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Repug leader and CHIEF SENATE POISONER TEA BAGGER, hated by his own party:
Cruz: Filibuster Rule Change 'Will Poison The Atmosphere Of The Senate'
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...-of-the-senate
Thanks, all you TX asshole teabaggers!
totally shortsighted. like the Bush dragnet (and secrecy about the dragnet, and about other things) deeded to Obama as prerogatives of office.
Repug leader and CHIEF SENATE POISONER TEA BAGGER, hated by his own party:
Cruz: Filibuster Rule Change 'Will Poison The Atmosphere Of The Senate'
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...-of-the-senate
Thanks, all you TX asshole teabaggers!
Fox LYING to all y'all suckered right wingers, yawn.
As Barry would say: "If Y'all Like Fox's LIES, Then Y'all Can Keep Believin' 'em"
Fox's Report On Judicial Emergencies Doesn't Mention They're Caused By Republicans
Fox News correspondent Shannon Bream misleadingly claimed that filling the vacancies on the second-most important court in the country was less pressing than filling seats in so-called "judicial emergency" jurisdictions, while ignoring how Senate Republicans have contributed to those emergencies.
In a November 25 segment on Special Report with Bret Baier, Bream suggested that, because the D.C. Circuit is not classified as a "judicial emergency," there is no reason to quickly confirm President Obama's highly-qualified nominees to that bench, such as Georgetown Law Professor Cornelia "Nina" Pillard:
BREAM: Critics say there is no reason for the president to insist these nominees, including Pillard, be approved as quickly as possible. Across the country there are four federal appellate courts so lacking in judges that there are, quote, "judicial emergencies." And this court, the D.C. Circuit, it's not one of them.
But the body that determines these "judicial emergencies," the U.S. Judicial Conference, has recommended that the D.C. Circuit retain its 11-judge complement, a capacity the current GOP filibusters are preventing.
Judicial emergencies occur when vacancies persist despite an excessive caseload in a given jurisdiction. What Bream fails to mention in her report is that Senate Republicans have helped to create judicial emergencies by slow-walking the process.
From denying the scheduling of votes to outright blocking judicial nominees from their own states through the "blue slip" process, the GOP has taken its obstruction to unprecedented levels.
Here's how the obscure but effective "blue slip" blockade works:
each Senator is given an opportunity to weigh in if a judge from his or her state is nominated to the federal judiciary. On a blue slip of paper, the Senator will either approve or disapprove the judge's nomination. According to the non-partisan Alliance for Justice,
18 of the 24 vacancies in "judicial emergency" jurisdictions are in states where Republicans have blocked the nominations of their home-state judges, even without the pretense of legitimate criticisms of the nominees themselves.
Take for example Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio. When Judge William Thomas and Judge Brian Davis were nominated for federal judgeships in Florida, both Rubio and Democratic Senator Bill Nelson approved. But Rubio, who recommended Thomas in the first place, later withdrew his support because of "concerns" over Thomas' handling of criminal cases, a belated excuse that local court observers condemned as "crass Tea Party politics [] sabotaging Judge Thomas' reputation and aborting the confirmation process."
Both nominees are African-American, and Thomas would have been the first openly gay black judge on the federal bench.
As reported by local media, bar associations are "perplexed" at Rubio's flip-flop, and critics say it marked a "ratcheting up of Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's judicial nominees." From The Daily Business Review of South Florida:
Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a tea party darling, is blocking confirmation hearings for two black judicial nominees by withholding the formality of submitting what is known as a "blue slip."
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas was nominated 552 days ago for a Miami opening in the Southern District of Florida. Nassau Circuit Judge Brian Davis has been waiting even longer -- 612 days -- for action to fill a Middle District of Florida vacancy in Tampa.
[...]
South Florida bar associations representing black attorneys have gotten no answers about the nominations from Rubio's office. They remain perplexed because Rubio appointed numerous members to the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, which backed Davis and Thomas.
Rubio interviewed both nominees and recommended them along with Nelson to Obama.
"It's not like he is coming at this blind," Wiley said.
The limbo facing many of Obama's judicial nominees serves as a warning to potential applicants not to try for the federal bench unless they want to become political footballs, she said.
"We try to encourage qualified people to come forward and endure an already arduous process only to be hit with politics like this where it is almost an impossibility to figure what the issue is,"
Wiley said. "It can be quite overwhelming."
In a report about the significance of judicial emergencies, it seems odd that Bream would ignore that the majority of emergencies were caused by Republican Senators.
Now that Senate Democrats have eliminated the use of the filibuster when voting on some judicial and executive branch nominees, it is possible that Senate Republicans will continue their unprecedented obstruction of those nominees through the blue slip process.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/11...nt-ment/197071
Despite Filibuster Limits, a Door Remains Open to Block Judge Nominees
The decision by Senate Democrats to eliminate filibusters for most judicial nominations only marginally enhanced President Obama’s power to reshape the judiciary, according to court watchers from across the political spectrum, because Republican senators can still veto his nominees to most currently vacant appeals court seats.
