Posted on 03/29/2017 9:59:16 PM PDT by arrogantsob
With the approach of a new baseball season the Trump administration should consider how far it is willing to go to get Neil Gorsuch on the Court. It is critical to get him approved before many more cases are argued. It should be obvious that the Trump presidency is undergoing numerous attacks in the Whack Job Judiciary. Everything it tries to do will be challenged in the courts.
One of the strongest steps the Republican Senators could take would be to suspend or eliminate the Filibuster Rule.
This has good arguments for it and good arguments against it. But there is a constitutional method which is fool proof, without challenging long established Senate procedures and with historical precedence.
All Trump has to do is make a recess appointment when the Congress is not in session. Congress remained technically in session specifically to prevent Obama from adding more appointments while it was on break. Otherwise he would have appointed Scalia's replacement.
This has been done several times in the past. Eisenhower appointed two justices including Chief Justice Earl Warren and Potter Stewart.
It started early when George Washington appointed a man who later went nuts and killed himself but that is another story.
The beauty of this gambit is that it would totally piss the Democrats off and they would be helpless to change anything. Since Gorsuch would be sitting he could only be removed by a vote of the Senate. If the Democrats continue to obstruct he is there until confirmed or removed. They would lose any vote to remove and be subject to having a nomination shoved down their evil throats.
Comments?
I’m starting to get the conclusion that Trump is not going to play hardball. He turned over, Cara repeal to Ryan and sit by and watch that disaster collapse, he has felt honors day one commitments and promises, he now goes forward with H1B continuing, one thing after another Trump is completely failing to honor his campaign commitments, and just like Obama Seems perfectly happy to stand by and let others carry water for him.
I’d prefer to see a repeal of the filibuster on judges... (but that is unlikely with our cowardly repub leadership)
it sounds good to me..Whatever gets him there.
I sure hope gorsuch comes through though, if not, we are in deep doodoo
I am all for customary and for clever and innovative tactics, but, when Congress is involved, I have reservations about tactics that appear contrived or manipulative or that transgress settled norms. At the very least, one must be prepared to take the heat as members in marginal seats criticize such moves in order to accommodate the sentiments of their districts.
There once were good arguments against suspending the filibuster rule. There are no more good arguments left. When the filibuster became a handshake and vicarious it had no more usefulness. When cloture was reduced to 60% it divested it of much of its relevance. When the Democrat became totally mono-ideological the filibuster makes no more sense. When Democrats suspend it when they need to suspend it for particular measures or confirmations then it has become totally a one way deal only useful to keep Republicans in their place. Get rid of it. Republicans will resist dumping it because republicans are part of the Democrats’ Opposition party and want the rule to short circuit measures they politically feel they have to vote for.
I’m all for playing judicial hardball, but a real and immediate crisis is ignored.
Some damn judge in Hawaii usurped the constitutional and statutory duty of congress and the president to protect the United States. Not a peep out of congress; perhaps many pubbies are hoping DJT ignores the ruling so they can join the rats to impeach him? I don’t know, but no judge should get away with promoting a muslim invasion.
When "turtle" delivers, then perhaps praise is due.
Recess appointments are essentially ‘temporary’. If the appointee isn’t approved before the end of the next senate session (as much as 2 years away) then the position becomes vacant again. Why would you want to just kick the can down the road?
The Democrat Party is essentially saying that no Trump nominee will ever be acceptable — Gorsuch or any other. So there is no reason not to go nuclear except McCain, Lindsay & Collins. Those 3 are wobbly and if they defect we don’t even get to 51 votes.
I think that the senate leadership will want it understood by all — mostly those 3 Republican senators — that they have ‘no choice’ but to allow the rule change AND vote for Gorsuch.
Why did Repubs wait so long to place Gorsuch 1st thing on Congress schedule? This should have been priority esp. With immig ruling. Trump twice now over ruled by 9th district. I think June SC judges go on vacation all summer. We are into April trying to get Gorsuch confirmed. Try and get immig order on SC docket before June?. Not likely. Which means msybe Sep SC will hear case. Repubs did this on purpose, delay because they need their cheap labor.
I don’t think the Republicans have a clue and would be just has happy to sit around doing nothing with their big fat paycheck,payoffs,cradle to grave benefits.Washington does not give 2 sheets about the American people. Trump needs to stop listening to the likes of Prevus and the other political hacks and start kicking ass or he lost me.
If somebody doesn’t play hardball pretty soon, the only ball we’re gonna be left to use is 9mm ball and 7.62mm ball.
I am getting soooooo fed up with this and everything else.
It may already be too late....................
Congress doesn't recess like it used to 200 years ago. These days, the only true recess is the period between the end of one Congress and the start of the next Congress, when Congress adjourns sine die after the biennial federal election.
It's too long for President Trump to wait for the 2018 recess between Congresses.
-PJ
Republicans control both houses. They can arrange a legal recess any time they wish.
Like most of these things, they don’t lack ability, they lack will.
We need to play hardball 100% of the time.
Deport every illegal arrested, and arrest every one we find. Investigate for vote fraud in every state, and in states with high levels of fraud audit every vote and prosecute every instance of fraud. It’s time to restore the rule of law. Now. So that following the law because an expectation before the democrats retake power.
Cut every nonproductive FedGov program, and even if Congress appropriates the money give orders not to hire and spend. It’s time to restore limited government before the thugs retake power, so that smaller government becomes an expectation.
He has done all he promised that could be done without the Congress. The Obamacare disaster was because of the Lovers of Losing Caucus not Trump. Trump has already shown he will do what he said he would.
When 30+ “conservatives” join the Democrats it accomplishes nothing positive.
Trump could have drastically reduced H-1B visas on his own. It is low hanging fruit that needs picking.
I’m no friend of the filibuster either so if they remove it there won’t be any tears from me.
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