dagblog - Comments for "Senate Nuclear Option Triggered"

Senators Whitehouse, Schumer,

artappraiser — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 02:13:10 +0000

In reply to Senate Nuclear Option Triggered

Senators Whitehouse, Schumer, Brown, Blumenthal, Feinstein, Durbin:

Just left the Floor.

Mitch McConnell will go down in history as the majority leader who did the most to destroy the Senate as an institution. https://t.co/IcFtAMQCG6
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) April 3, 2019

Instead of disaster aid for Puerto Rico, the Midwest, or places in America struggling to rebuild,

What did @SenateMajLdr McConnell & the @SenateGOP decide important to focus on today?

Breaking Senate rules to force through ultra-conservative nominees without oversight or debate
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 3, 2019

.@senatemajldr is changing the rules, and giving us less time to debate nominees who will have tremendous power over people’s lives—like @FHFA nominee Mark Calabria.

We should not be rushing these people through. We need time for the people we serve to make their voices heard. pic.twitter.com/NxJuiqLnyt
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) April 3, 2019

Now we’ll spend less time debating nominees' qualifications than it takes to watch an average baseball game. https://t.co/gfWZkHO4gL
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) April 3, 2019

Unsatisfied with ramming through a record number of ideologically extreme nominees, the Republicans have now unilaterally changed the rules to further pack the courts with a slate of jurists who don’t represent the vast majority of Americans.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) April 3, 2019

Republicans breaking Senate rules is just the latest effort to pack the federal court system with young, conservative ideologues. Republicans are already moving these nominees quickly. In fact, the average debate time for judicial nominees is just 3.1 hours.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) April 3, 2019

Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans just went nuclear to change Senate rules for debating nominations. Why? Republicans want to pack the courts with extreme, ideological judicial nominees with less time for scrutiny.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) April 3, 2019

Since the Republicans are

NCD — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 00:55:44 +0000

In reply to What the voters know or care

Since the Republicans are screwing over the 99%, the nation, and future generations, for as long and as hard as they can get away with, keeping it all "out of the realm of public understanding" is the Republican Party objective (and the objective of The High and Holy Corporate Media Beltway Church of Both Siderism). Trump is the ultimate product and achievement.

Yes, I wasn't making any

ocean-kat — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 00:24:29 +0000

In reply to What the voters know or care

Yes, I wasn't making any value judgments. I'm just as upset with what the republicans are doing as most everybody here. But it's not "why people think Washington sucks."

What the voters know or care

artappraiser — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 23:48:08 +0000

In reply to The "arcane rule changes" are

What the voters know or care about is beside the point.

That is a good way of putting it and I reacted the same way to oceankat's comment, however then I realized he was reacting to Manchin's comment, which did refer to the public at large, i.e., "why people think Washington sucks". Thinking on it more, though, he might be right in that playing games with rules to get one's way out of the realm of public understanding. That's with certainly the kind of thing going on in the UK, they are just fed up to the max with it.

The "arcane rule changes" are

NCD — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 22:51:01 +0000

In reply to I think the vast majority of

The "arcane rule changes" are being made by Republicans, and are a dream come true for them, Wall Street, the regulation hating con artists and swindlers and the theocracy seeking, rapture ready religious right.

What the voters know or care about is beside the point. This is the long game of the right.

The aim is to create a federal court system for the next 30+ years that will strike down civil rights, voting rights, prevent gun control, protect big money, squash progressive policy, progressive programs or taxes (Warren 'wealth tax' will be DOA), and generally defend big business, cut federal government powers, give power to corporations and go easy on predatory business practices and scams.....worker rights and the environment, families will suffer.

The "progressive revolution" will be dragged out, suffocated and severely constrained in the courts.

GOP judges will be ruling "states rights" whenever they can to fragment and block federal leadership and national laws or programs created by future Democrat presidents, while doing just the opposite for Republican administrations.

P.S. here is a good quote

artappraiser — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:46:24 +0000

In reply to Yes. But when they get

P.S. here is a good quote about what it means to purists, Sen. Chris Murphy's We're going to be the House of Representatives by the time my term is done:

Coming soon: The death of the filibuster. Senate set to make third change in six years via “nuclear option.” Senators say 60-vote threshold is next

“We’re going to be the House of Representatives by the time my term is done,” says ⁦@ChrisMurphyCT⁩
https://t.co/8s78By8t04
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) April 3, 2019

Yes. But when they get

artappraiser — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:37:51 +0000

In reply to I think the vast majority of

Yes. But when they get incarcerated by a Trump judge, then they'll have time to read all about how s/he got appointed in a history book in the prison library and about Robert Byrd rolling over in his grave. But yeah, it's only a big deal to congressional geeks and personally I think that if this had failed, they'd think of another way and another and another, so there's bit of wisdom in not caring about shock and awe from congressional procedure junkies. And Manchin, well he's just bloviating to colleagues.

I think the vast majority of

ocean-kat — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:24:03 +0000

In reply to Joe Manchin is on the floor

I think the vast majority of voters don't care at all about these arcane rule changes. Most people aren't paying enough attention to even know they happen. People only care that the policy they support passes and barely care at all how it's done

Senator Merkley tweet:

artappraiser — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:05:43 +0000

In reply to Senate Nuclear Option Triggered

Senator Merkley tweet:

McConnell just forced a historic vote. He wants to pack the courts to turn our Constitution on its head & lock in government by and for the powerful & privileged, destroying government by and for the people. Very dark day for our Constitution and for the people of America.
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) April 3, 2019

Joe Manchin is on the floor

artappraiser — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:03:36 +0000

In reply to Senate Nuclear Option Triggered

Joe Manchin is on the floor saying the hypocrisy surrounding this Senate rule change is "why people think Washington sucks."
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 3, 2019