democrats sound activist and principled, but time after time vote vapidly.
14
Where the true blame belongs, but for some reason is ignored:
"Democrats — who in late 2013 abolished the ability of 41 lawmakers to block such nominees with a filibuster, then quickly lost control of the Senate — have scant power to stop them."
19
It's not ignored at all--read the comments.
2
Of course it’s ignored, and Republicans should be very grateful for that, considering Reid was reactingto their recalcitrance.
It is the height of hypocrisy for Republicans to blather about this is what voters wanted when Republicans stood in Obama’s and his voters’ way on almost everything.
I’d like to know why Republicans ache for a theocracy.
1
In 2001 President Bush said of Vladimir Putin, "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy." And now President Trump trusts Putin more than he trusts the heads of his own intelligence agencies. ["Trump Says Putin ‘Means It’ About Not Meddling in U.S. Elections"; Nov. 11, 2017]
Currently posted online by the B.B.C.: "The US State Department has employed a private firm set up by a veteran Soviet-era spy to provide security for its Moscow embassy and diplomatic missions in Russia....The US has now signed a contract with Elite Security Holdings, founded by the ex-KGB General Viktor Budanov. General Budanov was a close friend of British spy and defector Kim Philby." [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41947030] (Though I saw this on the B.B.C. Friday, it is still not mentioned in these pages as of Sunday morning. Why?)
Political and policy differences with the President are one thing. However, a fundamental inability to learn to differentiate friend from foe, to even understand what constitutes collaboration with a foe is a mortal danger to America itself, no matter what one's political and policy perspectives. A President who believes American policy should be made on the basis of what Vladimir Putin says and not on the basis of what Directors of the F.B.I., C.I.A. and National Intelligence have said is unfit to uphold his sworn Constitutional duty to protect America. And that is true whatever your own political perspective.
17
Unfortunately, the only thing one can truthfully say about judges is they play both sides of the streert, while claiming to require total discretion while decisions are being rendered.
The main problem with this regime is it cherry picks its appointments and provides nominees who are unqualified because they have no credentials or they fail to tell the truth.
The main benefit of having these people at the table is that their nominees are thus identified much as people were done as collaborators, Quislings in other similarly brutal and paleolithic patterns of behaviors and expectations. Mainly the blind led the blind.
4
Wonderful news! The democrats have always selected judicial activists for the courts. Judges who could be counted on to nullify statewide amendments voted on by the people because they were not part of the Liberal-Left agenda. In other words, what the Democrats have failed to accomplish at the ballot box, they have achieved through the rulings of Liberal activist judges. Trumps selections will ensure judges who are constitutional structurists.
14
We hope they know the constitution. Some seem to have little qualification.
1
Repeal & replace, the GOP in 2018 & 2020. Demonstrate voter turnout & political tissue rejection. That's a big part of the answer.
6
If Trump keeps moving the pendulum of the judiciary toward red-hot conservative, he may find it impossible to get a divorce should he decide to stay faithful to his life trajectory of changing wives once every few years.
1
The Law is showing its true colors.
In the 1950's, when the era of the Warren Court commenced, the judiciary promulgated many progressive rulings. Landmark cases, such as the Miranda case, Mapp v Ohio, Griswald v Connecticut and Roe v. Wade gave the law a healthy, liberal coloration.
In retrospect, this was a mirage.
When I went to Law School, one of the first things I was taught was that Legality and Justice are two very different things. We might want to see congruity between these fields, but they often diverge. Justice endeavors to do that which is right, but the Law endeavors to follow precedent, to mimic that which was done in the past, and to promote societal stasis so businessman can know what to expect from the government in the future.
It is completly immoral to ignore a person on the street who is dying, who has multiple lacerations, who can barely breath. But it is wholly legal.
And legal conservatises reek with the smug satisfacton of seeing other people starve while the super rich make a mint.
I'll provide 1 example of the Law's long hjstory of codified cruety: The doctrine of the negative pregnant. This provided that if one responded to a complaint that one was not liable for 100 dollars by saying, "I don't owe $100.00," one was liable for $99.99 because denying that one owed 100 dollars was "pregnant" with the admission that one owed all lesser amounts of money. D was supposed to say I owe neither 100 nor any other sums.
2
Liberals speak for the weak and oppressed; want change and justice, even at risk of chaos. Conservatives speak for institutions and traditions; want order even at the cost to those at the bottom… [Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right, or center]
Institutional: As structures or mechanisms of social order, they govern the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community. Institutions are identified with a social purpose, transcending individuals and intentions by mediating the rules that govern living behavior.
Traditions: the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.
So "for the people by the people" is lost to people(?) who with to control you behavior while enforcing the good old days.
To quote Argus Filch from Harry Potter "Oh God how I miss the screaming"
2
The Republican Party as led by Trump is now hostile toward the institutions and traditions of our republic.
If there is a "deep state," it is the shareholders of the global corporations that also have high political positions in government. Politicians like Cheney and Rumsfeld who privatized half of the national defense and half of the intelligence services, while owning large stakes in these corporations, and bend policy for global corporations, like the Iraq War.
But the Republican Party is using the term deep state to mean the institutions of government and as an excuse to dismantle these institutions. Traditions of the Senate and the Presidency are being forcibly attacked.
And the separation of powers is also being attacked with Trump lobbing personal and sometimes racist attacks at judges that rule against him. He also pardoned a sheriff for contempt of court, attacking the only way that judges have to enforce their rulings.
Even the US Postal Service, which is in the constitution is under continual assault by the Republican Party, first by requiring that employee healthcare and benefits be funded 75 years into the future, blowing a massive hole in the Post Office budget with something no other organization on the planet does, and also by requiring the Post Office to let non-union employees at Staples do Post Office business.
The Republican Party is hostile the institutions created by the constitution and so hostile to the constitution itself.
Republicans are deplorable for confirming these biased and unqualified judicial candidates. However Harry Reid set up this whole mess disregarding the fact that the makeup of Congress changes. Now we are paying the price for his actions.
1
What a great thing! The courts have been liberally biased for far too long. Glad the pendulum has started to swing away from it.
8
So much for the narrative that the Trump administration hasn't accomplished any legislative work. This is far worse.
8
Give control of Congress to the Democrats in 2018.
If the Dems control the Senate, they can put a check on Trump and the GOP.
Send Trump home in 2020.
We get the government we deserve.
5
The Supreme Court will be busy with appeals with so many new judges who aren't familiar with the Constitution or feel the power to reinterpret it is theirs alone. Will the Roberts SC legacy be the destruction of our democracy?
5
"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Lifetime appointment - in any job - is as close as a person can get to "absolute power" and the GOP is just fine with corruption.
Overlooking a foreign power meddling with elections, a capricious President, candidates with questionable ethical and moral characters, party members who refuse to observe the Constitution as the law of the land choosing instead to impose their perverted reading of the 2000-year-old Bible as its replacement, members of Congress who come out and say publicly that wealthy donors are running their show...it's one big corruption machine.
If allowed to proceed, eventually you just turn corruption into legal activity...and he who holds the law can dole out lawlessness to friends and family alike, to the utter detriment of American democracy.
3
My only hope at this point is that these conservative judges will use their conservatism against the unprecedented corruption in this administration. If truly conservative, they should have no legal tolerance for collusion with Russia or financial profiting from government positions. Otherwise, they are equally corrupt and in no way appropriate for our judiciary.
5
It will take years to undo the mess that it's taking Trump months to create.
3
Two remarks.
This cannot come as a surprise. In view of the carefully constructed and maintained rifts in American society, it would be surprising if the party in power did NOT try to remake the judiciary in its image. The very fact of life-long tenure militates against this expectation, as it makes the courts the only part of the system where, once appointed, the peculiar viewpoint of the officeholder remains in place, regardless of how congressional majorities shift.
It is, too, an indictment of the very nature of your legal system that the personality and political or societal preferences of a judge can weigh so heavily on the decisions he takes. Decisions which then become precedents to be referred to by others. An expanding oil blot, if you like.
So, just as Trumps accession to power itself, this is the result of a system error. A flaw that has hitherto been unnoticed or was covered up or ignored because it was never exploited to the present extent. Of course, seeing where the problem is situated, at the core of its very Operating System, finding a solution without rebooting will be quite a challenge - and that is supposing that the beneficiaries are in fact willing to cooperate... Quod non.
1
So when we see this political pendulum of judgeships being filled, or blocked, know that that these are not designed to aid judicial fairness, or efficiency, but to serve ideological requirements, without any real consideration for the whole, that serve the wishes of a special interest.
2
As I recall, back in 2000, after Al Gore appeared to have won the election, the recount in Florida was stopped by a 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court. Two of the judges in the case should have recused themselves but did not. Anthony Scalia ‘s son actually worked for the law firm representing Bush in Bush v Gore, while the wife of Clarence Thomas was vetting candidates for the Bush administration. A partisan Supreme Court successfully overturned the election result, and now the partisans are taking over the entire judicial system. It only gets worse from here.
4
"Radical" and "extremist" are just labels with no objective significance except that the writer doesn't expect to get what they want.
Likewise "unqualified". Many Supreme Court justices in past had no prior judicial experience.
4
Liberals speak for the weak and oppressed; want change and justice, even at risk of chaos. Conservatives speak for institutions and traditions; want order even at the cost to those at the bottom… [Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right, or center]
I guess you're only hope is that by the time trump is no longer president, being known as a "Trump Appointee" will be seen as akin to having the plague, and some will want to shake it off by rendering sane judicial decisions.
3
HeeHee. The revolution proceeds apace. One thing for these hand-wringing liberls to ponder, though introspection is not their long suit, is how came the Judiciary - the branch of govenment designed to be the LEAST powerful in political terms - to be the ultimate political prize of both the left and the right? If the left could only have seen the merit - to their view of governance as well - in a Judiciary that does not make law, but merely interprets and advises - as the late SCOTUS nominee Bork has argued - the right would not have been successful in using the courts to get what could not be gotten legislatively. This is the lesson the right has learned, and has refined to a science, following Roe v. Wade. A PRIME example of the left getting precisely the opposite result of their intentions. It's always flummoxing when the pupil outperforms the teacher.
4
Judicial conservatives should not celebrate this new Republican scorn for their principles on the role of the judiciary.
1
Of the many things that cuased me great concern during the campaign and ventual elecetion of Donald Trump, his imprint on the future Justice system of this country was closest to the top.
For unlike the presidency, which can normally stretch from four to eight years, court appointments last a lifetime -- meaning any influence of this administration can extend for generations.
For a president whom up until now has shown no respect for judicial laws, except to rise above them at every given opportunity, it's hard to imagine that any choice he might make will have a positive effect on the present and future prosperity of this country.
1
Quel surprise! Yet another front in which the Democrats have been thoroughly outflanked by the GOP. Sad to say it but they're just a lot better at politics, and it doesn't appear likely to change any time soon. This is what happens when one party in a two-party system--in a nation that is split roughly 50/50-- abrogates its responsibility to demonstrate even minimal political competence. We get what we deserve.
2
This takeover of the judiciary has been years in the making. Republican politicians have profited from making the courts the enemy for half a century. Many wealthy conservatives saw it as an opportunity and helped it along.
Republicans inherited the "Impeach Earl Warren" Southerners starting with the anti-Civil Rights stance of Goldwater in 1964 then Nixon's Southern Strategy four years later. They have not been shy about attacking the courts since.
Their conservative "scholars" and writers began to treat the Constitution just as certain Christian sects treat the Bible. It became a holy writ which only they truly understand. When the court is right, it's originalist. When wrong, legislating.
It's an assertion presumptuous beyond sanity, unarguable. They declare possession of the true and original meaning. First, prove the belief wrong. Until then, their votes are pure - a holy task of defending "their" Constitution.
They are Evangelical Constitutionalists.
As such, they blithely overturn a century or two of precedent here and there. They ignore both the wisdom and error of some of America's finest minds. They ignore the agony of the decision making. They ignore the effects and whatever else they wish to. They have seen the light. There can be no other interpretation.
What does "starry decisis" really matter when Evangelical Constitutionalists are reaching for the stars?
2
To the victor goes the spoils. However it happened Trump is the president and whatever he does that we find appalling has to be laid at our feet. My hope is that people who failed to vote or those who thought their vote meant little will take responsibility for what they have allowed to happen to our nation. Federal judges serve for life so what Trump and cohorts wreck will take generations to correct. It is ludicrous to think Trump has an opinion on any judicial issues facing the federal courts. We should be wary of those who push an agenda and just use Trump as their front man. Trump lives in such a bubble that he thought Frederick Douglas was still of this earth so to think he did any research on his nominees for the federal bench is a stretch. So while we wait for Trump's tweets and the outcome of the Putin/Trump whodunit Trump is changing our country. Our daily dose of the power of Trump's base should inspire us to build a larger base of Non-Trumpers. While Trump promotes his properties while he is on foreign shores we be looking to replicate what happened this past election day. The right is willing to put up with the public humiliation of Trump only because in the backroom they are having their way.
105
Unfortunately, those I've met that voted third party think it's not their fault as they didn't like either candidate and didn't vote for either. They don't realize how important their vote could have been in protecting us from this nutcase, and by voting third party they basically wasted their vote and helped put us in this mess. I voted Hillary, and while my husband tends to lean moderate Republican, even he knew to vote Hillary to protect us from a nutcase.
Wouldn't it be nice if Congress passed laws that weren't so vague or amend laws that are vague as not to leave this political chicanery?. Both parties do it and the politicians are cowards and are afraid to offend anybody. Suggest the solution would be public financing of campaigns since rich donors really control the whole process.
3
The one bright spot of the Trump Administration so far, and the sole reason many Conservatives held their nose and helped elect him in 2016.
One, or two, more SCOTUS nominations is all I ask.
Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Ginsburg have served their nation well, time for a well earned retirement.
5
While Republicans are taking the Supreme Court and the Judiciary, Democrats are no where to be seen. The Republicans are so much more savvy at delaying things until they can get their appointments in position to support the laws that move Republican agendas. The Republicans are better street-fighters than Democrats. Republicans know that judges make things happen. I thought the Democrats were on to something when Obama was elected. I thought they would find another exciting leader with the drive to get things done. Democrats got stuck with Hillary. Major mistake. It needed to move past Bernie and Joe and find a new leader, much like they did with President Obama. They committed to Hillary and now we're all going to suffer.
2
When people no longer trusts the institutions that they believe in to render justice and fairness, the bonds that join them begin to fray and tear them apart. The partisan divide has been taken to a different level of deceit by the ploys of the minority to manipulate the rules to their advantage in an effort to control the majority. How does the GOP plan to deal with the fallout when none of the citizens within the nation trust any form of government? The United States has never been here before and whether or not trust can be restored is questionable. Who would have imagined that a crisis of this magnitude would have been brought on by those who swore allegiance to the Constitution of the United States?
2
Elections have consequences. When it comes to the Senate and the Presidency, there are no greater consequences than appointment - for life - of judges to trial and appellate courts, and justices to the Supreme Court. Legislation can be amended or repealed by a future Congress, but a judicial appointment is forever.