The new Senate rule clears the way for eight appeals court nominees who have already had confirmation hearings to win approval with simple majority votes, including three on the powerful Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reviews federal policies and regulations. But it left unchanged the Senate’s “blue slip” custom, which allows senators to block nominees to judgeships associated with their states.
“It is hard to overstate the change’s importance for the D.C. Circuit, which has a disproportionate impact on the world, but it won’t have overwhelming impact elsewhere,”
Kathryn Ruemmler, the White House counsel, said in an interview. “The blue slip rule for judges has been more problematic than the filibuster, in part because it is a silent, unaccountable veto.”
Twelve more appeals court seats are either vacant or will be by the end of 2014. All but one are in states with at least one Republican senator. As a result, Mr. Obama still lacks unrestricted power to swiftly appoint a flurry of more clearly left-of-center judges than he has done to date, despite the fears of conservatives and the hopes of liberals, specialists said.
The use of the filibuster to require a 60-vote supermajority to confirm an appeals court nominee arose out of the bitter aftermath of the disputed 2000 presidential election, when Senate Democrats used the tactic to deny lifetime appointments for several of President George W. Bush’s nominees who were particularly outspoken conservatives.
In particular, the blue slip rule could come under additional scrutiny. Under the prerogative, both home-state senators must sign off on a blue slip allowing a confirmation hearing for a nominee. Facing that obstacle, presidents generally do not make nominations without such senators’ consent.
“The blue slip is still a very powerful tool,” Mr. Whelan said. “Indeed, we may get Republicans, realizing that they no longer have the minority power of the filibuster, becoming more aggressive in using the blue slip.”
The White House counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, has said that the blue slip rule in the Senate is problematic because “it is a silent, unaccountable veto.”
So far, however, he has enforced the rule broadly, even blocking a Kansas nominee to a federal appeals court because both Kansas senators changed their minds after clearing the nominee.
The Senate change also opened a political window to fill judgeships over which Republicans do not wield blue slip power with the support of just 51 Democratic senators — a window that will close in 2015 if Republicans retake a Senate majority in the midterm elections. That prospect could prompt additional Democratic-appointed appeals court judges who are, or soon will be, eligible for senior status to move up their semi-retirement. It allows judges to keep hearing cases at a reduced workload, while enabling the president to appoint a successor.
There are 18 such judges in seats from states with two Democratic senators, and two more on the District of Columbia Circuit, according to data compiled by Mr. Wheeler.
“Some Democratic appointees may be more attracted to retiring in this window because they have more confidence that Obama will be able to appoint a young successor,” he said.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/11/29...?from=homepage
elections have consequences, eat right wingers. Obstructive abuse by the minority Repugs, genetically undemocratic, is worse than Dems getting in their judges by democratic majority rule.
Last edited by boutons_deux; 11-29-2013 at 03:30 PM.
"balless, weak" Reid kickin Repug ass!
Senate all-nighter: Filibuster fallout bogs down chamber's work
The Senate voted to confirm two more of President Obama’s stalled nominations in an unusual all-night session forced by Republican objections to the historic change to the chamber's filibuster rules.
In a vote after 1 a.m. EST Thursday, Nina Pillard became the second nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the nation's second-most powerful court, to win confirmation under new rules that allow most nominees to be advanced by simple majority vote. She was confirmed on a 51-44 vote.
The Senate then proceeded to end debate on Obama’s nominee to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chai Rachel Feldblum. Final confirmation came hours later, after the sun rose Thursday on what is technically the still-ongoing Wednesday session.
In the meantime, senators took to the floor to continue the debate that began before Thanksgiving, after Democrats engaged in a controversial procedural maneuver to change Senate rules mid-session, lowering the threshold for cutting off some filibusters from a three-fifths majority to a simple majority.
Democrats began a two-week stint Monday with an attempt to clear a backlog of nominations, some long delayed by GOP filibusters. Pillard and Patricia Millett have now been seated on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, while Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) was confirmed as the top regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
After Feldblum, Democrats are seeking to confirm nine other presidential choices, including lower-court nominees and candidates for deputy secretary of State and secretary of the Air Force. Last on the list is Obama's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, a choice that does have broad Republican support.
But Republicans, using procedural mechanisms still at their disposal, are insisting on exhausting all time requirements for debate on the choices, as much as 30 hours in some cases. Typically, that time has been yielded back through informal agreements between the Democratic and Republican leaders so the Senate can move to other business.
