Justice Kennedy is retiring

[GreyhoundFan]

Not just no.........

[fraurosena]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Not just no.........

And so a part of the deep corruption is unveiled...

This is exactly why Wannabe Draco is quitting Congress. This nomination was engineered ages ago. Makes you wonder what cushy job Lyin' Ryan has waiting for him as payoff for not applying those checks and balances.

[GreyhoundFan]

[NotQuiteMotY]

And this is why we're in such a mess: There was a letter to the editor today in the paper wondering why everyone so het up about Roe v. Wade, "because it was a majority Republican-appointed Supreme Court that passed it and Casey." Apparently the writer does not realize first how much of the Republican party has entered into a love affair with the evangelicals and second that Trump only won because of that deal, since he promised to do his best to overturn abortion protections.

[Cartmann99]

CNN thinks his pick will be Amy Coney Barrett:

Quote

That "central casting" view of the world goes for reality TV contestants, Cabinet picks and, yes, likely even Supreme Court justices.

By that logic, Trump's pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy -- which he is set to announce July 9 -- is simple. It's Amy Coney Barrett.

Coney Barrett is, among other things:

A woman

A mother of seven

Young (in her mid-40s)

A person of faith

Reliably conservative, particularly on social issues

This, from CNN's Jeff Zeleny, speak to the casting-call nature of Trump's search:

"President Trump is increasingly intrigued about selecting the first female conservative Supreme Court justice, people familiar with the search say, repeatedly telling advisers that he likes the idea of making such a historic choice in a climate where women on the other side of the political aisle are playing such a pivotal role. ...'Can you imagine?' the president said with a smile during a conversation about the prospect of selecting a woman for the pivotal spot on the court."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/02/politics/scotus-amy-coney-barrett-donald-trump/index.html

[GreyhoundFan]

Kavanaugh is the Orange Menace's nominee:

 

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

OK, I know the gravity of the situation, but the part of the Big Prime Time Announcement where Big Orange, in extolling the virtues of the Great and Wonderful Kavanaugh, mentions that his nominee is a graduate of Yale made me think of Thurston Howell III (a proud Harvard Man) and his disdain for all things Yale.

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[candygirl200413]

And you know he's going to get confirmed. The supreme court was on the ballots in 2016.

[AmazonGrace]

Nominating a Supreme Court judge is one of the most momentous decisions a Russian president can make.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[AmazonGrace]

So the whole decisionmaking brouhaha was just an Apprentice script.

[candygirl200413]

Remember when balance of powers was a thing? Good times.

[AmazonGrace]

The first thing out of his mouth is a braggadocious sycophantic lie. 

 

[47of74]

Racist theocracy, here you go https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1012071040082685954?s=19

I have a list of 10 Iowans who make me want to move out of the state every time they’re mentioned. Including that fornicate stick Vander Plaats. They denizens of that list are, in no particular order;

Steve King
Joni Ernst
Bob Vander Plaats
Kim Reynolds
Shannon Lundgren
Paul Pate
Charles Grassley
Rod Blum
Matt Schultz
That fornicate stick who harassed me and hundreds of others in the mail.

[GreyhoundFan]

I love Alexandra Petri's satirical take on the Kavanaugh announcement: "Fear not! Brett Kavanaugh knows at least three women."

Spoiler

I don’t know why you would want a condensed transcript of the Kavanaugh announcement, as it was pretty short, but you are a busy gentlewoman and you make your own rules, sir. So here it is!

East Room of the White House, PRIME TIME, Because We Have All Tacitly Agreed to Let the President Be the News Whenever He Wants, But Confusing Some “Bachelorette” Viewers, Monday Night.

President Trump: My fellow Americans, I am here doing the second-most important thing a president can do: announcing my pick for the Supreme Court of the United States. The most important thing is to meet with an autocrat and make a lot of concessions for no particular reason, which I will be doing next week. But today we are doing the court thing.