As if the Democrats needed any additional motivation to take the Senate in 2018, the prospect of invoking the McConnell Rule to keep these right wingers - some as young as their 30's - off the courts of the federal judiciary for life should be more than enough.
2
This was the one and only one reason to vote for Hillary. So we wouldn’t have courts packed with conservative Judges for generations. I hope I can convince my child to leave the country.
2
Much ado about nothing: Power and responsibility sobers people, and for sure, the courts with the new appointees under President Trump will not do any damage to the institutions. In short, all these write-ups amount to nothing of substance!
1
This is great. Restoring diversity of thought to all of our government institutions is critical. Of course people who have an agenda of controlling others through a judiciary that creates one sided laws won't agree with that because of a desire to shove their beliefs down others throats.
4
Please stop referring to these Originalist judges as "conservative". They are not. A conservative judge respects precedent and caselaw, these radicals do not.
It's telling that none of the Supreme Court judgements that were handed-down while the founding fathers were still alive mention anything about what they thought, or may have thought, about the case at hand. This is because the first SCOTUS Justices didn't think that the opinions of the founding fathers were dispositive.
The Originalist judicial philosophy seeks to destroy the original purpose of the Supreme Court - to protect minorities from the whims of the majority (Congress). If you're going to have judges who ignore centuries of precedent and act as mere toadies to the Congress and big business, then why bother having a Supreme Court at all?
And one more thing - Bork's failure to land on the SCOTUS bench wasn't controversial- his judicial philosophy was so unsuitable and undesirable that the Senate did the right thing and told the president "no". If only the United States had a Senate of similar intellect and integrity now.
4
When Trump allegedly said the American people care about judges, what he meant was that rich white men care about judges. Including him. He's not including ALL Americans. He doesn't care about the American people, unless they're rich. Their governance will set our country back 70 years. It may not happen immediately, but it WILL happen. I worry for my grandchildren. I worry for our legacy.
2
'Democrats — who in late 2013 abolished the ability of 41 lawmakers to block such nominees with a filibuster, then quickly lost control of the Senate — have scant power to stop them.'
We reap what we sow. The feckless and the foolhardy get their just deserts.
Trump is the Political Monster assembled out of disparate and ill-fitting parts by an arrogant and hubristic Democratic Machine.
Obama and Clinton, like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the other freewheeling political operatives on the Democratic right thought they were so clever, believed that painstakingly following rules and procedures were for the little people.
And thereby paved the way for the remorseless and vengeful Juggernaut to follow.
4
I was told that there were Checks & Balances.
When do the Checks & Balances kick in?
2
This is why it is so important to elect Democrats to local, state & national offices in 2018 & 2020.
We may not agree with our candidate on all issues, but we have to elect the one that will do the least harm and the one that will move the country forward. Otherwise the country will continue to move backwards. 2017 is only the beginning of the decline in our political system.
Please don't stay home and please don't waste your vote on a third party candidate who has no chance of winning.
2
Over the past week our Commander in Chief has called the head of an enemy nuclear state "short and fat", taken the word of the Russian president over U.S. intelligence agencies and Congress, and successfully pushed through a Federal Judge nominee who has no trial experience. Our government continues moving towards a point of no return. Already it is difficult to distinguish Trump's actions from that of a third world dictator. Trump has zero respect or understanding of the separation of powers. If Trump and the Republicans are not removed from office soon our country will be unrecognizable by the end of Trump's term as president. One can only wonder if Trump asked the predominantly white male nominees to the appellate court for their loyalty.
2
Elections, even when they are flawed elections, have consequences. Trump doesn’t represent the majority of the voters, but by hook or crook he is the President. Sad.
2
Reading the comments, it sounds like the country is veering toward a 2nd civil war. The political climate is as heated now as it was in the 1840s-1850's before the civil war. It's literally verbatim. Unfortunately, the education system does not teach anything about the civil war in "social studies" so most people have no clue that history is repeating itself. The media has become balkalanized to the extent that conservatives and democrats no longer get news from the same sources. Nor do they interact. It's easy to hate somebody if you exclude them from the clubhouse. We have a large percentage of the democrat party base openly calling for the repeal of the 2nd amendment. If a second civil war were to happen, most of the military would probably side with the republicans. If you want to prevent the next war, and stop us from losing, I would suggest we take a good long view to the inevitable path that we are heading towards.
1
Good comment, but I know a lot of Dems and liberals and none advocates repeal of the 2nd Amendment. Maybe in SF its different.
"... Republicans are systematically filling appellate seats they held open during President Barack Obama’s final two years in office with a particularly conservative group of judges with life tenure. Democrats — who in late 2013 abolished the ability of 41 lawmakers to block such nominees with a filibuster, then quickly lost control of the Senate — have scant power to stop them.
Sounds like Democrats did it to themselves. In the words of Obama . "Elections have consequences ..."
1
To all those Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein acolytes that continue to say there was not and is not a dime’s worth of difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, here is just another example of how wrong you are and how harmful your belief and actions have been to our country.
If there is and lesson to be learned from this fiasco is that the center must hold for this country, especially for the Democratic Party, because it is clear from actions of political extremists on the far left and far right that each have no intention of helping ordinary Americans in any practical way, whatsoever.
2
Elections have consequences. I'd suggest the Democrats do more than hope the many failures of Trump will move voters in their direction. Any change to the Democrat message? Any new faces?
1
Maybe an article to complement this one about the incredible damage that is being done to our country and how last year's third party voters and voters who feel like they cannot vote for people they "don't like", etc feel now.
Do they take any responsibility for the vast damage done with their help?
3
The whole point of being in the Federalist Society is that you will be a political hack. There's no need to labor over legal precedent and procedure. Jobs are guaranteed; advancement at an early age is around the corner. Youth and loyalty are what it takes. This is contrasted with Democratic nominees for these positions: older. more experienced, recognized in the legal community, successful and with a far shorter career life expectancy. Scalia, founder of the Federalist Society, focused his legal "expertise" on bombastic outbursts and absurd legal theories. This notion of Originalism, ridiculous on its face, is now given acceptance and credence by the media. In spite of some popular victories at the polls, the GOP judicial appointments will control the rest of us for generations. And with the new weapon of suing the Federal government, conservatives can block the Democrats even if liberals regain Congress. It's important to recognize this as the result of careful long-term planning, investment in politicized think tanks and research groups to draw fire coordinated political warfare. Federalists must plan harassing attacks on law school faculty and staff. There is NO organized pushback against this. Desperately needed: a new national political organization that could bring progressives and liberals together and speak up against the madness. And get some media attention. It may already be too late.
1
When citizens of this country no longer feel they have representatives who will listen to them and then have idealogues in all levels of the court system who follow the guidance of a corrupt Executive Branch their only recourse will be the violent upheaval of a revolution. We are likely closer to this than at any time since 1776.
1
Trump has appointed 8 appellate judges. If Democrats win control of the Senate in 2018, he will have time to appoint about 20 right wingers. If the Senate remains Republican until 2020, he will have time for 40 such appointments. If Trump is reelected in 2020, the government will be in shambles and the politics of appellate judges will be the least of our problems.
There are 180 federal judges. If Trump appoints 40 Tea Party types, the overall effect is not likely to be lunatic fringe decisions. Rather, as in Congress today, the Tea Party judges are likely to cause gridlock -- advancing ideologies that are inconsistent with both mainstream Democrats and mainstream Republicans. The notion that 40 judges on the lunatic fringe can take control and turn the courts into right wing bastions is alarmist, irrational and downright wrong. Selling fear may sell newspapers. But alarmist analysis that makes no sense simply misinforms.
The US is a grossly primitive society. Not that I am gloating - in Canada, the Harper Conservative government, our most right-wing, regressive and ideologically extreme government ever, also tried to stack the judiciary with "conservative" judges. It remains to be seen how successful that government was. But our Supreme Court has managed to reflect the beliefs of most Canadians and enjoys approval ratings of about 85%. I suspect that the American judiciary is in the process of completely delegitimizing itself. BTW, it's interesting how Scalia was as "originalist" except when it came to gun control and interpreting the 2nd Amendment. Hypocrisy and ideological extremism really have no bounds and no shame.
2
This has far reaching effects for Americans over a lifetime. It's a smart move and one that I am sure the GOP leadership tolerates his loud antics in order to achieve. if the Dems can win enough legislative seats from the GOP in 2018 they can effectively stop this American carnage but if not the US Judicial system will be changed for the worse.
The most important thing we, as voters, can do is to vote out all the bullying, hateful GOPers, at every level of government. If we overwhelmingly support candidates who are genuinely interested in justice for all of us, eventually this damage may be undone. But it must be many millions of us. It is unthinkable that this great country can be so undermined by such an unfit, amoral bully. But it won't last forever. All of us need to wake up, be outspoken about this outrageous abuse of our democracy. We must take the government back, for US. The founding fathers could never have imagined such unacceptable behavior. Nothing is done in good faith anymore.
3
These appointments are great news for large corporations and for governments. Terrible news for individuals.
You can rest assured that criminal defendants (except for large dollar white collar fraudsters) will fare worse. None of these justices will have a problem with for-profit prisons. Nor will they see anything wrong with the piracy of civil asset forfeiture.
And in any contest between a corporation and an individual or group of individuals the corporation will win.
Our nation will degrade with a judiciary composed of hard right conservatives who serve the dollar first, the dollar second, the dollar only.
Sad times ahead.
3
"Reshape the judiciary." That is a really fearful phrase. The judiciary, if compromised will be the death knell of democracy and we will be no better than the third world countries who we decry. When Trump became the GOP nominee, Pandora's Box was indeed opened. I don't think I will live long enough to see the demons vanquished.
3
Glad to read it, glad to see it all happening. This was the key reason I voted for Trump and I applaud the Republicans for following through so quickly. And I am far from alone in this position, of that I am sure.
3
No one should be surprised. The secret special interests who poured millions into the Trump/RNC campaign did so with several quid pro quo in mind, one of which was to gin control over the Federal judiciary all the way to the Supreme Court.
FDR was justifiably pilloried for trying to pack the Supreme Court with judges who would support his New Deal proposals. It was, perhaps, his biggest mistake as President.
What the Trump/RNC is doing is much more insidious. This cabal wants nothing more than to dominate Federal courts (most of which have lifetime appointments) for decades ahead. That will be enough to reshape Constitutional law and legal precedent to sustain right-wing, extremely conservative legal philosophy and prevent any attempts at overturning Court decisions, such as Citizens United, that have all but destroyed our democracy.
3
Obama and the Dems allowed this to happen by not using the bully pulpit and the press to fight for the Supreme Court appointee. FDR threaten to pack the Court with 11 vs. 9 if he didn't get his way to enact programs to get the US out of the Great Depression. LBJ used his vast experience in the House and Senate to enact the Great Society. The GOP, trump, (multinational) corporations and the 1% are consolidating power to use ultra (religious) conservative judges and blocking voting rights to dismantle a once great democracy. Remember the last time this was happening in the 1920's? This consolidation of power, lead to the Great Depression and took until after 1945 to get back to a prosperous country where the middle class thrived. trump's and the GOP agenda is insidiously looking to destroy democracy to effect a two tier society. Where's the strong leadership the Democratic party to head up the resistance-especially when it comes to appointing center minded judges?
5
The Republicans are appointing more conservative judges to stop the liberals from taking control of our government. This is a positive thing for our country. It was becoming too progressive and let's hope the Republicans continue down this path. The more conservative the better. This is what President Trump promised he would do and he is keeping his word.
1
I would say it is very clever of the Republicans to not be wasting any time in filling vacant seats with conservative-leaning judges. They must keep up this pace. The Democrats are just angry that they will be losing their power in voting on important cases. The country was moving too far left and it was time to slow it down. This is a good thing for the future of our country.
1
As the Mueller investigation progresses, more indictments will be filed and multiple trials will commence. Many people expect increasingly senior members of the Trump administration to be tried, possibly including Trump family members.
Guess who will be presiding over those trials. The more seats Trump fills, the better the odds that his political allies will decide the fate of cronies and nepotistic advisors.
5
When future historians--presuming there will be a future--ponder why the Republicans were so willing to turn a blind eye to the corruption and treason of Trump, they will find much of their answer here. Stocking the federal courts with conservative judges with little sense of justice, but with a deep ideological bias furthers the prospect of oligarchy in America. Getting Trump out of office as soon as possible remains our highest priority. But even once he goes, the fight to restore democracy must continue.
3
Sen. Franken's warning about the erosion of the blue slip practice is meaningless. Both parties have been eliminating steps that would force genuine negotiations for at least two decades now. Schumer's use of the "nuclear" option was just one example. Look for the D's to do something comparable when they regain Senate control. Pox on both parties.
1
What is needed is a fundamental rethink on the process by which not only judges but also district attorneys and even sheriffs in some jurisdictions, are selected. The process needs to be apolitical. A country of laws cannot long endure as such unless those laws and the means for their interpretations are justly constituted. One option might be to solicit ideas from nyt readers as to how in an ideal case these processes might be made apolitical and what a possible constitutional amendment might look like for this to happen. Let us look for solutions rather than belabor the problems. Windows of opportunity on the horizon?
1
The Republicans see this as their big chance and it probably won't last long. As a result, we are getting a bunch of right-wing ideologues on our courts with the kind of extremist agenda that characterizes the likes of Roy Moore. Some have questionable qualifications at least; but we're talking about the Trump era, where scientists are purged from agencies dealing with scientific matters and replaced by partisan hacks. An independent judiciary is something Trump has been scornful of since the beginning of his political career, and here is his chance to reshape it in his corrupt image. Mr. Mueller, you don't have a moment to spare!
107
The problem is that Pence won't be any better when it comes to judicial appointments and science. A change in Congress in 2018 is the only hope.
1
WTK:
Judges bring their own biases to the bench.
The law may be impartial but the judges are not.
Why are there so many split decisions?
WTK : Glad to hear that there will be some ' right-wing ideologues on our courts ' to balance out the many left-wing ideologues ' already there.
Trump deliberately leaves important bureaucratic posts unfilled in order to prevent a high functioning government, but moves with alacrity to stuff the courts with incompetents.
16
It's actually hard to believe that Trump really cares about restoring "the judiciary to its proper role" given that he is no ideologue and has swung widely on a variety of issues which the right-wing cares passionately about. Trump wants "wins." He wants cheering crowds (give them what they want). He wants a judiciary which rules the way he wants it to rule. Beyond that he cares little how they rule on a host of social issues or even business issues unless they impact him personally. Besides, it is something he can "do" without having to learn anything or to do any real work: someone brings him names, assures him that these are "good" people, the people his supporters will like, and he signs his name (likely knowing and caring nothing more about that person). In Trump's mind, that is work - he will brag about he; he will get the credit, but he is simply the front man...
36
I agree “stronglyl” (a Trumpism), with Ms Hislop. Would people approve of doctors that were found unqualified to practice medicine? Maybe lawyers could be allowed to practice medicine.
1
Trump's judiciary will make Dickens' Bleak House look good. Trump is a serial abuser of judicial process who relies on the corrupt arrogance of some the most coddled judicial psychopaths anywhere on Earth.