To process the remaining nominees as quickly as possible, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he will keep the Senate in for late nights and into the weekend. As the Senate girded for its all-nighter Wednesday, Reid expressed exasperation that Republicans "are forcing us to waste time on nominees they know will be confirmed." Democratic aides accused Republicans of forcing unnecessary delays out of "bitterness."
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/17.../p2p-78523290/
Elections have consequences, eat Repugs.
In Rule Fight, Reid Counters Delay With Senate All-Nighter
An all-out procedural war has broken out in the Senate: Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, kept the Senate in session through Wednesday night and into Thursday afternoon, and has vowed to continue calling round-the-clock confirmation votes through the weekend if Republicans continue to delay the process.
Republicans, furious that Democrats changed Senate rules to prevent the minority from filibustering most nominations, say they are intent on drawing attention to what they depict as a power grab, regardless of how strained the final days of the Senate’s 2013 session become.
A long list of nominees for lower courts and executive branch positions are awaiting confirmation, and Mr. Reid plans to call each of them on a continuous basis, no matter the hour, until he works through them all.
The Senate started working through nominations by first confirming Cornelia T. L. Pillard to the country’s most powerful appeals court shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday by a 51-to-44 vote.
As the morning wore on, two other nominees were confirmed: Chai Feldblum to serve as a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Elizabeth Wolford of New York to be a United States District Court judge.
Democrats, exasperated by Republicans’ refusal to confirm nominees like Ms. Pillard, voted last month to eliminate the use of the filibuster against all presidential nominees except those for the Supreme Court. Republicans had blocked the nomination of Ms. Pillard, a Georgetown law professor, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Republicans say that with the new rule against filibustering, they intend to make the confirmation process as unpleasant as possible. Under Senate rules, the minority party can force the Senate to use all of the time required for debate on any given nomination. In the case of Ms. Pillard, the amount of time allotted was 30 hours.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/13...?from=homepage
Repugs tried to bully and bluff the Dems', but the Dems were holding a royal straight flush!
Senate Republicans Block More Obama Nominees
Senate Republicans blocked a batch of mostly minor nominations by President Barack Obama late Monday in the aftermath of last month's Democratic move weakening the minority party's traditional ability to block most presidential appointments.
The action demonstrated that the GOP was intent on exacting a price for the changes majority Democrats muscled through the Senate in filibusters, or procedural delays minority senators can use to delay or kill nominations or bills.
Senate Republicans blocked a batch of mostly minor nominations by President Barack Obama late Monday in the aftermath of last month's Democratic move weakening the minority party's traditional ability to block most presidential appointments.
The action demonstrated that the GOP was intent on exacting a price for the changes majority Democrats muscled through the Senate in filibusters, or procedural delays minority senators can use to delay or kill nominations or bills.
On Monday, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., objected to a request by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for unanimous approval of more than 30 mostly minor appointees.
"Until I understand better how a United States senator is supposed to operate in a Senate without rules, I object," Alexander said. ( dumb Confederate is also ignorant )
The nominees blocked included posts like an undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness and a pick for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Also included was Deborah Lee James, Obama's choice to be secretary of the Air Force.
The quick approval for those nominees that Reid was seeking required the consent of all senators, so Alexander's objection was enough to stop them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4415648.html
Celebrate while you can
Good take
Delicious sauce is delicious.it's gonna be great fun watching all the Repugs trying to handle getting ed, whining and moaning in "OUTRAGED, I TELL YA" by the Dems and Barry
eat , Repugs, tea baggers, rednecks, Koch-suckers
how it feel when Y'ALL are the target of HARDBALL KICKASS politics? Feels great, don't it, having Harry Reid's up your ass?
I see TB
As a hardcore, right wing extremist, you are undoubtedly thrilled at the "Trash Court's" reliably upcoming solid 5-4 hate and discrimination ruling in all directions, and oligarchy's enrichment by fleecing Americans.
Hardcore right wing extremist!.
ing simpleton. I just like watching idealogues eat .
so how are you enjoying my , My Dearest Landlord!Hardcore right wing extremist!
ing simpleton. I just like watching idealogues eat .
Lol
Boo is almost as spittle spraying unhinged today as he was the morning after Hillary got trounced.
to be fair there's a good deal of hypocrisy all around
after previously calling for the seats to be removed, the republicans ended up claiming democrats are slowing down the justice system by not filling those same seats
but yeah, you can't go nuclear on appointments and then and moan about going nuclear on appointments. tho dems didnt take it as far as supreme court seats. though there's a chicken and egg thing since, as the OP showed, the filibustering if executive nominees really got kickstarted during obama's presidency. it just followed suit when it was trump's turn.
democrats going nuclear was an unusual solution to an unprecedented problem... caused by the republican minority. when the tables turned the democrat minority copied the republican strategy, and the republican majority copied the democrat solution
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