The Supreme Court is basically the Mar-a-Lago or the Ivanka of our republic; it is the crown jewel, compared to which everything else is garbage, and I surround it with words and money in ways that make a lot of Americans uncomfortable. Its job is to protect the Constitution, a document I have definitely read and know about.

Justice Anthony Kennedy told me that he was, for some reason, retiring from the Supreme Court, a job where you literally sit around all day in a robe judging people. I don’t know what he thinks he will do during his retirement. So I have found a replacement who is just like Neil Gorsuch, whom I chose because I was told he had been crafted in a lab designed expressly to produce clones of Antonin Scalia. Or, as it is more commonly known, Georgetown Preparatory School. I have not asked him about his opinions on anything, but I read a thing that implied he didn’t think the sitting president should be prosecuted, which I thought was very sweet and lovely. I can think of no one more qualified for this position.

(A crack appears beneath the podium and the agonized wail of Merrick Garland, chained many feet below the earth, echoes in the room.)

Trump: I hope that the Senate will instantly recognize the wisdom of this pick, or, as is more likely, will pretend that they are going to object in a principled way and then cave at the last minute. Anyway, here is Brett Kavanaugh to reassure you all with his jurisprudence and family.

Kavanaugh: Wow. Thanks. I have been honored to witness your respect for the rule of law and the independent judiciary.

(All the light fixtures in the room begin to shake, but Kavanaugh ignores it.)

No president has ever searched more widely through recommended nominees from the Federalist Society or talked to more people on a list of recommended nominees from the Federalist Society than this one! It was only after an exhaustive search throughout the land for someone fit to serve in this high capacity — or maybe just a single conversation with Justice Kennedy? Who knows! — that I was chosen.

I am an only child. For anyone worrying that I might abridge women’s rights, let me stress that growing up, my favorite mother was a woman. I went to a Jesuit high school whose motto was “Men for others,” and I have tried to embody that creed: For instance, right now, when others could have been appointed to the Supreme Court, I was one of the men appointed instead. My jurisprudence has embodied the same spirit of “men for others”: ruling for others, determining whether others can get abortions, all those great things.

Let me be crystal clear. I know us male Supreme Court justices get a bad rep, and people think we literally do not know what women are — some sort of matryoshka doll that talks? A dangerous envelope full of spawn? Something that you can sometimes find in a big pond that is useful as a source of magical swords and babies? — but I do. I have met Justice Elena Kagan. That’s one! And my mother. Two! I have hired several entire women as clerks. And also I have seen many women in the wild through my binoculars as they flap each morning from their nests to the great bay where they all go each year to lay eggs. My point is, don’t worry: I understand women. Both of my daughters are female, and one of them even enjoys talking!

(This is a laugh line, apparently.)

I have coached my daughters in sports, and we, together, witnessed a women’s basketball team win a victory! Is this reassuring? I bet you are reassured now. Good, I will stop talking.

Oh, wait, duh! My wife. My wife is a woman. She was a great source of strength during … 9/11.

(Rudy Giuliani sighs at his television and downs a shot.)

And my handmaiden is a wo —

My nothing. I mean. Nothing.

In conclusion, my only hobbies are having female family members and interpreting statutes as written. Sometimes Justice Scalia comes to me in a dream and we play chess.

I look forward to promising every senator that I love the Constitution. Like the president, I believe in an independent judiciary. I look forward to preserving the Constitution and keeping an open mind in every case. As open as the canopy-like wings of a woman, a thing I definitely know about.

Thank you.

 

[Cartmann99]

The American Family Association was unhappy about Trump's choice last night:

They have since softened their stance:

Quote

AFA has opposed the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S Supreme Court for some very valid reasons. We are deeply concerned about how he might ultimately rule on issues related to abortion and religious liberty. For these reasons, we consider this nomination to represent a four-star appointment when it could have been five-star.