1
Our Fifth Column; this is the inside damage to our system, the removal of rights, that the Russians or ISIS could only dream about. While the media has gone crazy for nine months over stupid tweets and obsession over Russian collusions - weekly, daily and hourly, the country is being changed. Unfortunately the Democrats' dangerous 2013 decision has condemned them- us - to this behind the curtains show of contempt.
It also is attributable to the attitudes of many voters who disdained Clinton for not being the perfect candidate - ignoring every consequence of electing a shyster for the Republicans.
61
I mostly agree though blaming those that did not or could not vote for Clinton is off-base as she did will the popular vote. The last election was a coup by GOP extremists abusing the Electoral system. many voters were denied and many votes discarded. Regardless of the hollow accusations of Russian involvement, the system was rigged within the parties, by the parties and for the party the could outmaneuver the other though dirty tricks and sheer legerdemain. Our electoral system at the national level has lost all legitimacy and We the People have lost authentic representative democracy.
1
They didn't and don't disdain Clinton for "not being the perfect candidate". They disdain her for being a horrible candidate that used the DNC to disenfranchise millions of voters during the primary process and thus alienating all of them. Couple that with the fact that the ignorant masses who vote by 'personality' all despise Clinton, for mostly nonsensical reasons, but that's the effect she has on most people.
The Fifth column in this country has been the activist judiciary. They have worked hand in hand with the left to erode the rule of law and the Constitution. They have attempted (and in some cases successfully) created “rights” from thin air while chipping away at those rights which are actually enshrined in the Constitution.
I understand the narrative that the NYT is pushing that It is All Trump's Fault. But Trump here is just an incidental figure. The main problem is that the Republicans control the US Senate. You think the Electoral College is undemocratic? Try the US Senate, where Nebraska has as much influence as California. The US needs a major Constitutional change and (gasp) it can look to Europe to see what it needs: weighted voting in the Senate. Keep the two Senators per state, but assign a weight to each vote which is proportional to the state population.
53
Constitution amendment for the purpose of weighted votes ? Good luck with that move ! Team Trump will not let it even be considered. The country is deeply divided on party lines & it is rare for any move, even a discussion, to take place on the basis of merit. And with Team Trump, it's goodbye merit.
abo:
If you look at small states with 2 million or fewer residents, it breaks out as:
Democrats – 16 senators (DE – 2, NH – 2, HI – 2, VT – 2 (Sanders caucus), RI - 2, ME – 2 (King caucus), NM – 2, ND – 1, MT – 1, WV – 1)
Republicans – 13 senators (AK – 2, WY – 2, SD – 2, ID – 2, NE – 2, WV – 1, MT – 1, ND – 1)
If you look at larger states with more than 10 million residents, the breakout is somewhat more supportive of your point:
Democrats – 9 (CA – 2, NY – 2, IL – 2, PA – 1, OH – 1, FL – 1)
Republicans – 5 (TX – 2, PA – 1, OH – 1, FL – 1)
This is just a quick top-of-mind count. And there are certainly other measures that could be more precise.
So while I think you may be correct on an overall population weighted basis, the disparity doesn’t appear to be as significant as you suggest, and certainly not significant enough to change the Constitution.
I also wonder whether this was an issue for you when the Democrats had control of the Senate and House in 2009. My guess is “no”.
2
There is weighted voting in the House or Reps. Unweighted voting in the Senate is to protect the smaller states.
How far are the Republicans willing to go? How much are your souls worth? Dance with the devil. Pay the price.
25
This outcome was not only predicted but analyzed in the New York Times itself. This is what happens when you elect as president someone who calls himself a Republican, and enough Republicans to the U.S. Senate to call the tunes.
If you don't like the outcome, then elect more Democrats. OR, you might consider writing Chick Schumer to support the president more often, and use that support as leverage to obtain judicial picks that are more acceptable to the left. But they're certainly not going to be liberals. We decided that on 8 November 2016, for at least two years, almost certainly for four and possibly for eight years.
33
No, "we" (the majority of the country) did not vote for Trump. Stop acting like most of this country wanted him when we clearly did not.
2
I elected a Democrat who had the Constitutional right for his nominee to the Supreme Court to have a Senate hearing.
Your party refused to honor that right, and you’re going to lecture Democrats on procedure?
The hubris stuns, particularly since, if the political tables were turned, Republicans would be the last ones in line to willfully be on the receiving end of their own convictions.
What we are seeing in comments like yours is the sheer muscle of right wing propaganda. It really does give the sane and rational among us pause.
4
Richard, surely you jest! There is no point in the Democrats trying to develop a cooperative relationship with Trump. Trump does transactions -- "deals" -- not relationships. Except for one who has completely sold out to Trump (e.g., Hannity) or one who seems to own his soul (i.e., Putin) the only people Trump does not turn on are immediate family members involved in the Trump businesses (good luck, Tiffany).
1
That's a no brainer. Because Trump Nominee for Federal Judgeship Has Never Tried a Case makes it easier for him to run the show. This is why he is getting rid of all his "advisers" in and out (no hamburger here!) of the WH. Sad.
11
Why should we be surprised? Besides grossly enriching himself and his heirs, surely this was the crux of his agenda. Fighting the judicial system gives this crooked little man a sense of power and importance. Remaking the judiciary system in his favor is his way of getting revenge. The rest of his antics serve only a means of distracting our attention.
57
This is the disgraceful factionalism of the GOP in action:
"Republicans are systematically filling appellate seats they held open during President Barack Obama’s final two years in office."
Their unconscionably partisan behavior is going to saddle Americans with unqualified and rabidly reactionary judges for generations.
58
Don't like it? Then get out and vote. Congresssional elections do have consequences and the present congress is simply responding to it's voters.
1
You mean judges that actually protect the constitution......the entire point of the court.
Isn't this what he was elected to do?
26
Actually, for many, many of these appointments it was what OBAMA was elected to do, but the Republicans unethically obstructed him.
4
The system that "elected" Trump has proven itself broken beyond repair. It is lies from A to Z.
1
...with prior systematic obstruction by those who called themselves conservatives whereas they should carry saboteurs as their nomen.
Thank you.
1
Roy Moore is a distraction. This is the real threat. Eyes on the ball.
76
Another day of this man's ignorance and his cabinet, along with his so-called supporters. It is another day too long.
21
I'm sure glad I practice law in California where the state court judges,who are largely appointed by rational governors,are fair,and the blue slip process keeps conservative freaks from the local Federal courts,at least so far. I'm sorry for the rest of the country though.
40
@Mike: Are you sure about that? Please Google "Rose Elizabeth Bird", Governor Jerry Brown's nominee for Chief Justice of the CA Supreme Court back in the 1970s. This embarrassingly unqualified woman was probably the most controversial California justice of the last fifty years. She was also denied reconfirmation by California voters in 1986, mostly but not exclusively because she refused to confirm a single death sentence. It would be hard to find a judge more willing to substitute his or her political views for constitutional and case law.
2
They are filling stolen seats, just as with Gorsich getting Garland’s seat. This will come back around and when it does, it will hit with a vengeance.
53
Just remember, McConnell told Harry Reid “you will rue the day you changed this rule”. The left has no one to blame but itself. I for one am doing cartwheels that sanity is returning to the federal judiciary. MAGA
When will we abolish the electoral college? A majority of Americans did not vote for this transformation of the Judiciary along conservative lines and with unqualified nominees being confirmed.
The role of Senators is "advise and consent". When nominees who are not fit for these lifetime appointments are consented to, those who give their consent are not doing their jobs. When this era comes to an end, how do we undo this damage?
41
kathyb: It's time to get out the "red" map and LOOK at the counties that elected Trump; they ARE the majority! (No, LA and Chicago and NY do NOT control the country, even if you want them to.) You cannot pick and choose and say that LA voting is MORE IMPORTANT Nebraska or Florida or Wisconsin!
The "electoral college" will NEVER go away because that is what makes us the USA and not just East Coast and West Coast with NOTHING in between.
Incidentally, if the ONLY thing that counted was raw votes, then Trump would have campaigned differently and STILL HAVE WON! He worked the electoral map system because that is what COUNTS! He ran a SMART campaign and not a lucky campaign. LOOK at his campaign manager; she had a TON of experience in races and was so much more qualified than Robbie Mook! So, whose "fault" is that? Trump for choosing a good and smart and tough campaign manager (who knew what she was doing) or Hillary for choosing a talker who hadn't actually done anything)?
Term limits term limits are needed everywhere democracy is practiced. But more important would be age limits, a retirement age (i.e. cannot be reelected but can still finish term) of 67 would be appropriate and reflect our world a little better.
18
Contrary to common opinion (which was repeated in this article), the Constitution does not say that judges are appointed for life. It says they are appointed to remain on the bench for so long as they maintain "good behavior" (or until they are impeached and convicted if they commit high crimes or misdemeanors).
The actual wording states:
"The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."
Good behavior is just like it sounds. If they start flouting the law and legal precedents of higher courts, fail to conduct fair trials, damage the reputation of the court, etc., those may not be impeachable offenses, but they are constitutionally proscribed bad behaviors that can be the basis of a trial to remove a judge.
So far, the legislature has not put much effort into enacting laws, based on the Good Behavior Clause, that could facilitate removal of poorly behaving judges. Given the crop of suspect jurists being planted on the bench, that may change. If so, it will be up to the executive branch to prosecute such matters.
Just as the Republicans are grabbing every piece of power and wealth they can exploit before the tide turns against them, I suspect there will be an urgency to clean up the mess when the political backlash that is just beginning gains sufficient force.
4
In Australia, judges on the High Court (the highest in the land) are constitutionally obliged to retire on or before their 70th birthday. The purpose of this amendment was to avoid the unpleasant process of digging out a judge whose failing health or mental capacities made them a liability. The United States could do worse than adopting a similar strategy.
2
Obama didn't get his judge.
So.
The Constitution says who can do what.
Everyone exercised their rights granted under the Constitution.
And, spare the outrage.
Everyone knows if the shoe had been on the other foot every comment on this board would have encouraged the Democratic Senate to hold off.
30
No. I don't agree. And it wasn't just one judicial position as the article states. Withholding and refusing to participate is not fulfilling the constitutional obligation.
2
Yet Democrats never did this in more than 200 years. No previous president to Obama faced the obstruction of McConnell. None. No Democratic Senate in American history ever acted this way. No previous president in American history ever proposed so many unqualified candidates. The ABA's unqualified determination is now attached to multiple Trump nominees who are being pushed through by slim purely partisan votes.
Never before has this happened.
2
Exactly. If Justice RGB had passed away at the end of 2007 there is no way Harry Reid would have let President Bush replace her.
Please, somebody, tell me what happens when it's realized Trump is acting as an agent of Russia intentionally or not? Do we as a country simply "dismiss it" because we might not be able to prove intent? Which leads me to the point that "intent" is hardly a primary issue when our government is being undermined as we speak. Secondly, what difference does it actually make what Trump "claims" as his intentions when he's responsible for his actions one way or another? At a bare minimum, it is complete and total incompetence or something worse.
17
This is great news. I am terrified of liberal activist judges destroying the constitution and persecuting people of faith.
80
I’ve often wondered about the danger of this argument. It seems to me that when we allow people of faith to discriminate against others based on their particular religious beliefs, it only opens the door to more discrimination, not less, If a Christian can choose not to bake a cake for a gay couple, then surely it will be okay when that gay couple refuses to rent to a Christian missionary,
Furthermore, if the religious community wants to have a larger role in driving the morals of our country, shouldn’t it also pay taxes for the privilege?
There is strong historical precedent for the separation of church and state, it is after all, a right our ancestors fought for,
8
On the contrary, the purpose of the Supreme Court was meant to be protecting the minority from the whims of the majority, or, in the case of the USA, non-Christians from Christians. I suggest you read the Federalist Papers to understand what the men who wrote and ratified the constitution intended, rather than just relying on sources of information with which you unfailingly agree every time.
8
So I guess we are even as I am terrified of activist conservative judges using the constitution persecute people for their existence, deny them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Quite literally.
6
And every one of these appointments is illegitimate, including the SCOTUS appointee Neil Gorsuch. They should have been filled during Obama. Trump isn't even a legitimate president. I don't mean because of Russian interference. I mean because of voter purges and voter suppression. Trump and the GOP Majority is illicit and Illegitimate. The 2016 election was stolen, not won.
41
And yet, Donald Trump lives in the White House and Gorsuch sits on the Supreme Court.
But, you'll be happy to know in some alternative universe Crooked Hillary is President and the Clinton Foundation continues to take in mountains of money from foreign powers and Harvey Weinstein.
There is no way that this can end well.
26
It's interesting that the liberal commenters don't get they are the mirror of their conservative counterparts. If the shoe was on the other foot it seems they'd pack the courts with liberals.
Perhaps we need judges to decide case based only upon merits, fact, and science and leave politics out of it, left or right.
The GOP keeps wanting to tangle with the Founding Fathers.
Today we have a president who believes a communist dictator over his own intelligence agencies.
Time to vote these people out.
41
If Mueller gets the tax returns he will see a large deposit of 250M - a loan from Russians in London laundered through The Bank of Cyprus and deposited in Deutsche Bank, the bank which loaned the 250M to Trump. A fake "property purchase" in FL was made with 95Min cash, flown in on a private jet. Does anyone believe that the Russian oligarchs don't own Trump? Does anyone think Trump cares about the United States and its citizenry? Trump cares about himself and his predatory family; he will leave office very rich. He has been bailed out twice by Russian money; Putin doesn't give money away. He is an old KGB guy who was once poor; now he is possibly one of the richest men in the world. Now he owns the President of the United States. We no longer lead the free world; we are just surviving.
1
I find it funny that you bring forth the founding fathers in this discussion. The fact is the senate is acting IN LINE WITH the founding fathers. There is no “60 vote rule” or “blue slip process”in the Constitution; the document the founding fathers left us. Each of these are post-Constitutional constructs of Senators to expand their powers in an extra-constitutional manner. Forgive me if I shed ZERO TEARS for the left.
2
How, they cheat and lie to stay in office through gerrymandering and using superpac money and Trump refuses to protect our elections from another hack.
1
For years now I have suggested that the NY Times add after every judge an indication of the party that nominated them. Simply add an asterisk (R*) or (D*). To fail to do so is to perpetuate the myth that the judiciary is not political.
The Times has seen fit to keep its readers in the dark. As the Washington Post masthead now states Democracy Dies in Darkness.
22
I believe that in a sane world, Mitch McConnell would be behind bars.
29
You mean where your Illinois congressman and former governor are? How about you worry about the 600 dead in Chicago because of Rahm Emmanuel and let the adults deal with the rest?
I mean where people who steal democracy should go.
They can put him in prison with your state government if that makes you feel better. In Illinois we can just put bars on the governor's mansion and add a bunk or two - I understand that in NY it involves serious construction to keep everyone housed.
http://www.politifact.com/new-york/statements/2016/sep/19/elaine-phillip...
