GOP Filibuster Fails Badly, but Jeff Sessions & George Bush May Get Last Laugh
By Josh Glasstetter Thursday Nov 19, 2009 4:00pmOn Tuesday, Senate Democrats beat back Jeff Sessions’ filibuster of Obama’s first judicial nominee – Judge David Hamilton – by a reassuring margin of 70-29. Sessions lost ten of his fellow Republicans, including conservatives like Hatch, Cornyn, and Thune, and Hamilton will be confirmed Thursday afternoon to the Seventh Circuit.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the GOP is winning the battle for the federal courts.
Just a few short years ago, right-wing Senators denounced filibusters of President Bush’s nominees in the strongest possible language and threatened to employ the “nuclear option.” Sessions went even further – he claimed Democrats were violating the Constitution by blocking any Bush nominee (no matter how extreme). But some time after November 4, 2008, his interpretation of the Constitution must have changed dramatically.
Now a Democrat is in the White House, and – hypocrisy be damned! – Sessions is vehemently pro-filibuster and pro-obstruction. And the worst part is that he’s been successful. Judge Hamilton was nominated in March to general acclaim. He received the highest possible rating from the ABA, both his home-state Senators strongly endorsed him (including senior Senate Republican Dick Lugar), and even the head of the Indianapolis Federalist Society backed him. It doesn’t get much better than that.
But the nomination was dragged out for months by the GOP. As a result, Hamilton will become just the seventh Obama nominee to be confirmed to the federal bench. By contrast, nearly 30 such Bush nominees had been confirmed at the same point. We’re talking lifetime appointments to the highest courts in our land. President Obama obviously has his hands full, but he can’t afford to neglect this crucial aspect of his legacy.
But so far, Obama has been playing into the hands of the GOP obstructionists. He’s nominated fewer than half as many people as Bush had at this point. That has got to change, and quickly. The Obama administration has a window of just 4-5 months to return some semblance of balance to the federal bench before the mid-term elections. The choice is simple: act now to fill the judicial pipeline with highly qualified progressive nominees, or let Sessions and Bush win.
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the hundreds of Loyal Bushies [tm] still embedded at DOJ! Replacing these and getting new nominees approved should be the first order of business over at the WH. The clock is ticking.
I was totally shocked by this.
Listen to Don Siegelman's answer to: "Are you surprised the Obama Dept of Justice is opposing your appeal to the Supreme Court?"
Don Siegelman: Is President Obama leaving Siegelman behind?
But they only have 60 votes in the democratic caucus! If Harry Reid could just get another 15 or 20 Senate seats, then he might be able to battle the GOP.
would lose any "battle" with the GOP even if he had 100 seats in the Senate.
I see what yer doin' here.
This Sessions guy is quite the cutie pie isn't he?
He's got that look about him--that "bristling with hate fer Libruls" thang goin' on.He has all the traits: that bright eyed,feral weasel face and all that bottomless hate.
Harry Reid is a glorified Senate page.
Yet, we still keep hearing about them and never seem to hear which Democrats are supporting the filibuster. There has to be at least one.
Who is it? Who are they?
Just how is this Republican obstruction instead of Democratic complicity?
Let em filibuster.
Just means we need more Dems.
Maybe I should run for Democratic candidate for Texas governor.
I would run on the promise to determine officially if one can light a fart,
And create a William S Burrough's Day
And require everyone to daily praise Bob.
This would be the new Texas State Anthem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBeZUwhAqM
My slogan:
If you're going to insist on kissing my ass, you'll use tongues.
Now that's the most sensible thing I've heard all day.
I think "Naked Lunch" is a great work of art.
Not if it's limpballs and becky dining together al fresco au naturale.
I read somewhere that this was the real reason that Greg Craig the Whitehouse Counsel was fired. It's a disgrace that these pecker wood, idiot, confederate douchebags are even allowed to be in government. Sadly this would not be possibly without the pecker wood, idiot, confederate douchebags who are stupid enough to vote for these no so closeted klansmen.
That's no so closeted klansmen! Sorry, off my meds!
Not So! Not So! Back on my meds!
Is filibusters like Dave & Busters?
Maybe more like "Fudruckers" with a few letters rearranged?
Hypocrisy has its place in the GOP playbook:
When the Bush Regime was in power, the GOP sat idly by while Bush and Cheney increased the power of the executive branch to unprecedented levels and they unconstitutionally legislated from the oval office through the use of signing statements.
Now that the Obama Administration has won back the oval office, suddenly the size and power of the federal government is of great concern to Republicans.
They only stand in opposition to whatever the Democrats do. Democrats lead, Republicans follow.
Why does Obama only nominate a few right-leaning men as judges, and says nothing when Reid blocks the nominations because some dimwitted Repug Senator demands it?
What can Obama's reasons be for leaving corrupt, malevolent and anti-constitution people in the Justice Department?
Apparently He and Congress could not care less about Americans or even America. Their concern is strictly for their Rich Masters and the juicy tid-bits their Masters toss them from time to time.
Can one fail goodly?
And if one Fails Badly, does that mean they succeeded?
Among Sessions' ridiculous concerns was the typical, "I think judges should not legislate from the bench, and should interpret the Constitution as written."
This is the last thing authoritarian conservatives like Sessions want. The last thing they want is for the Ninth Amendment to be interpreted AS WRITTEN. It has an obvious meaning that flies in the face of everything they believe.
Again there are alternatives. How many Democrats here know who the nominees are for the courts in their districts? How many have written letters of support to their senators on behalf of the nominees?
How many right-wing web sites have posted the names of nominees?
How many Republican senators have gotten letters from constituents opposing Obama's nominees?
Answers to these questions will tell you why Obama's nominees have stalled.
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Cloture rules need to be changed!!!!
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Nominees Not Yet Confirmed
Name Nominated To:
Judges
Irene Cornelia Berger Southern District of West Virginia
Andre Davis * 4th Circuit Court Of Appeals
Joseph A. Greenaway Third Circuit Court Of Appeals
David Hamilton * 7th Circuit Court Of Appeals
Charlene Edwards Honeywell Middle District of Florida
Roberto A. Lang District of South Dakota
Gerard Lynch * 2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals
Beverly Baldwin Martin 11th Circuit Court Of Appeals
Jeffrey Viken District of South Dakota
U.S. Attorneys
Tristram Coffin * Vermont
Joyce Vance * Alabama
Prett Bharara * New York
B. Todd Jones * Minnesota
John P. Kacavas * New Hampshire
Jenny Durkan Washington
Paul Fishman New Jersey
Dennis Burke Arizona
Steven Dettelback Ohio
Brendan Johnson South Dakota
Karen Louise Loeffler Alaska
Florence T. Nakakuni Hawaii
Carter Stewart Ohio
VIA: NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?...
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO TELL BOLD FACE LIES AT A WHIM
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