However, after hearing the concerns of some of our supporters, and after hearing the passionate defense of Judge Kavanaugh by many we consider to be friends in the pro-life movement, we are willing to let this process play out. We eagerly await the confirmation hearings when we hope to get clarification from Judge Kavanaugh on aspects related to our concerns.

At this time, we have no plans to fight President Trump on this nomination. He has appointed a lot of good federal judges already and we look forward to many more. We hope that our concerns prove to be unfounded.

https://www.afa.net/activism/action-alerts/2018/statement-on-kavanaugh-nomination-to-scotus/

 

[47of74]

So the AFA holier than thou society is adopting a wide stance about Fornicate Face’s pick? (Ducks).

 

 

(Edit: Fornicating autocorrect)!

[AmazonGrace]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

An interesting piece: "This is how Senate Democrats should try to stop Brett Kavanaugh"

Spoiler

All it takes for the Senate to block the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is two votes.

It’s a tiny margin, and even tinier when you consider that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) remains absent because of health issues. Vice President Pence can break a 50-50 tie, but if McCain can’t vote, a single Republican defection drops the GOP total to 49 and renders Pence useless.

So while no one knows what the outcome of this fight will be, we do know that Democrats can wage the strongest possible fight by keeping that margin to two votes, bringing pressure to bear on vulnerable Republicans and putting themselves in the best possible position to break those two votes loose.

Here’s a four-part playbook for what an aggressive effort by Democrats could look like.

First, Democrats need to focus on the most important takeaway from the GOP’s refusal in 2016 to even hold a hearing for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee: Conservatives win because they maintain unity, and progressives need to do the same. That means no hall passes get handed out on this vote. Senate leaders cannot control any vote except their own, but they have plenty of means at their disposal to persuade wavering members, and they can make it abundantly clear that no one will be excused for voting to confirm Kavanaugh.

The argument for granting such a pass — usually to Democrats who represent red states — hinges on teamwork: It’s worth letting some members break away on a given vote, the argument goes, because they need to vote with Republicans occasionally to demonstrate their independence and they will be there for other important votes down the road. But few, if any, votes will ever be as important as this one, and teamwork goes both ways. At the behest of red-state Democrats, Democrats passed up two winnable fights this year, providing the votes to let Senate Republicans confirm Gina Haspel as CIA director and roll back rules on Wall Street banks. Now, with everything progressives have fought for at stake if the Supreme Court holds a conservative majority for a generation, lawmakers from states that voted for Trump have to understand that this is one of those fights that defines what it means to be a Democrat. From concerns about the Affordable Care Act and a woman’s right to her own reproductive freedom, to Kavanaugh’s past writing that the president should not be able to be prosecuted, Kavanaugh has provided all Democrats with plenty of paths to get to “no.” They just need to pick one and take it.

Second, Senate Democrats should publicly declare that they have lined up 49 votes against Kavanaugh as quickly as possible so that they can shift into a full-court pressure campaign against their vulnerable Republican colleagues. One might assume that a senator will announce his or her decision when they make it, but sometimes lawmakers are tempted to put on a show of deliberation and wait weeks to announce their decision. There’s no time for that: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has announced that he will hold a confirmation vote in the fall, and the only shot at defeating Kavanaugh is to bring massive pressure to bear on Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and a few other vulnerable Republicans between now and then. When the entire caucus is publicly opposed to Kavanaugh, Democrats will have a clear field to define the debate on their terms without the distraction of their own holdouts. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), a top target of Republicans in 2018 in a state that Republicans carried at both the presidential and Senate level in 2016, provided the model by coming out quickly and decisively against Kavanaugh. All Senate Democrats should follow his lead.