Better enforcement of laws regarding background checks and stopping straw purchase gun sales in Indiana, Wisconsin and some of our own suburbs would help here in Chicago, though, so thank you for your concern. Much like crime guns in NY, most of ours come from states with lower standards on gun laws.
This is really sick, being done by sick people. Our country has been stolen.
32
Harry Reid and the Democrats opened the door to this when they exercised the Nuclear option during Obama's Presidency and did away with the filibuster rule for Judicial Nominees.
19
But they will never admit they made a mistake. Liberals never do folish things like nominating a candidate who lost an election when she should have won nearly every state.
My dad always said, "it's a long old road that doesn't have any turns in it".
7
Where are all the people who, during the election, were insistent that Republicans and Democrats are the same? Awfully quiet since last January.
25
Over the past century, irrevocable Democrat-controlled social programs have remade the country, good in some ways but also bad in some ways. For example, Social Security has dramatically reduced poverty among the elderly, but at the price of a tax burden that makes it almost impossible for middle-class families to accumulate wealth through saving. These social programs dominate our interactions with the government and control our economic lives. By any objective measure, the long-term arc of our government is under close Democratic control. The fact that Republicans have exerted modestly outsize power over the judiciary in the past 30 years is comparatively a drop in the bucket. And, although left-leaning New York Times readers would probably disagree on partisan grounds, a judiciary that leans farther toward caution and conservatism than the government in general (averaged over decades) is good for the country considering the frequent bouts of radicalism, intemperance, folly, and myopia that buffet the White House and Congress.
21
Tax burden for the middle class? Yes!
Those of extreme wealth who hide their money to avoid taxes should break open the flood gates of their hidden overseas tax havens .Make them contribute a FAIR % of their wealth to their nation for schools, airports, transportation, infrastructure, flood and fire reparation, health care, hospitals, the military .
The same percentage as every other citizen.
1
I agree entirely!!!!
This is fantastic news for a Trump voter such as me. Thank you New York Times for writing such a heartening story about one of the great successes of the Trump administration. The victory is all the sweeter since it was the Democratic Senate that changed the rules requiring a super majority when they tried to ram through Obama's activist appointees. Now they are "hoist by their own petard" as the saying goes. But the main thing is that we will finally have judges who follow the law and the Constitution as written, rather than as desired by Hollywood celebrities and Comedy Central.
26
Well stated!
13
Most of Trump’s appointments are unqualified for the bench.
How, then, are they to know the process by which to follow the law?
Besides, Obama’s appointments, when your party got around to getting them through, did follow the law. That you don’t support same-sex anything, or access to clean drinking water, doesn’t mean they didn’t.
It’s downright comical to watch Trump supporters give up their own protections just to poke liberals in the eyes. Apparently, last Tuesday was lost on you.
2
Today's NY Times editorial makes rather a big deal out of Trump being a real estate developer.
“'Presidents usually regard the oath [to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution] as a set of legally binding principles that they abide by....Trump tends to think of things in terms of real estate law — ways to get around legal requirements rather than enforcing and promoting them.'"
That’s true -- not only about Trump, but also about business men and women, generally. Coolidge famously said, "The business of America is business." And what that means, in practice, is it's about getting around requirements.
I know, this isn't something we like to think about at all. It sounds downright un-American.
But D. J. Trump is indeed fairly representative of those among us who are rich and successful. Let's not be too hypocritical about this. If we're going to fault him, we need to fault a whole way of doing business.
8
Yep, been saying that, about his being a real estate developer, since he started to run. Anyone who has been bold faced lied to by a developer, had promises reneged on by a developer, or suffered the schemes, excuses, and rationalizations of a developer who ignores, subjugates, or compromises the law abetted by compliant boards and politicians knows exactly what that means.
Trump represents the people leading the world into climate change it cannot handle.
1
I don’t see how one could possibly characterize the Trump administration’s plan to put conservative judges on the appellate and district courts as anything approaching “secret”. Trump ran on the promise of Gorsuch, so to speak.
As for the American Bar Association’s (ABA) role in rating federal judicial candidates, that is so over. There are 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S., but only 400,000 belong to the ABA. Speaking as one of the 900,000 lawyers who do not belong to the ABA, I can tell you that many lawyers do not eschew membership due to cost of membership, but rather because the ABA takes positions on issues which many lawyers do not feel are related to the practice of law or bettering client service. This doesn’t mean I personally disagree with the positions the ABA has taken; instead, I disagree with the ABA taking positions on such issues on behalf of lawyers. When the ABA started rating federal judicial candidates it was not nearly so involved in taking positions on clearly political issues and purported remedies. Also, many lawyers see the ABA as the mouthpiece for “Big Law”.
Lastly, the idea the courts have up until recently not been “political” players is some sort uninformed idealization of judges.
16
The courts are partners in shakedowns in the US.
The extreme irony of this all is that the use of raw political power was enabled by the Democrats in 2013. There were stern warnings of what this meant to the conduct of the Senate back then. Few expected this would come back to bite them so soon though. I'm sure Harry Reid gets many Holiday baskets from Republicans for this gift.
27
Only 5% of American lawyers belong to the conservative Federalist Society, but we now have five members of the Supreme Court from that Society.
They don't represent the mainstream legal community. These are the people filling the courts -- already as conservative as they have been in three generations.
25
I don't think Trump represents the mainstream community, but you get what you vote for.
7
No, you get what the Electoral College votes for. It is way past time to relegate that institution to the dust bin of history and elect presidents by the popular vote of the people.
1
The court doesn’t represent lawyers; it interprets the Constitution for the citizens of the United States.
1
Doesn't Congress set judicial salaries? Once Democrats get control of Congress, why not reduce judicial salaries to, say, minimum wage? We may not be able to stop the courts from being rigged, but we at least don't have to pay for the privilege. If Republican cronies are going to be on the bench, let them do so on their dime.
9
"The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."
Article 3 Secrtion 1
I'm appalled and concerned. Cannot begin to imagine the far reaching consequences of this. Executive orders similar to the ones stopped earlier this year would probably sail through the lower courts with a pro-republican judiciary. Excellent reporting by times, catching the trend and bringing it to the fore. Although the million dollar question is what can be practically done to stop the damage.
4
What relevance is the race or gender of the nominees...shouldn't people be judged by the content of their character?
17
Perhaps one day, as individuals and as a nation, we'll be there. We're not there yet.
2
Emphasizing race and gender doesn'tget us there any more quickly.
Emphasizing race and gender seemed to be OK when it worked to benefit white men, who were perceived as normal and normative, and to exclude others.
Elections matter .... when you win them.
We can thank Harry Reid ... he was warned.
24
The behavior of the republicans regarding deliberate obstruction to prevent the filling of vacancies by a democrat reeks of criminal corruption. There is no low they won't stoop to exploit in their collusion with ALEC to take away the will of the voters
30
The definition of "sanity" is the most hotly contested issue in all inmate-run asylums.
Illegitimate victory due to Russian meddling. Illegitimate nominees.
33
I implore the military to join we Democrats to fight the Republicans destroying our nation and Democracy through rigging elections and courts. Fight along side us as the Republicans perennially threaten revolt with armed followers.
You must decide if you will help us preserve democracy and freedom in this nation. Now you can truly defend the nation at home.
8
It's a coup. Step by agonizing step. It's a coup.
55
It is morbidly funny to watch the Right try to pretend this is acceptable withong the Constitution, and watch some on the Left try to pretend they didn't see it coming because "the media," didn't report, try to pretend that their alibis hold water, try to pretend they didn't help this happen.
7
What a farce to find that nobody is really responsible for anything in this sandbox. Whatever it is somebody, else did it first. Has ten percent of the American population reached a double digit mental age yet?
Finally the media is covering this. Why has it taken so long and why only one majore outlet? Seems the media would have been all over this as opposed to the topics they obsess over. This is real......
11
Because it's a non-issue.
3
Have to agree with delayed media coverage on multiple issues.
I knew trump was a schumck with ties to organized crime, Russians laundering money through trump orchestrated real estate transactions, been doing business with Russians for a long time, before he started down that escalator.
All of his nefarious activities have been reported elsewhere at one time or another, yet the media failed to refresh the public's collective mind.
There's an abundance of ppl to blame for the presidency, but at the top of the list is the media and the entertainment news push in the ratings chase.
RELATED: Why hasn't the media published more info on Russian ownership of Facebook and Twitter? Does anyone really think Zuckerberg didn't know what an 8% owner of Facebook was doing? Really.
Fortunately, those with an interest in American events can find well-researched info in the foreign press.
8
@Flyingoffthehandle,
If you only read the NYT, you’ve missed this. The Wall Street Journal has been covering this for months. And very well I might add.
While the Times covers Trumps tweets, you can read about what is really happening in the WSJ. Kimberley Strassel is the one to read there re: this subject.
1
Those who truthfully profess to be conservatives cannot be faithful to this administration, and, more importantly, cannot have supported Mitch McConnells obstruction against President Obama, who was elected by 5 million votes over Romney. It was obstruction against the will of the American people.
19
This administration is reactionary, not conservative. No conservative wants to change everything all at the same time.
1
This should be a reminder to all those who cast "protest votes" during Presidential elections, you're not only voting for who is going to be President for the next four years, you're voting on the aftermath which could ripple for decades.
Bernie bros and centrist Republicans might not have liked Hilary, but this administration is systematically setting this nation on a disastrous course that will effect generations.
55
The Dec of Independence has something to say about this very topic.
Kind of ironic that the Supreme Court should take up the issue of gerrymandering after the Senate Republicans just, successfully, gerrymandered the Supreme Court.
21
You do not understand the concept of gerrymandering.
1
We should have judges that follow the Constitution, it's amendments and our laws as they were understood when ratified or passed. That is not biastoed to any ideology other than the rule of law.
11
The wording of much of the Constitution is vague in the extreme. "[A]bridging the freedom of speech, or of the press": nothing is cut and dried in those words and many other formulations. The Framers set out principles, not formulas and recipes, and those principles have to be applied to new situations; that process requires interpretation.
5
Human knowledge has exploded since this document was scratched out with quill pens. The US Constitution is hopelessly obsolete, and its features are fundamentally divisive.
1
Constitution is still viable. It was designed to address nature which has not changed.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary needs to be kept away from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government, or from private or partisan interests." Well, so much for that!
7
You're really are a "babe in the woods." Judges have always been politicians in black robes...it's only an "issue" now with liberals because the nominees are conservative.
11
Exactly! So what does that say about the so-called "three branches of the federal government"? It says that what Americans have been taught for over 200 years now is nothing more and nothing less than a myth (as, unfortunately, so much in this country is, like, for instance, the notion of pulling oneself up from one's bootstraps).
5
The federal judiciary is appointed by the executive branch, for life, and confirmed by the legislative branch, the Senate. Once confirmed, the judiciary is not influenced by the other branches. They bring with them whatever belief system and judicial philosophy they have developed over their lifetimes, but they are not obligated to make judicial decisions that conform to any particular party or partisanship.
It might be worthwhile for you to consider that the four justices appointed by Democrats ALWAYS vote in lockstep on a partisan basis and their decisions can be predicted with absolute certainty. If Garland had been confirmed, the leftists would always vote together.
The justices appointed by Republicans, on the other hand, tend to vote in accordance with principles that do not conform to partisan outcomes. Consider Souter, Kennedy, O'Conner, Roberts. No one could or can predict their votes based upon the outcome desired by conservatives. Thomas, Alito, Scalia decisions could be predicted based on the law as written, but not necessarily on a partisan outcome basis, the way the leftists judges make decisions.
There is so much wrong here, from the process of appointment to the process of "applying" law. It's not right-wing to say that we need judges that apply law to facts and to not make law and that are professionals and not political appointees. But for judges to apply law to facts, we need laws that fit together and are comprehensible. But for that we need a legislature that works. Other countries do it right. How can we get there?
2
By wistfully describing how law works in countries whose judicial systems derive from the Napoleonic Code, you're mixing up apples and oranges. Civil law and case law are fundamentally different. Common-law jurisprudence is precedent-driven and requires judges, now and again, to make new law.
3
If a legislature does not pass any laws during a period of time, the status quo stands. Blocking undesirable legislation does not constitute dysfunction.
Obama was frustrated by the fact that his policies were unpopular, or at least sufficiently unpopular that he couldn't even get a Democrat controlled Congress to pass cap and trade or immigration reform. His signature achievement, Obamacare, was so unpopular he lost seats in the Senate and a majority in the House. Rather than attempt to compromise, he chose to unilaterally change the Obamacare law and create new regulations unsupported by law. He also chose to violate the law by creating DACA. Leftists like to describe the decision as prosecutorial discretion, but in addition to electing not to deport illegal aliens, he also granted them quasi legal status which gave them access to federal welfare benefits like EITC and food stamps.
You do not know what you are talking about. Common law does not derive from legislation, which distinguishes it from statutory law. Both common law and statutory law require judicial interpretation at times.
Thanks so very much for highlighting these developments. They are among the things the Trump Politburo hopes that the Roy Moore story and other Republican shenanigans will deflect our attention from.
7
Well lets not forget Trump is filling positions that should have been filled by the last President. One of the more unforgivable sins of the Republican Party. When Democrats regain control I hope they show Trump the same contempt.
12
I think they will. They're good at showing contempt.
I dont blame any administration that tries to court appointments at a rapid pace.. the disgrace of a 5-4 supreme court decision that redefined marriage for all Americans shows how this country has lost it's democracy and lives through it's courts.
13
How is expanding the right to marry to loving, consenting same-sex adults who have formed households and many of whom are raising children a disgrace? Why do you care? Nothing in the law changed heterosexual marriage whatsoever. Opposite sex couples are still able to marry. The disgrace is in denying that right to same sex couples.
9
Right, as long as you can marry the person of your choice?
5
What public good was created by allowing Windsor to avoid $135,000 in estate tax when she inherited $4 million from her wife?
What public good was created when family law in 40 states was suddenly applied to same sex marriages? State family law was developed over time to address the protection of the spouse with presumed inferior earning potential and her children from potentially deadbeat fathers. Federal benefits were designed with similar interests in mind.
One change that took place simultaneously with the change in the law with respect to same sex marriage is that employers who provide health insurance are no longer obligated to cover spouses. As predicted, making same sex marriage legal has eroded the privileges of heterosexual couples.
"Citizens United"
Bush sued to be President.
Gerrymandered districts.
Packing the Courts with in-the-pocket Judges.
This isn't politics. This is rigging elections.
17
Please draft the Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United that will prevent Citizens United from distributing a biography of Hillary because it is organized as a corporation that will not prevent the NYT from expressing a political opinion because it is organized as a corporation.
The Citizens United decision did not overturn hundreds of years of precedent. It overturned a single provision of the McCain Feingold campaign finance
law that was less than ten years old. Obama lied, publically insulting the SCOTUS in his state of the union address OR is completely ignorant of the law. Equal odds.
Citizens United is organized under the same legal structure as OFA, media matters and moveon.org. No Republicans had complained about their political activism. Hillary, on the other hand, was able to suppress the distribution of her biography by complaining to the FEC.
