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I say you're still shrewish.
Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?
Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court.
BY John McCormack
March 3, 2010 6:15 PM
Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson's brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
“Scott Matheson is a distinguished candidate for the Tenth Circuit court,” President Obama said. “Both his legal and academic credentials are impressive and his commitment to judicial integrity is unwavering. I am honored to nominate this lifelong Utahn to the federal bench.”
Scott M. Matheson, Jr.: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Scott M. Matheson currently holds the Hugh B. Brown Presidential Endowed Chair at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1985. He served as Dean of the Law School from 1998 to 2006. He also taught First Amendment Law at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government from 1989 to 1990.
While on public service leave from the University of Utah from 1993 to 1997, Matheson served as United States Attorney for the District of Utah. In 2007, he was appointed by Governor Jon Huntsman to chair the Utah Mine Safety Commission. He also worked as a Deputy County Attorney for Salt Lake County from 1988 to 1989. Prior to joining the University faculty, Matheson was an associate attorney from 1981 to 1985 at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C.
Matheson was born and raised in Utah and is a sixth generation Utahn. He received an A.B. from Stanford University in 1975, an M.A. from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1980.
So, Scott Matheson appears to have the credentials to be a judge, but was his nomination used to buy off his brother's vote? (will all those wonderfully talented investigative journalists look into this?)
Consider Congressman Matheson's record on the health care bill. He voted against the bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee back in July and again when it passed the House in November. But now he's "undecided" on ramming the bill through Congress. "The Congressman is looking for development of bipartisan consensus," Matheson's press secretary Alyson Heyrend wrote to THE WEEKLY STANDARD on February 22. "It’s too early to know if that will occur." Asked if one could infer that if no Republican votes in favor of the bill (i.e. if a bipartisan consensus is not reached) then Rep. Matheson would vote no, Heyrend replied: "I would not infer anything. I’d wait to see what develops, starting with the health care summit on Thursday."
The timing of this nomination looks su ious, especially in light Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak's claim that he was offered a federal job not to run against Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania primary. Many speculated that Sestak, a former admiral, was offered the Secretary of the Navy job.
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What say you libs?
I say you're still shrewish.
Is there anything else to add?
Looks like John McCormack is a 'talented investigative journalist' that can write a conspiracy theory, but not talented enough to confirm it's veracity.
What's the Weekly Standard next article? 'Is President Obama American?' Oh, wait...
At this point does anyone think Obama would not give judgeships for Health Care Votes
He's a liar!
The candidate appears to be professionally and academically well qualified, but the Senate has yet to confirm him, and Rep. Matheson has yet to vote.
No legs yet, Crookshanks. The story isn't even a story. It's just more fertilizer for the already well-tended garden of sleazy innuendos pandering to lazy su ions about each president in succession.
No one is immune. Gossip, speculation and hearsay blot every political escutcheon.
If there has been improper communication with Rep. Matheson, that would be another thing, but no such thing is alleged. All we have here is a straight up hostile inference about Obama's state of mind.
It may even be correct, but even if Obama's intention is to sway Matheson by nominating his brother to a federal judgeship, absent interference with the US Rep, how is the nomination improper?
The candidate himself seems to be credibly distinguished and his mere nomination would seem to confer no tangible benefit on his brother, the US Rep. I don't really even see how it can be construed as much of an inducement to vote Obama's way, and surely articles like this will make him think twice about it.
Last edited by Winehole23; 03-04-2010 at 01:16 AM.
Can't you see it's a conspiracy?!
A vast left-wing conspiracy to pervert the US House of Representatives by nominating well-qualified candidates.
Insidious.
Bybee got a judgeship for justifying head's torture. FACT
Torturing foreigners? good,
health care for poor Americans? SOCIALISM!
No. Nor should anyone think that Obama is the guy who invented this tactic.
You can say that again. This is what he said on reconciliation before he was president.
"You've got to break out of what I call, sort of, the 50-plus-one pattern of presidential politics. Maybe you eke out a victory of 50-plus-one, then you can't govern. You know, you get Air Force One, I mean there are a lot of nice perks, but you can't deliver on health care. We're not going to pass universal health care with a 50-plus-one strategy."
The beat goes on.
Obama has proven himself the establishmentarian par excellence.
On this basis alone, Obama is the volte-face of his campaign persona. He's pissing backwards on the hopes of change he kindled.
You know, that if this was done by republicans, you would be all over it with criticism, wouldn't you?
Technically speaking jack he would have at least 55 or 56 vots in the Senate rather than just 51.
Chicago baby! G-g-g-g-g-g-UNIT.
I would acknowledge it's just speculation.
Technically speaking Obama was against reconciliation (epecially universal health care) like a few other notable dems, Biden and Clinton to name two.
...(urp)
...(dial tone)
Last edited by Winehole23; 03-04-2010 at 07:59 PM.
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