Third, Democrats should make a clear declaration that every one of Kavanaugh’s writings and public utterances must be made publicly available so that it can receive the robust public scrutiny befitting such a pivotal nomination. McConnell tipped his hand by indicating that he was concerned that Kavanaugh’s massive paper trail may be problematic — Democrats should take the hint. Civility-conscious moderate Democrats should be able to join in this call for scrutiny, since it stands in complete contrast to Republicans’ treatment of Garland: Calling for public scrutiny, openness and transparency is the exact opposite of the stonewalling that Garland faced. Kavanaugh has written more than 300 opinions — many of which, as Trump himself pointed out, are now law — and they hold invaluable clues about how he will rule from the bench. The public deserves the benefit of this information.

Kavanaugh was also at the center of some of the most consequential political events of the past few decades, from Kenneth Starr’s investigation of President Bill Clinton to George W. Bush-era torture policies and warrantless wiretapping. There are potentially millions of pages of records related to Kavanaugh’s government service, which could shed light on his views on executive power and other critical issues that will probably come before the court. Kavanaugh’s communications from his time in government should be posted publicly — just as Republicans demanded that Justice Elena Kagan’s emails be posted during her confirmation in 2010. Kavanaugh also clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski, who was recently forced to resign amid revelations that he harassed at least six of his law clerks. What did Kavanaugh know about these episodes? Was he aware that Kozinski was sexually harassing his fellow law clerks, and, if so, what did he do about it? The public deserves answers to these questions and more.

Fourth, if Republicans reject Democrats’ requests, Democrats should force the issue by using the substantial power of the minority to grind the Senate to a halt and scuttle other Republican priorities — including funding the government when the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and refusing to allow confirmation of the dozens of other right-wing judges McConnell plans to confirm between now and the end of the year. Democrats have this power because the Senate operates by something called “unanimous consent,” which is exactly what it sounds like: Every single senator has to agree to do everything from calling a vote to mundane procedures as basic as convening in the morning and adjourning in the evening. If unanimous consent is not forthcoming, the Senate has to resort to painful, time-consuming votes and procedural obstacles. The effectiveness of slowing things down like this would be compounded by the fact that with McCain out of Washington, Republicans control only 50 votes on a daily basis. That means they will need Pence to be present for frequent procedural votes, presenting a scheduling nightmare. And since time and patience are finite, taking days instead of hours to confirm a single nominee or perform a routine piece of Senate business will result in fewer nominees confirmed and fewer Republican legislative priorities accomplished — until Republicans accede to Democrats’ eminently reasonable requests for scrutiny and transparency.

To be clear, denying consent is an effective tactic for delay, but it’s not a path to blocking Kavanaugh. If the GOP has 51 votes, the procedural delays can be overcome and Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

Denying those 51 votes is the whole ballgame. Win or lose, the stakes are enormous. As Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said this past weekend, it’s time for Democrats to oppose Kavanaugh “with everything” we have.

 

[formergothardite]

The democrats are going to have to play hardball. What they have been doing in the past isn't working. I am pretty sure he will get all 51 votes, BUT if they can get all his work out public and make a big deal out of it it will put a lot more pressure on the republicans who are sitting on the fence. Bringing the Senate to a stop should be a high priority anyway to keep them from being able to confirm judges as quickly, something that will have a long time impact and is what McConnell is desperate to do. 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

I wonder who paid his debts

[SilverBeach]

 I sat out the fourth of July. Not proud to be an American, actually I am ashamed. I lived through the 1960s and people can only be pushed so far. There will be demonstrations, confrontations, and unfortunately violence if things continue along this ugly path.

Dumpface does not believe in freedom or the constitution, hence his bromance with Putin. If Russia is taken out of our election system, we may have a chance. Otherwise, the ultra rich like the Koch brothers will continue to do all they can to make America a serfdom, with rich and poor, no middle class to challenge them.  Anti middle class tax policy (such as drastic reduction to home mortgage deduction and state income tax deduction), erosion of union protections, and insufferable student loan debt are among the policies Koch and the super rich support to make it harder and harder for regular people to accumulate wealth. The serfs will be at the mercy of the ruling class. I hope people take off their blinders and see what is really happening.

Pence would have us like Gilead, he is scary as fuck too.