When SCOTUS ruled that the Florida count had to be stopped, it was a 7-2 decision that what Gore was demanding was a violation of the equal protection clause. There had already been a full machine recount conducted. What Al wanted was for four Democrat leaning counties to have a recount in which the counters would use their psychic powers to reclassify ballots with multiple votes for President in his favor. Those ballots were designed by Democrats in counties where Democrats controlled the election process and his contention was that Democrats were too stupid to vote their intentions
Reshaping the federal and state judiciary is part of the long-term nihilistic, libertarian strategy of Americans for Prosperity and other radical conservative groups funded by the Koch brothers and their allies. This has been carefully planned and implemented for a long time. Read Nancy MacLean's Democracy In Chains to get a full understanding.
11
We can thank the Bernie "all or nothing" crowd and the Green Party (again): 2000 election, for this unfortunate, unfair, unrepresentative and potentially disastrous move on the part of Trump and his administration to attempt to reshape the judiciary in their incompetent. unpopular, image and likeness.
However, about that "tremendous political and social pressure", i.e. resistance, to this extreme lurch to the right mentioned, I wouldn't discount its potential effectiveness, especially among younger people, women, and everyone else who is fed up already with this current Republican abomination of an administration. As the poet said, and we all know from experience, the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.... here's hoping this one does too......big time.
12
The 2016 presidential election turned on some 70,000 votes in three states, which threw the Electoral College to the Republican candidate, even though the Democratic candidate won the popular vote by some 3,000,000. I don't think you can lay this anomaly at the feet of Bernie voters and the Green Party. The Electoral College is the elephant in the room.
10
You can thank Hillary and nobody else for loosing the election.
With Wrey as the new FBI director Trump now has a back channel communication option with the FBI director through Chris Christie. On the surface, it may have seemed like a safe mainstream pick but it is far from it. The choice of Christie's friend and defense counsel in the Bridge-gate scandal shows that Trump can and surely will push the envelope to solidify his inner circle. His next move will be to disembowel the FBI itself, the same way the EPA is being gutted, removing all remnants of its investigation into his Russian connections. With new FBI director Wrey expect funding cuts, resignations and dismissals. Doubtless this cleansing is already afoot with the deliberate surreptitious sabotaging of all related records throughout the entire administration. The system is rigged and the further we let this guy get away with this, the more damage he will do to our democracy. James Clapper is right, Watergate pales in comparison to the Russia probe.
14
The director of the FBI reports to Trump through Sessions. Why does he need a back channel communication mechanism?
The Russian probe has revealed that Manacort appears to be guilty of money laundering and tax evasion while Obama was President, not during the couple of months he was involved in the Trump campaign. Leftists are hoping he will reveal some dark secrets about Trump in order to bargain away some of his jail time. It ain't happening. They'd have pressured him before the indictment if he had anything to offer.
The Russian probe has also revealed that Podesta [Hillary's campaign manager] was taking money fro Ukrainian/Russian governments. Hillary was submitting fraudulent information to the FEC indicating the money being paid to the Russians to fabricate the fake Trump dossier was legal fees rather than opposition research.
America dodged a bullet when the DNC selected the only candidate in the world that was so odious she could be defeated by Trump. I'm having flashbacks to that time I deplaned in Bosnia under sniper fire.
Blame the DNC and HRC, not the GOP. They couldn't even beat a candidate like Trump.
17
None of the GOP could beat Trump.
And we blame them not for losing to the guy who had Russia helping him, but we blame the GOP for continuing to enable Trump to thwart democracy. There are a reason the founders wanted a balance of power, but the GOP has abandoned their oversight role to a man put in place by Putin.
9
Mr. Trump “understood that the American people cared about judges, and he for his own purposes cared very deeply about it..."
....
That is rich. I bet Trump could not articulate even the most basic knowledge of what the role of the judiciary is in this country (other than to 'protect rich people from losing their money'). And it has long been clear that Trump ONLY deeply cares about his own personal aggrandizement, and he would gladly bear the label of a progressive socialist if would somehow substantially feed his insatiable narcissistic personality appetite.
That said, it means that this agenda/plan (like almost everything else coming out of the White House) is being advanced by an ultra-conservative Republican band of ghouls who have the presidents ear only because they can stroke his ego sufficiently long and hard.
Our systems were not designed to handle this most anomalous situation, and now we pay the price.
9
he's getting about as high caliber people for this as he has for any other of his appointments.
8
This really is quite revolting. For years under President Obama, the Republican Senate leadership refused to respect their own vows to uphold the constitution. They have intentionally dived into the swamp, chosen power over country, wrong over right. This is the reason that those same Republican senators did not care that Roy Moore, in his time on the Alabama state supreme court, refused to recognize the authority of the US Supreme Court. Not one of them respects the rule of law, despite their frequent claims to the contrary. And to those few who are speaking out - I'm done with you as well. All talk and no action. Each one of you who cares about our country needs to STOP voting as if this were business as usual. Senator McCain, I'm talking to you. Your words mean nothing as long as you vote with your party, particularly on these judicial nominees, who are not just unqualified and overly ideological, but are being given positions that were stolen from the democrats. Senator Flake, Senator Corker -- you too! You are presiding over the disintegration of our democracy. Respect for our judiciary is gone and your party is responsible. Stand up and be counted in a meaningful way or just stop talking.
18
So after stealing a Supreme Court seat, the Republicans are now unabashedly packing the lower federal courts. Is there no depth to which they will not sink?
8
In response to the Republican coup d'etat, Democrats need to get the majority in Congress then limit the jurisdiction of the appellate courts, a right clearly outlined in the Constitution. Then the Democrats can expand the number of federal judges to water down the influence of the republican, federalist, heritage-foundation zombies. We might also consider expanding the Supreme Court, installing a separate 9-judge court handling the more sensitive issues like abortion and separation of church and state - maybe all cases not involving the court's original jurisdiction, which the Roberts court might be able to handle without doing violence to our country.
6
From looking at that list of former Presidents, why do some use their middle initials and others don’t. I can understand the two Bushes, but why anyone else whom there’s only one of would, other than pure pomp. Is there some kind of presidential precedent on this?
It's their name....
2
If this continues, the U.S. is likely to get both a theocracy and an even a less patient plutocracy. The official Kremlin visits will be grand! So much red, white and blue...
2
What better way to get control of this country then by getting 2/3's of the three parts of the government in league with each other.
It will be great when DJT brings this whole country in league with Russia.
Come on people, wake up, smell the coffee, get in touch with your representatives and have them look into this ASAP.
2
19th Century, here we come.
6
Yes, the 20th was so wonderful, wasn't it?
We'd be lucky if we land there, Albert. Might be the 13th, or a heated up version of the Pleistocene, by the time the Infant-in-Chief is done wrecking us.
I dread the future for all of us and particularly for the minorities of all variety for the next few decades.
239
Where you're wrong is it will be bad for generations.
In the meantime, other countries, while having little to nothing to do with the US, will move forward in numerous areas while Americans continue to argue over the basic issues set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
Generations of turmoil.
It's difficult to see how parents of school-age children would sentence their children to such lives.
5
And yet, you did not mind Obama moving AGAINST the Christian majority. Your views are dependent on WHOSE ox is being gored! And, there is a cause for "majority rule" which is how things are DONE in this country. Majority rule has never been about race, religion, or national origin, which is WHY America became so great, so fast! Because we are a nation of laws, not of men! But now, we find people who do not wish to assimilate and become Americans, but who remain Balkanized and want their OWN little country in sections of the USA. (Paid for by the white Christian American majority of workers, of course.)
When the "minority" proves to be self-centered, mean-spirited, envious, and filled with a need for immediate revenge and long term supremacy OVER the majority; there will be resistance. And, especially when the TAX MONEY OF THE MAJORITY is used to craft revenge and revolt against themselves; no one is REQUIRED to fund their own destruction. If you can't assimilate, then perhaps America is not the country for you! It is NOT to everyone's taste, or need for freedom, and democracy, and equality, and fair play!
The judicial branch of our government has never really been above politics. But now its been cast down into the mud, muck, ooze and mire with the other two branches. No one has drained the swamp. It's teaming with more slithering vipers, gators and serpents than ever before.
9
Whatever true power is behind the T(rump) farce they are hard at work in their attempts to make sure America stays to old, archaic rules, regulations, laws and a basically stymied way of life.
6
Elections have consequences
14
We are we are now the United States of Trump. Thanks Republicans!!!
4
Mr Trump. Your father was a KKK (after all, he was arrested in NY in 1928 KKK demonstration), You are the apple that did not fall far from the tree. You need to realize, that you are a far right conspirator who wishes to bring down democracy in America. Americans need to realize this also. Mr Trump will never accept that he is solipsistic. You Mr. Trump, think it is all about yourself. You are not a King, I suspect the next step is to have the military try to take over the government. Isn't it?
5
There is an apparent simple strategy in play here. The Republicans learned from the Supreme Court Decision, "Citizen's United" that they can mold the outcome of elections in Courts of Law. The fact is that all elections are messy and many times decided by Judges actions following appeals to courts by aggrieved losers, who incidentally have been Republicans, such as George W. Bush who sued to become President. The Republicans are dismantling our messy Democracy one judge at a time. The are the Military Empire.
3
Trump is appointing judges, by the rules of appointment, that are aligned with his political and social philosophy much the same as Obama, Bush, Clinton and all others before him. Got a problem with that...make a move.
13
The story is that he is appointing unqualified people--not just people who align with his "beliefs" --whatever those may be. Hard to tell, ain't it?
1
Not hard to tell at all. Trump is appointing people who are legal scholars and thinkers, people who, as judges have and will continue to interpret the law fairly and honestly as it is written not through some contorted rose colored glasses. Obama appointed people whose only qualification was their liberalist reading of the law, people who aligned with his political ideology. Trump - pay attention here now - won the election and is now putting people on the courts who believe like he does. Elections, as Obama so eloquently stated, have consequences. It's really democracy in action: the people, after much patience, rejected Obama/Clinton liberalism and elected to return to a more conservative government which has served them well in the past. Your problem is that your side lost and you and your snot-nosed, bratty comrades can't get over it.
This has been one of the few bright spots for me in Trump's presidency. An infusion of conservative judges who will be on the bench for many years to come.
14
Do you have any idea what Citizens United did? That Decision declared that corporations are people. GE is you; next time you go to the mailbox, your next door neighbor might be Amazon, or not. That Decision will be historically dissected by scholars as either the beginning of the loss of true democratic governance, or a turning point heading us towards a massive social upheaval. When families realize their children have no real future against a truly stacked political and financial deck, they will have to move out of their comfort zones and take some action. Or, we might just fracture like France and Italy with a Congress unable to accomplish anything. We do not have a leader; we have a greedy rabble in Congress; and, we are out here on our own.
1
If you think the party under Trump is bad, wait for the 40-year-long hangover that is going to follow. It may be too early to think about solving the opioid problem.
8
This administration is stressing norms and processes all over the place, not least important, the courts and the DOJ. When we have an executive without scuples or respect, all the weak points of our system have been exposed and magnified many times over.
It's looking like all the shaping of the courts and the business of the DOJ need to be divorced from political decision makers, aka executive and Congress. Would it take constitutional amendments to reassign these responsibilities to dispassionate boards of legal academics, and QA overseers, committed to keeping the courts filled with centrists?
1
Why not a 17 year term for all appeals judges--including the Supreme Court. That's long enough to outlast both two terms of a president and his or her vice president, (almost but not completely) insuring that the same seat would not be filled by the same group that filled it last time.
Lifetime tenure is never a good thing.
2
While swamp RINOS and dems, obsessed about a bogus Russion collusion story, are accomplish nothing, President Trump is quietly doing great things for the American people.
Filling vacancies with judges who rule based on what the constitution actually says, and not what they wished it said, is a big step in making America as great as it should be.
Good job Mr. Trump!
9
Wanna follow the continuation, how about we follow with a simple one, separation of church and state.
Take prayer out of schools, and professional sports.
1
He’s saving himself millions in taxes and making you foot the bill, and you’re cheering for that.
Chilling.
2
I hope all those who somehow have it within themselves to have been able to vote for Obama and then for Trump and all those who felt so idealistic and/or uninspired that they stayed home on election day have spent the last year reflecting on the consequences of choices and inaction and how even between two imperfect choices, one would have been busy creating a much better world than the one being destroyed before our eyes.
16
Moving the Judiciary to the right and rolling back President Obama's jack boot regulatory state are the bright spots of President Trump.
7
Here here!
1
So this is why the conservative religious types voted for Trump. It appears there was a real dog whistle that stated they could make the Handmaid's Tale our future. This is a constitutional crisis.
13
Trump's regime is not a traditional conservative, democratic regime. It is based on the cult of personality, it is a government of men not laws, and it is anything but concerned with ethics, fair play, and justice.
The only thing stopping Trump and the far right's lawless and unconstitutional actions has been our court system. And that drives the demagogic Trump and the extremist right-wing GOP nuts.
If Trump and the GOP manage to appoint "their kind of judges" (such as crazed Judge Roy Moore types) to key federal judiciary positions, then it is over for this country as a democracy.
A key characteristic of totalitarian/authoritarian regimes is that the judiciary is heavily politicized and supports either an extreme right-wing or extreme left-wing dictatorial regime. Justices who are objective or rule against the regime are removed from the bench, jailed, exiled--or worse.
And what I have learned from this Trump election and candidacy is that almost half our country have no idea what the characteristics of democracy are and worse, they seem to prefer authoritarianism to democracy.
14
Wow, the stars sure misaligned themselves on this one, didn’t they? How did Trump pull off manipulating them as well? Spooky in a truly cosmic sense.
Trump's fate is in his stars .
He will not come to a noble end.
Isn’t a fight over the power of the legislature how the French Revolution started?
There’s definitely politicians that I’d cheer to see walked to a modern-preferably-non-lethal guillotine.
3
Just magnify what happened Tuesday, Republicans. Your days are literally numbered. We have simply had enough of your outright lies. Come next November we will reduce your numbers in Congress. Then come 2020 we will rid ourselves of the worse president in history, if he still in office by then. If not, then it is the equally disastrous Pence who will go. By 2022 we shall be rid of all the Republican senators elected in '16. Voila! Tis' done. It's just a matter of time, and there is nothing from now till then Republicans can do to redeem themselves. We are angry and we plan on showing up, this time, and the next, and the next after that.
DD
Manhattan
18
I’ll never vote for any Republican anywhere, ever again. This is insane.
10
Dear Jeff:
When Republicans can become apologists for someone as despicable as Roy Moore, then this party has lost any credibility. They wouldn't know a profile in courage if it slapped them across the face. They claim Democrats would defend a pedophile if he (it's almost always a "he"). Really? Ask we New Yorkers what we did with our Governor Spitzer and Congressman Weiner. And I seem to recall President Clinton being impeached for having lied about an obviously consensual affair. And if the people of the US didn't excuse his bad behavior because of the booming economy, and their personal liking of the man, Bill Clinton would be history. He is not. His wife took the blame instead. Hillary should have been our president, and more than three million Americans who voted said so.
We began last Tuesday. We must continue to remain active, to vote Democratic down the line, next November and all the Novembers thereafter until all Republican obstructionists are removed from office.
DD
Manhattan
1
Meanwhile Trump not even aware of who these people are and what they do. Other people calling the shots here. Evil stuff.
8
It was Harry Reid and democrats who created this situation. Take off the partisan blinders.
8
The cause was Monstrous Mitch intransigence.
He stated that he would obstruct and he and his caucass did so.
Unable to make any lower court or executive branch appointments in the face of unprecedented use of the filibuster,
Fighting Harriet changed to rules to a simple majority.
Your beliefs do not equal facts
8
This is why Democrats are losers. They just can't keep their eye on the ball like Republicans can. If I can't have Bernie, I'm either going to vote for Trump, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, or not even show up to vote at all!
13
Clinton beat Trump by 3,000,000 votes. She lost the important Electoral College votes because she did not campaign in PA, MI and WI. She ignored Bill Clinton's advice and ignored her natural support base. She lost that base. She was qualified to be President; she had been a U.S. Senator, a Secty. of State, and the wife of a popular President. She got very bad advice from political novices. Trump wasn't "advised"; he was pampered, coddled, and used by people much smarter than himself. He still has no idea how he got there; and he has no idea how to govern. But, Tillerson, Price, Pruitt, DeVos et al know how to govern for their best interests. That is what we have in D.C., and a Congress making as much money as they can.
1
Just like a bunch of center Republicans and independents. They could have voted for HRC if Trump is truly so distasteful. Yet they are not “losers”?
@Brad I believe that the term one would use to describe center Republicans and independents who voted for Trump over HRC and thought that the world would be truly better off with Trump would be "deplorable". Of course my point still stands. They voted for Trump because they felt that with Trump, the Republican Congress would then be able to pack the courts with "conservative" judges, cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and either outlaw or at least make it practically impossible to obtain an abortion. One might also add that terrifying non-whites and non-Christians to both leave or not come to the US also played a big part in their voting for Trump.
1
Here's a relevant lesson about human history:
Despotic governments rarely rise from nothing. They arise quietly in the shadows from carefully planned moves that put pieces into place in the dark (plausible deniability you know). The kingmaker always works in the background accumulating wealth and influence (gee, I wonder who THAT sounds like?).
Then once the moment arrives (some "emergency" or "crisis"), they usurp power and then it is over faster than you can blink. Anyone who thinks the buffoonery that is being displayed is not prelude to something more sinister is an idiot.
This is the real danger: COMPLACENCY. It is quite apparent that many of the moves (changes in the Congressional rules, the Presidential declarations and mandates, the Appellate Court appointees) were well planned ahead and all they needed was the election of a modern day Caligula into office.
13
I no longer speak to family who vote GOP. No loss there.
8
Friends too. It's like consorting with the Nazis. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
9
Looks like everything's going to be peaches and cream as long as you're a straight white christian male for the foreseeable future.
6
Or as long as you believe in equality and strict abstinence from cant.
Is it time to consider a constitutional amendment specifying (high) minimum ages for SCOTUS and other federal judges to avoid both a "race to the bottom" of less experienced judges and having potential judicial appointments dominate voting for the presidency and U. S. Senate?
Judicial outcomes in America should not be a result of the personal political bias of appointed judges. Remarkable that Americans believe in some sort of separation of elected government and legal outcomes. Odd that an arbitrary line exists between politicians advocating legal action of district attorneys. Americans, all branches of government are political expressions. Political games to fill courts should be the experectation, nothing peculiar or remarkable at all.
Elections have legal consequences, ok?
1
If the Democrats had won the election, they would be appointing all liberal judges and behaving in the exact same manner as the Republicans are doing. It is far better for the country to be appointing conservative judges than liberal ones. We have had enough liberals on the courts and it is time to turn the country in a more conservative direction. We have seen many liberal decisions decided that have not made a positive impact on our country. This is one of the reasons that President Trump was elected and he delivered on his judge appointments. Many approve highly of his actions and want him to continue.
10
Since when is expanding rights for all, protecting our environment, empowering women to control their bodies, protecting workers from abusive working conditions, protecting minorities from discrimination, and protecting the rights of those who lack power not a positive direction? The reason this country has suffered is because conservatives have fought tooth and nail in incredibly dirty and underhanded ways to reassert racist sexist white male evangelical Christian control over a country that is done with it. It's conservatives that are fighting evolution instead of accepting that inevitable social changes that expand rights and opportunities for all, no matter the gender, race, religion, and orientation.
11
There is a vote coming in just one year that well may bring this freight train to a grinding halt. That is the window, but to shut it, there will be the most fractious and expensive mid term election in history. This will not be pretty and its seriously doubtful that fairness or our democratic process will have much to do with it.
5
36 years old is too young to be a federal judge, I don't care how precocious the candidate is. But the rest of the candidates described in this column ranged, in my opinion, from great to good with a lot more of the former than the latter.
3
Talk about historical revisionism. Look at the graph and identify the time period during which there were the largest number of unfilled appeal court seats. It was during the W. Bush administration and occurred while Republicans had the Senate majority. Democrats so consistently filibustered Bush nominees that after Bush was re-elected, Republicans made noises about exercising the nuclear option. The gang of 14, seven each Republicans and Democrats, made a compact in 2005 that the Republicans would prevent the nuclear option if the Democrats would refrain from filibustering except under extraordinary circumstances. Once Democrats took control of the Senate in 2007, the deal was off and Bush was not permitted to fill appellate vacancies during the last two years of his Presidency, including two seats on the DC Court of Appeals.
Under similar circumstances under Obama, Democrat majority in the Senate, Republican minority filibustering, where were the seven Democrats offering to block the filibuster if the Republicans would refrain from filibustering? Non existent.
Reid blocked Bush appointments for the last two years of his Presidency. McConnell blocked Obama appointments during the last two years of his Presidency. Tough luck for the Democrats that their blocked nominees included a SCOTUS justice.
8
Trump's presidency is illegitimate as of October 30, 2017. His appointments should be deemed as such, and removed from the bench when he is walked out of The White House in in ankle cuffs & handcuffs.
The Treasonous Trump's days are numbered. He can then conduct his circus in a federal prison. He can be Madoff's roommate.
14
Your humor is wonderful. I'm quite sure it was unintended, but congratulations nonetheless.
8
The Trump Derangement Syndrome is strong in this one!
And nearly all of them white and male and middle-aged. Of course if Obama chose 14 of 16 judges of color, white america would lose it's freaking mind with claims of affirmative action and racial bias, but white folks do it, not a sound. Nothing.
16
As a lawyer, I want to cry. Virtually anything trump and his minions do can be undone in time, except the appointment of outwardly politically motivated judges to lifetime positions. People of conscience need to vote in 2018 and clean house.
44
It's also time to end lifetime appointments. Nobody should serve in ANY job indefinitely. Including SCOTUS judges. 15 year appointments with one renewal should be the maximum.
4
I’ve seen a lot of comments on here castigating the right and there is clearly a lot blame there, but most commenters are ignoring the reality that the democrats brought this upon themselves. Naive enough to abolish the filibuster for lower court nominees? When you have a “republican” president and a republican senate, it’s inevitably gonna backfire against liberals
16
And they've ignored the fault of Jill Stein voters. They couldn't in "good conscience" vote for Clinton but had enough conscience to knowingly enable this judicial disaster. Many of us warned repeatedly in comments sections "courts" only to be met by blatantly disdainful, self-righteous refusals. Well, here we are.
I was born into the hopeful promise of the Civil Rights era, an era of scientific advancement unseen ever in the history of mankind. But now I am doomed to die in the new Dark Ages under an increasingly autocratic, theocratic oligarchy with a superstitious, illiterate, and ignorant peasant population because liberals are too wrapped up in ideological purity tests to vote to ensure the progress we had already gained. My hatred for the virulent anti-pragmatism of the far left is hardening almost as much as it has for the far right in general. Thanks a lot, Stein voters.
11
What this article doesn't tell you is that the Republicans in the Senate blocked all those appellate seats only after Harry Reid, at the behest of Obama, blew up the Senate filibuster in order to pack the DC Circuit Court of Appeals (second highest court in the land) with left-wing judges sympathetic to Obama's radical view of executive authority over domestic legislation. McConnell warned Reid that if he did that, Dems would pay the price the next time the GOP held the majority; something Reid laughed off. GOP took the Senate in 2014 and White House in 2016, and now the arrogant, shortsighted, Dems are getting their just desserts.
19
Why aren't we still marching in the streets?
9
We're still celebrating the Nov. 4 Victorious Revolution over Fascist capitalis racist slave masters. Plus the check the Russians sent bounced.
1
Why is this news?
Of course Republicans are filling court vacancies as fast as they can. Would democrats not do the same thing?
Whining about losing is not news.
18
I️ seem to remember that the Party of No during Obama’s presidency blocked or delayed many of these judicial appointments, hence the many openings for the Republican Congress and Trump to fill.
This egregious move led by McConnell has flown under the radar more easily than his decision to block Obama’s pick for Supreme Court.
None of these maneuvers were the traditional way things were usually done. Republicans are masters of hypocrisy and be damed anything for the good of the people.
9
Except the Democrats didn't lose. McConnell stole a Supreme Court justice nominee and Trump lost the popular vote by a substantial amount. That's what makes it news. Its unprecedented illegitimacy.
1
This all seems so unlikely. All we've read about in the Times is how lazy and incompetent Trump is, how terrible his staff is at their jobs and how dysfunctional his Administration is. How did the Administration manage to appoint so many judges, and do such a thorough job of vetting their ideology?
6
Right wing think tanks are doing all the vetting. Believe it.
4
they haven't vetted them very well, as the aba has called a number of them unfit
2
This era will cost us, dearly. Due to an electorate that did not know what it was doing, an election system that is pathetic and an electoral body that was not able or willing to do its duty.
I don't think the US can be, at this time, considered enough rationale to own nukes. It just scares me.
5
Why is anyone surprised at this? He is appointing an alleged lawyer who has never tried a case in his life to a lifetime judgeship. I am sure when there is a next a vacancy in the Supreme Court he will choose his bodyguard cum Second Liar in Chief as a judge. Anything goes in TrumpWorld.
5
It's obvious now that the GOP was busy plotting or colluding as to how they were going to destroy democracy in the US bit by bit after Obama would have to leave office. They spent years attacking Clinton, which is why she was the wrong candidate and Democrats should have known this (they did; they colluded to ensure that she would get the nomination). The GOP was fine with Trump because they understood once he demonstrated he could win primaries that a "know nothing" as President would allow them freedom to execute their plan. Trump's inadequacies weren't secrets. The GOP's ultra conservative, pro-Ayn Rand white nationalist, anti-immigrant, take all for the rich platforms have deeply divided the nation. Trump is the conceited, erratic can't remember what he said when asked again figure-head while smiling McConnell and Ryan scheme and wield their power behind closed doors with GOP colleagues.
Morally, the nation's become bankrupt. Judges are to apply the law; not make it. How can they rule fairly if they maintain ideologies that prevent a review of the law with balanced scales? The courts are the last place to go with the Executive and Legislative branches broken. Break the courts and there will be turmoil in this country no matter who wins in 2018. This nation will reap from the seeds it is now sowing. Americans are not all blind.
Thomas Jefferson was prescient in his words "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
5
These folks in the Federalist Society are legal Luddites. It’s really much much worse than non-lawyers may appreciate.
4
Remember they are judge for life (only). That can be remedied.
1
Though Steve Bannon and I are adversaries in almost every policy area we do agree on one thing: that the insidious and extremely dangerous Mitch McConnell must be immediately removed from any position of power in Congress. His endless deceits with the judiciary appointments border on sedition. He must be removed from any position of power before he does even more irreparable damage to our Rule of Law.
12
The poor and middle class get busted and jailed for breaking Laws. The wealthy just change the Judges and Laws to commit crimes.
32
What a corrupt game. It was corrupt when McConnell refused to allow Obama to even present a Supreme Court nominee.
And then came the muddled election of Trump, who (like Bush in 2000) lost the popular vote, and who also was elected under the very serious possibility, the election was fatally tampered with, an illegitimate election.
A decent party would try to slow the train down, to back off, for everyone to calm our democracy down. But the corruption just went faster. The Republicans saw an opening, and they do not care if it came through a year-long unconstitutional blocking of presidential prerogative, or a sitting president who may be substantially compromised by Putin's Russia.
The Republicans want tax cuts, and they want judges. But they are asking us to countenance that our reputation -- as sovereign, and as a democracy, and as a society governed by law rather than corruption -- is a small price to pay for those things. For shame.
6
The question concerning the reshaping of the Judiciary during the Obama administration:
Why does President Obama -- and a Democrat-controlled Congress == could not do the same as Trump/GOP is doing now?
6
Appoint qualified candidates. Inform yourself about the candidates
Republicans can't win fair, so they cheat. The rest of us have to stop believing their scams and vote them out.
13
Best news I've heard all day.
8
How is the best news? The judiciary is being torn apart and reassembled as a theocracy. How is this good?
3
Beyond evil. He is destroying our country. Though maybe we deserve it.
6
Please. Save me the conspiracy against democracy and the all the moaning.
Appointment of judges has always been a political matter. Probably everyone reading here knows, or at least they should, that FDR--Franklin Delano Roosevelt--was completely political and even threatened to increase the number of Justices of the Supreme Court so he could keep appointing liberal Justices until they outnumbered conservative Justices--all to stop Supreme Court from overturning his legislation that ran counter to the historic interpretations given to the Constitution.
Many people, particularly those with religious convictions, voted for Trump solely because of their concern that the Supreme Court would be too liberal if a democrat was elected.
Thus, the result is exactly what very many of the voters who voted for Trump wanted.
I am very pleased with these developments and they make all the tweeting worthwhile.
16
Wrong, most people voted for Trump because they saw him as an outsider who could clean up the corruption in Washington and create jobs. Only those with “religious convictions” decided they could look past the fact that he’s a disgusting predator and wholly unfit for office.
6
Single-issue voting is your right, but it is not objectively virtuous. What you call "too liberal" is just a cover for saying other people are supposed to adhere to your religious convictions.
3
You’re a fine display of deplorables in power
5
For the next 30 years we'll have a preponderance of partisan judges seeing every problem from the right. This means that when something happens that needs to be decided, there will be conservative prejudice involved. That means, the courts will have been made much more productive since the judges will have already pre-judged the cases before them in a predictable way. For that matter, the courts could endure greater numbers of vacancies on the bench, especially if the open seats are formerly held by judges who were slow and deliberate about their business. Can someone remind me again why I never get picked for jury duty...whenever asked what I think about the case, I always say "Oh, he looks guilty."
1
The Intelligence Agencies are next. After all, they don't believe Putin, who is so sincere.
8
To the millions of middle class and upwardly mobile Republicans not living in the Confederacy-- who voted for Donald Trump; you falsely believed your income and relative job security would shield you from the real-time damage of a Trump administration; surprise.
The judicial branch impacts us all. The environment- impacts us all. Food and drug safety issues- impact us all. Banking regulations, housing, vehicle safety....the list is endless. All-- issues that will come before the courts. Welcome to the nightmare- you created.
8
We are not a monarchy, so why should anyone, no matter what he or she says or does, be apppointed for life? 10years should be the maximum amount. Maybe that's something that Congress could agree on as neither party is assured, as yet, of always being in power. We the people would also be happy since we'd know that there would always be an end in sight.
On another note, if Trump is indicted or impeached for his treasons acts against our country, then everyone of these appointments should be null and void.
11
Can you rewrite the US Constitution?
5
Hilarious. We've had the same system for 230 years, but when the Dems lose an election, all of a sudden the Electoral college and lifetime judicial appointments are unfair.
8
The Electoral College is a product of the Civil War, a gift to the South to keep low population States in the Union; the North needed their cotton; the South needed voting power. A trade was made, and it was not a good one.
2
So many judges. So many control files.
Packing the courts has been a Republican motive forever. Their winnowing down of the most extreme and corporate friendly judges has been fined tuned to a science and of course you have the ever present cheater Mitch McConnell. This will be one of the biggest tragedies of the Trump era.
those who voted for Trump think these judges are anti- abortion and they are, but the biggest thought in the Republican parties thoughts are, they are anti anti-trust and pro forced contract judges. We will lose many freedoms under these extremists mostly involving our day in court.
5
The Democrats packed the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals during Obama’s second term after they eliminated the filibuster for judicial appointees to Courts of Appeal and district courts. The article doesn’t mention that because it doesn’t fit the left-wing narrative.
12
Umm, it was FDR who first tried to pack the courts but if you know no history you would never know that.
11
Which left wing?? There ain't.
This is a coup against this country. There is mounting evidence the Russians interfered and stole this election.
Corrupt politicians like Mitch McConnell are viewing the fraudulent election of Trump as a way to hijack the judiciary using Supreme Court seats and lower seats the GOP has held open through obstruction to change the direction of this country. McConnell and those working with him have been corrupting the Constitutional processes in place to nominate and confirm the judiciary.
This is what Putin and with him Donald Trump are doing to our country.
We must hope the Mueller investigation can prove how deep this corruption has gone. We must also do everything possible to mobilize people to vote the Democratic ticket in 2018 so there is a possibility of impeaching and removing Donald Trump from office.
10
There is no more rule of law. All justice in this country is 1. for sale to the highest bidder; 2. reserved for the ruling class and race; 3. hopelessly unfair to the poor. What happens when a subjugated people realize that they live and die at the whim of oligarchs in a police state? As we have seen with the Republicans: the sheep fall in love with the scissors. America is dead.
6
For those Bernie or busters, green party voters and stay at home abstainers - how's that revolution going? They knew the damage they were inflicting when they unleashed generations of judicial decisions, irreversible climate damage, and a global Pandora's box of hatred on our country. They also are responsible for teaching our young people that a morally bankrupt, racist, sexist man is qualified to be president of our country.
That's not a revolution - it's just a disaster.
10
Donald J. Trump should immediately be removed from office for thousands of reasons.
8
Sure, just try and lets see what those who legitimately put him into office do, you will not like it.
7
I know plenty of folks who felt the same way about President Obama. There's an election in 3 years. I humbly suggest that you nominate someone who knows how the Electorial College works and doesn't intentially alienate one of your traditional core constituencies.
2
Again, pay attention, not to his Twitter Feed nor to what he says, pay attention to what he is doing. There is a take over going on here, but everyone is to busy staring at their phones, posting selfies, and in a WALL-E type stupor to really care, to we are living in a Margaret Atwood dystopian society.
Even his proposed changes to the Parental Leave Plan, which will exclude fathers, is a way to take women out of the workplace, and keep them home like good little religious baby making machines.
Wake up everybody.
8
Democrats better stop listening to Nancy Pelocy's stammering.
This not for the faint of heart.
We are at war and we are losing to the billionaires badly.
We need to band together as humans and rid these oghligarcs, not just from power but from the gene pool.
2
“What does that mean for the legitimacy of the courts in the United States? It’s not a pretty world.”
What it means is, democracy is ebbing. The Obama administration was the first to experience having a Congressional majority violate centuries of tradition and deny a sitting president not only a SCOTUS appointment but a two year block on judicial nominations.
The irony is, I don't for one minute believe that Donald Trump gives a damn about justices. He cared about running for president and thus decided to hitch his star to the Republican party to do so, despite years of Democratic viewpoints, votes, and campaign contributions.
The ultimate cynic, Trump has no values he'd fight for. It's water off his back whether he can reshape the judiciary, but if he gets a chance to stick it to Obama, so much the merrier.
As a senior, I won't be around to experience the most profound effects of this wholesale hijacking of Senate rules to favor the GOP hoarding of nominations. Wily old Mitch, has set the stage for Republicans to exact revenge on the US public for electing a black man.
For all you nonvoters or those who cast ballots for Stein or Johnson, enjoy what remaining liberties we still have in this country. The way Trump and his house counsel are pushing these unqualified partisan hacks, the concept of "justice" is about to change for decades to come.
35
"The Obama administration was the first to experience having a Congressional majority violate centuries of tradition and deny a sitting president not only a SCOTUS appointment but a two year block on judicial nominations."
Wrong. The Judicial Circuits Act of 1866. You have a right to your own opinions but not your own facts.
1
As America slept.
9
The account here tells a story that overlooks the real story. During the Obama years, Republicans aggressively blocked Democrat appointments. The Democrats decided that the situation was so bad that they would eliminate the selection method requiring 60 votes for confirmation. The 60-vote method was so entrenched in the rules of the Senate that the decision to eliminate it was known as the nuclear option. Because Republicans were intransigent, Democrats decided to eliminate the existing hedge against partisan appointments and use the nuclear option. The Democrats achieved their goals during the Obama administration. But it in the long run, they facilitated highly partisan judicial appointments.
If Trump loses in 2020, the Democrats will recover many of their losses and the problem described here will be undone. But for long range stability it would be in the interests of all if the 60 vote requirement were restored. Hopefully, one party or the other will eventually achieve a balance that they are satisfied with and will return to the centuries-old rule that was far superior to the present system.
3
Centuries old rule? The original point of the filibuster was to allow for debate continue until everyone had had their say. It was 60 vote to end debate or no one left to speak. Senators used to read from the phone book to maintain the floor and stall legislation. The ability to "filibuster" without activiely speaking only goes back to 1975.
There is something fundamentally wrong, sinister and calculated about this GOP. How anyone can take pride in such a one sided organization is beyond me. THIS is how our freedoms are removed folks. We will eventually reflect upon this era and enact laws to prevent this from happening, but these restrictions will have an affect upon the freedoms you had but were abused. We MUST prevent party take-over of our system. Where is the left wing representation in this administration? I think that trumps call to drain the swamp rings clearer now than it ever has, but unfortunately not in the application his administration had in mind.
2
Winner-take-all politics is destroying democracy, and destroying confidence in democracy.
Trump got 46% of the vote. He should pick judges from all over the spectrum equally.
4
Thanks to Senate Democrats, the Senate needs only a majority to confirm appointments and voters gave Republicans a majority.
There's no way out of this mess. Polarization will be the judicial norm.
8
If you don't believe there is foreign influence at work here, look at Trump's statements earlier today that he believes Putin when Putin says Russia didn't interfere in our election. President Obama and the heads of all the intelligence agencies have told us different.
Who are you going to believe, the heads of all the national intelligence agencies and President Obama -- or Putin and Donald Trump?
6
Exactly who have the Russians influenced? You? Certainly not me. I voted for Trump because I prefer him to Hillary. I don't need Russians to tell me that.
8
I'll believe Trump voters. None I know were influenced by silly Russian tweets. The idea is so ludicrous it's hard to believe anyone actually believes it.
6
You voted for Putin, not Trump. Trump owes Russian oligarchs in London 250M; he also now owes another 95M to Russians who flew the money in on a private jet. Trump is not a Republican or a Democrat; he is a puppet of an adversary government. The New Yorker documented the 250M loan over a year ago; the recent fake property purchase in FL was an additional 95M loan. Both loans were the result of Trump's failed real estate and casino ventures. Russians bought him; they also bought Jared with a bail out of his failed NYC real estate in Manhattan. Jared now has failed real estate in New Jersey; who will bail him out? Putin owns the Russian treasury; he has all the money he needs to keep Trump afloat. So, you didn't vote for an unskilled President; you voted for a very skilled foreign plutocrat.
Democrats need to get better at blocking Republican judges. These appointments are going to be around for a long time. Republicans constantly blocked judges under Clinton and Obama. I realize the change in the rule about blocking is part of the problem. But our senators need to find another way to keep the Republicans for filling the courts for a generation.
It is frightening seeing the courts so changed so rapidly. Come on Dems. Get busy challenging these guys -- and I do mean guys.
1
"Republicans are systematically filling appellate seats they held open during President Barack Obama’s final two years in office."
As the article explains, the Democrats helped lay the groundwork for this detestable situation. So they (we) have to bear some responsibility. Nonetheless, it makes me sick to my stomach. Whereas most of everything else coming from Trump and the GOP makes me furious but not sick.
2
Democracy dies in darkness. And, this is very dark stuff.
The Treasonous Trump remains intent on violating the Rule of Law & destroying America. It was made clear yesterday that the takeover of America is now complete; Vladimir Putin is running our country.
Robert Mueller, we pray for you. And, for our nation.
11
Suddenly conservatives have no problem with “activist judges.” Funny how that works.
8
Depends on the definition of activism. Some people think that declining to continue the liberal trajectory is itself activism. Some people would be wrong.
6
The short sightedness of the Republican party leaves one gasping. Majorities aren't forever...
3
Trump will be proven to be a traitor before all is said and done. When this happens, all of his judicial appointments, including Gorsuch, must be nullified.
3
What constitution are you reading? You should look at the US constitution and the ways in which a president can be removed if you*re so intent on talking about. You would do better to know something about the things you talk about.
2
I don't like Judges so I'm at a loss for words. They claim to be pro-life but kill the convicted anyway as if to satisfy everyone's desire for blood. Just look at the Supreme Court Conservative Justices who wear black vestments, fitting for their character, as they allow death to continue. How can anyone respect another playing God with others lives?
Do you want to know what is real Justice? Real Justice is pollution and carcinogenic chemicals killing Conservatives who killed us all with their deregulation, hatred and anger. That's what Conservative means to me; just a bunch of backwards looking neanderthals.
3
Do you believe women have the right to have an abortion? Is that not the killing of a human being? Support both--the death penalty and a woman*s right to have an abortion up to a certain point in her pregnancy. Both involve the killing of a human being for reasons that society has judged acceptable.
1
This is proof the Republican Party subverted to will of the people. They are truly disgusting.
4
Pretty much what a fascist autocrat would do. Putin approves, no doubt.
5
When, not if, the Dems take control, they must pack the courts. McConnell and the Republicans said 8 is enough for the Supreme Court. If 8 is enough, 11 is better.
And the lower courts always need additional judges. A whole lot more additional judges.
3
This is clearly a planned power grab on the part of the wealthy and conservative, and was planned out in the most underhanded way. It is a travesty and a miscarriage of justice that these positions were not filled during Obama's tenure (especially the SCOTUS seat). Worse of all is that it has nothing to do with the will of the majority of voters or with democracy.
7
Trump has every reason to reshape the judiciary and to do it quickly. He knows better than the rest of us how guilty he and his family members are of multiple crimes, including perjury, and he wants judges who will dismiss all charges.
10
I think it would be more accurate to say that this is the result of not-divided government than it is a result of Trump.
4
We will have extremist judges sitting on courts for a generation to come thanks to the Republicans. There will be no balance in our judiciary, and in some cases there will be judges put there who have no background or experience except for their extreme ideology. Trump is already gleefully eroding democracy and these judges will end it.
9
It is time to have limits to the Supreme Court and its appellate. Donald and GOP exacerbate this to a banana and swamp republic. Home alone should be Donald's meme. USA is not a leader anymore. Sorry folks to the patriotic. Donald sees it as TV show. It's all about himself. Transactional and narcissistic. Not at all pragmatic.
5
The American people voted for this bunch of right wing kooks time and again, distracted by idiocies like emails and birth certificates. There are people in Alabama making excuses for an accused child molester.
Elections have consequences. When their rights are eaten away they'll get what they voted for.
26
The corrupt Republicans, who do the bidding of their lobbies while paying lip-service to ideals, are stealing our country and system of governance. If the Democrats will not finally stand firm and fight for us we must find politicians who will do so.
8
For an authoritarian government to take and retain power it must have control of the military and/or police and the courts. These arms of enforcement are Trump's targets for change and so far he is doing very well. Once he has control of these two institutions, he can begin shutting down all media not friendly to him and arresting politicians or agitators that may cause future problems. When he does, there will be massive protests, but marshal law and a loyal FBI will route out the troublemakers and bring down anybody that has a propensity toward demonstrating. Loyal militia may be activated to disappear anybody considered too dangerous to detain. We are well on our way to replicating governments most admired by Trump. And, yes, Putin may be the most admired of them all and for sure will be our closest ally.
7
The MOST event came in December 2000 when five members of the SCOTUS staged a coup d"état. They appointed George W. Bush president. They should have been impeached. But we did not take to the streets. For nearly a generation we have lived with the consequences. Amazingly seven of the nine participants in the decision are still alive - only Rehnquist and Scalia have departed.
9
The GOP has shown, time and again, they don't really care much about the spirit (and sometimes the law) of the US Constitution, but about "getting their way." Leaving judicial appointments open for any time period, especially SCOTUS, is pathetically disrespectful to the nation's founders they supposedly venerate. Another sad example is the lack of disclosure of who owns what by the President, and refusals to truly disengage themselves enough from private holdings. And, for example, the Florida Secy of State being also the campaign manager for Geo. W. Bush's campaign there in 2000 - an obvious conflict of interest. The GOP doesn't care much about good governance, or they'd have developed actual plans for tax reform and healthcare. And now Roy Moore, the 2017 version of GOP Rep. Henry Hyde who prosecuted Clinton's impeachment, while he had a mistress himself. So sad.
10
The Judiciary is being shaped by a man who doesn't understand or abide by the law- Donald Trump. The Republican Party is now following the Roy Moore Manifesto of Conservative Lawlessness for reshaping this country into a vast wasteland of unbridled corruption and cronyism.
We are following in the paths of our enemies. We mimic the policies of dictatorships and banana republics. Democracy cannot remain viable if partisanship becomes a legal or a judicial standard.
6
Stop for a moment and consider the regulations that are being rolled back under the Congressional Review Act. The regulations were issued by the Obama administration despite the fact that there was no law that had authorized the regulations. The Congress and President Trump are erasing the actions of a third world dictator who thought he didn't need any stinking legislature because he had a pen and a cellphone.
Liberals claim that the Republicans blocked his actions out of some sort of partisan pique. In a democracy, if the legislature doesn't pass new laws, the status quo remains in place. Under a third world dictatorship, the dictator does whatever he wants.
Trump is enforcing the Obamacare law, immigration law and environmental law as written. It is more likely that the defects in the laws will be acted upon by Congress if the existing laws are enforced.
It is really lamentable that the Court has devolved into two competing political teams.
In the 50s and earlier, the Court was viewed, generally, as a conservative institution in the best, non-political sense of the word--finding narrower, rather than broader, bases for holdings; deferring to Congress in the legislative process; and being extremely cautious in minting new rights. It made some mistakes by present standards, Japanese internment being one, but generally commanded widespread respect.
That changed in the 60s, and the change was wholeheartedly embraced by the left. The Court would now be an engine of social change, not a reserved arbiter of legal disputes. Anyone who disagreed was a racist. And quite understandably, a large part of the country objected to the way in which it had fundamentally reshaped and extended its role.
I don't know how to get it back. The anger and distrust is too entrenched on all sides.
3
In the '60's black citizens were not allowed to register to vote in the South; that is what all the Civil Rights demonstrations were about. Vietnam was an undeclared war on behalf of French plantation owners, ginned up by a fake Bay of Tonkin incident which never happened. 58,000 American boys died for nothing; Vietnam remained divided between Ho Chi Minh and the corrupt coward in the South, General Ky. Now we do business with a united Vietnam, and they have forgiven us for invading and occupying them; they have even forgiven the use of Agent Orange and napalm. We don't deserve their forgiveness.
Sounds to me like the United States has ended up with the most dysfunctional political system in the Western world.
The American electorate is stuck with a two party system lead by criminals who are beholden to their respective special interest groups.
Sad.
4
It's rather amazing that one man — with willing accomplices — can created so much damage, damage it might take a generation to repair.
1
Trump appointments shouldn't receive consideration in the last year of his presidency.
4
Bush's appointments did not receive consideration during the last two years of his Presidency while Reid was the majority leader.
Whether or not Trump appointments will receive consideration in 2023 and 2024 depends upon what party controls the senate at that time.
1
And in so doing, the Democratic Senate would be following the Biden Rule.
Looks like all those judges need term limits in the future. What an abuse of power. What was the about the systems being rigged? In the meantime maybe we should start looking for a different place to live, This is heartbreaking!
3
Trump has nothing to show for his first year in office. 1 BUT...the judicial appointments he's made. After griping abt liberal justices 'legislating from the bench' this will get ugly.....
1
The nation and the world owe a debt of gratitude to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party for being accessories to our demise. Thanks again!
2
I've hated the GOP and what they stand for, for a long time - ever since McCarthy.
3
Republicans break into Democratic headquarters. Republicans cheer about the Russian hacking of Democratic Party's communications and the Wi-Ki Leaks distribution of that illegally gained material. Republicans did not act in good faith in filling empty sets in the courts leaving them open for two years! One party rule has a name, Fascism! I thought the Greatest Generation ended fascism with the end of WWII. On this Veteran's day what an insult to our Veterans and those in military service now. And also a betrayal of our democratic principals, traditions, and institutions.
10
You have forgotten that Harry Reid did not allow any confirmations of Bush appointees during 2007 and 2008. In 2013 he exercised the nuclear option and packed the courts.
Hillary used a secret server. Trump jokingly said the Russians should produce the emails Hillary was hiding from the American people. His comment had nothing to do with the hacking of the DNC email accounts which revealed that the DNC was putting their finger on the scale in order to anoint Hillary. It is not being revealed that Hillary violated campaign finance laws.
The Obama administration was investigating the Wiki leaks in 2016 and did not find any evidence of Trump involvement.
The media got all excited about where the Wiki leaks originated and intentionally ignored the content of the leaks.
The investigation of the Trump campaign activities has revealed that Podesta, Hillary's campaign manager, was receiving payments from the Russians for consulting work and that the Hillary campaign concealed the fact that they paid the Russians to construct the fake Trump dossier by reporting the spending as legal fees rather than opposition research.
Democrats are a threat to democracy.
1
Poisoning the well
1
Your democracy is dying - your institutions are withering on the vine due to gerrymandered politicking, when the law should be above this. What’s more baffling is why Americans are sitting back and letting it be stolen from you
11
Obama appointed leftist activist judges. Trump is appointing judges who are more likely to interpret the law as written rather than how they think it should have been written.
Obama has appointed 25% of the judges currently on the appeals courts. By the end of his term, Trump will have appointed 25% of the judges. It is hard to see how this represents a failure of democracy. That the leftist ABA is no longer going to be a major participant is irrelevant.
3
The ABA has been a joke ever since they found Robert Bork not qualified. I say that as a member: they're not bad as a trade group for lawyers in my practice niche, but their politics reek.
1
This is how democracy dies.
15
Thanks again Bernie’s babies.
12
Scaliia often complained that if people wanted to expand the law the proper route was the legislative branch, not judicial. While gay marriage began with court cases, it took hold when states began passing laws supporting it. The Civil Rights Act, Title IX and other expansive, inclusive laws we take for granted today started with court cases, but became fixtures in a large part because of the law that passed.
Other liberal causes have not engaged in that path, and after nearly fifty years Roe still hangs on while the right pushes law after law whittling down a woman's right to control her own body. Perhaps the failure of the ERA began this trend of depending solely on the courts, but as we see here what is a "right" is being decided by a handful of people--often older white men.
The courts are no substitute for democracy. Gay rights advocates should follow up their victory in the courts with a law confirming that same--or they will be fighting as Roe supports have in a few years. Those who believe in abortion, the rights of the disabled and other such causes need to push for laws locally and nationally. Scalia knew courts should not write laws, but without a clear law to guide these new judges might just try to.
10
When SCOTUS ruled that same sex marriage was legal, they overrode the will of the citizens of 40 states, including California of all places.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg has commented that Roe v. Wade was decided in error, because it preceded the social change and had consequently resulted in decades of legal challenges. You can look forward to decades of litigation over same sex marriage, except for the fact that the overwhelming majority of the country is indifferent.
The Republicans simply stole Obama's appointments.
Obviously, any group of people so totally lacking in integrity that they'll support Trump would not even blink to steal appointments.
Correcting this is catch-22 - as the very appointees who stole positions will be some of those deciding on whether the law was broken in filling those positions.
12
Read the Constitution.
3
The author states "Mr. Trump “understood that the American people cared about judges, and he for his own purposes cared very deeply about it and recognized that he could be a president who could help restore the judiciary to its proper role,”....I don't buy that. Mr. Trump understood little about who is appointed and his only criteria for any appointment is that it meet the needs of the base that brought him to office. Fortunately Trump will be a one term president and this window of opportunity will close as quickly as it opened. Additionally if ultra conservative judges begin making rules that run contrary to the needs of the people there will be changes in appointments and tenure on the bench. The resentment will last a long time. Sadly, between now the next presidential election, minorities, women, and those still greatly disenfranchised by Republicans will feel the most pain. Wait until the first courts run by ultra-conservatives begin making rulings such as upholding laws against abortion, contraception, unions, work rules, food stamp programs, minority rights, voter rights, and arbitration rights rather than the rights to trial. Only then will the real impact be felt and then their will be considerable backlash by moderates across the nation. Its going to be very messy and brutal. But, in the end this will set back the Republican party for years to come. In the meantime we'l endure some hardship and injustice too.
10
I thought a judge is not be political, but to know the law and SEE BOTH SIDES of an issue without inserting his or her own views.
3
Ironically, Trump’s awfulness may have the effect of restoring the balance of power among the three branches. We currently outsource a lot of what should be the provenance of the legislature to the judiciary and the executive.
Trump’s already starting to force Congress to make hard political choices and take a stand on executive orders like DACA. And by trying to pack the Courts with conservative judges, he may encourage potential litigants to advocate in front of the legislative instead.
There was a time when judges didn’t get involved in social issues. Once the courts started getting involved in ruling on things like abortion, civil rights and the like, it was inevitable that judges were going to be political footballs. I understand this sounds strange to most people today. But for every Brown v. Board of Education decision, you may get a Dredd Scott or a Citizens United.
This may sound like a conservative rant, but I am generally nothing of the sort. No matter what your politics are, it is better to have Congress passing laws than the courts making them. You may think that a judicially established right is permanent, but “the weakest branch” of government can’t enforce it’s own views unless the rest of the government is behind it as well. You just have to look at Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice to see how permanent civil rights are otherwise. (And yes, I know the line between what is political and what is not is murky, but we can do better.)
5
Please. Did we not know that this would happen, before the election of 2016? It was important to elect Clinton precisely for this reason; to have hope of overturning Citizens United, to protect reproductive rights, to safeguard civil rights. Apparently this wasn't an important enough goal for enough Democratic voters, both those who didn't vote and those who voted for third party candidates. Elections indeed have consequences. Do I sound bitter? I am.
31
The irony here is colossal. Trump complained about a Hispanic judge not treating him fairly, yet he wants to install extremely biased judges to pass judgment on liberal policies. Trump didn’t even understand the judiciary (and probably can’t even say the word properly) or the basics of government when he came into office and probably still doesn’t. No wonder Republicans aren’t interested in investigating him or impeachment. It’s all about the courts and taxes.
6
The other disturbing element to these appointments is in addition to their conservative leanings, at one time or another, most worked representing corporations, hence any lawsuit an individual brings against a company for malfeasance, regardless of the validity of the claim, will find the odds stacked against them. Social justice in America will also become a thing of the past.
At any level, judges are beholden to their corporate campaign donors as much as their government counterparts and to think otherwise is being very naive.
3
This is the result of the indifference of most Americans who voted against their interest and values by failing to support the Democrat candidate because she was not perfect. They failed to realize that the most significant impact a president can make is judicial appointments. Our society is going to be set back decades by the mostly white male conservatives who will subjugate women and minorities and people who believe in Global progress.
8
Obama failed to, or refused to, make the GOP pay for their unprecedented obstructionism. Or he and the Democrats were so confident Hillary was going to win they didn’t prioritize filling judicial appointments. And now we’re paying the price.
5
It’s time for the West Coast to leave the US. Our views are underrepresented relative to our population, and now our taxes are going to go up to pay for the slacker states. More taxation and less representation is not what the founding fathers had in mind. The Northeast should consider doing the same.
10
Maybe you should have supported the South when they tried to secede. Ironic that you support state rights.
Some of the hysterics are overrated. A reminder that when a judge takes "Senior" status, they are still hearing cases, sometimes for an additional 15-20 years. The ultra-liberal 9th Circuit still has 7 judges appointed by Jimmy Carter (out of office for 36 years) sitting as active (1) or Senior (6) judges.
5
Apart from Trump's policies, perhaps the hour has struck for the judiciary to become more aware of their function -- combating the crime and dealing justice, rather than to treat criminals as victims of the society. The latter attitude is the product of the destructive influence of the leftist radicals, militant vegans, anti-tobacco and pro-cannabis lobbyists, and of the so-called politically correct.
2
THIS will be the lasting legacy of the Presidential Apprentice. That is, if we aren't destroyed. Thanks, GOP.
11
Great article and many supporters of the president are well satisfied with the accomplishment of transforming the federal judiciary into its proper constitutional role. I only hope in doing so they don't fail and just have the same type of judges but with the opposite view. The ninth circuit needs to be divided into two with a new one staffed with proper judges. A couple more supreme court appointments would help a lot as well. Pence would do the same for those praying for impeachment, just with less or no Tweets.
4
The 'proper constitutional role' of the judiciary is to be impartial/unbiased while making a legal ruling. The judges appointed by this administration are biased and some even severely unqualified to make a legal ruling. The only action which these judges will do is to deliver injustice.
You didn't understand what the article is trying to say at all.
7
Checks and balances applies to the judiciary also.
2
Wrong, the term "Checks and Balances means that the 3 branches of government, the Executive (President), the Legislative (Congress) and the Judiciary (the Federal Courts) are designed so that no one branch can control the government. When all three are in the pocket of on party or one President, there no longer are and checks and balances to prevent illegal use of power. The Republicans in Congress during Obama's term refused to fill any openings in the Judicial Branch unless they were bedfellows. So no we have a Republican President, A republican controlled Legislature and a Republican controlled Federal Judiciary. This gives unlimited power to the President. Its close to a dictatorship type of government.
8
Jeff eloquently states that "When all three are in the pocket of on party or one President, there no longer are and checks and balances to prevent illegal use of power. . . This gives unlimited power to the President. Its close to a dictatorship type of government."
The founding fathers would be distressed to hear of your concern. Accepting the logic of your position means that if the democrats controlled both the WH and Congress, then we would also be "close to a dictatorship type of government."
While your argument has a facile appeal, it ignores that both the legislative and executive branches of government change hands. And before you start in with the whole gerrymandering problem, the core check on representative government, is the balance that the voters bring to bear.
So whatever mischief these blatant partisan choices for the bench may represent, eventually they'll get hemmed in. No one branch has a hold on tyranny; they have to answer to the other two.
Did you think it was a dictatorship type of government when the Democrats controlled everything during the first two years of Obama's presidency?
I bet you weren't complaining...
I really hope the obdurate Bernie-or-bust people who "had to vote their conscience" and the Jill Stein followers who claimed that Hillary Clinton was worse than Trump are the first people to suffer under these hard-right judges. That would be real justice.
73
Unfortunately naive voters have impacted all our lives.
2
Hillary Clinton lost because she was the most disliked woman in American public life. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who simply wouldn't vote for her. It had nothing to do with loyalty to Jill Stein or Bernie Sanders. They simply did not like or trust her. It might be unfair, but it's true. The Democratic Party's delusion that this would not matter is what gave us Trump. And you don't seem to have learned anything from it, so you will do it again. For the record, I voted for Clinton.
3
Most likely not. The first people to suffer from the injustices which these judges will deliver will be men, women and children who have already been trying to dig out from under the painful burden of severe injustices against them for decades, if not centuries.
4
And even the conservative groups are stunned by the unqualified appointees -- but our quisling Congress apparently will approve anything. Moore will fit right in.
10
Thank you, President Obama, and other Democratic Party "leaders". You cared only about the biggest (Presidential-level) issues, and neglected to build cadres of liberal-leaning officeholders who could carry your flag forward. In management lingo, no succession planning. So you (we) were trounced in the 2010 elections, and the Republicans played harder hardball than you imagined they would.
So now, your blinkered, stay-above-the-fray conceit may well result in the unraveling of the "legacy" you should have guarded and bequeathed to the nation.
9
I agree. The best way to keep their legacy is to have liberal, cosmopolitan city-dwelling, NYT/LAT best-selling critics and writers worship the fact that Democrats under Obama were 'above the fray'. Instead of fighting it out on the street for the common, maybe lesser-educated citizens who face injustice on a daily basis.
1
Putin should be proud of his puppet. And to those who voted for Trump, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
8
Oh I see! GOP is weaponizing the courts too?
While there - make sure none of them have connections to Russia.
3
I weep for the future of this country
33
Much of the damage already done cannot be reversed. Give Trump another year and we will be calling our Russian friends comrade.