Posted on 01/26/2022 8:15:51 PM PST by SeekAndFind
There was big news on Wednesday about Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer deciding to retire, something folks on the left have been pushing for some time to get his replacement named by Joe Biden. But even that story got messy when reports followed that Breyer hadn’t planned on announcing the news yet and was “upset” or “surprised” (depending upon which report you chose to believe). The report still appears to have validity that he is going to retire, just that he hadn’t planned to announce it when it was announced, but rather on his terms.
This may reveal some of that backbiting effort on the left to try to push Breyer out the door so they could get a younger appointee from Biden, something Breyer probably doesn’t appreciate. But the left wants him out the door before the possible change in Congress when Republicans could potentially take over the Senate and then pose a greater problem to a nominee. If they’re able to put through someone now, they likely would have Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and they might get the Republican squishes like Sen. Mitt Romney (RINO-UT) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (RINO-AK). But even if they didn’t have Romney and Murkowski, they could break a tie with Kamala Harris. So it sets up the fascinating possibility that if they tried to put up Harris as a nominee to possibly get her out of the way, she could vote for herself. She would be fulfilling Biden’s promise of considering a black woman nominee. Then, they would be able to put someone else in office to replace her.
I don’t know how serious Biden would be considering the idea of Kamala, but the reputed shortlist doesn’t have her name on it. Here are some of the names being considered.
-DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who clerked for Breyer and holds degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law School. She also served as an assistant federal public defender.
-California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger who clerked for the late Justice John Paul Stevens and was also acting deputy solicitor general in the Obama Administration.
-South Carolina US District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs who Rep. Jim Clyburn likes and Clyburn certainly has Joe Biden’s ear as he was instrumental in getting him into office. She was just nominated for the D.C. Circuit Court — that is still pending.
Other names being considered: District Judge Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright, Circuit Judge Eunice Lee, Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, and Sherrilyn Ifill.
But just because Biden nominates someone and the Democrats have the slimmest of majorities in the Senate right at the moment doesn’t mean that the nominee will necessarily make it through. Indeed, she could be blocked. Because of a power-sharing agreement between Sen Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Judiciary Committee membership, staff and budgets are split in half. So there are equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats on the Committee, 11 each. If the Republicans chose to and they all voted together, they could hang a nominee up in Committee and the nominee would be in limbo, not voted out of Committee.
There is a way to get past that, but there’s still a big problem for the Democrats.
A majority of the Senate—51 votes, typically—can then put debate about the issue on the calendar for the next day. But that’s the last easy part. When the potential pick comes to the floor again, it’s not as a nomination. At that point, it’s a motion to discharge, a cloture motion that requires 60 votes. In other words, 10 Republicans would have to resurrect the nomination of someone already blocked in the Judiciary Committee.
In today’s climate, there’s no way they’re getting 10 Republicans to cross the aisle if the GOP is holding firm on a nomination.
Given the bulldog history of Mitch McConnell when it comes to nominations, I think it’s safe to say that, depending upon the nominee, you may see Cocaine Mitch employ such a tactic.
PLIED, she PLIED you with wine coolers and the like. And you were 39, over the hill and happy for the attention.
Why nought a trans Black Woman?
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Big Mike 0bama?
No one Biden names will be acceptable. Block ‘em ALL!
Why not Ru Paul, black and a tranny.
Zero chance Mooch will give up her luxurious lifestyle to work. She is a queen to be served by the peasants. A queen does not work.
Whoever he picks will love the power. With all the AA tainting everything I have no faith in any black female judge. That’s what AA accomplished. And we know it will be a radical American hating “get whitey” judge steeped in marxist crt ideology.
I talk “chicken dinner” and you talk “Ru Paul.” You got me laughing so hard, I almost choked on my chicken and spewed my beer all over my computer monitor. LOL!
ZIMA! The energy breakfast drink of champions!
Already way too many wimmin on the court.
Well put. Sometimes I wonder if all the posters on FR urging people not to vote for GOP candidates are directly paid for by the Democrats.
The time to state your choice is in the primaries, and after that, vote for the GOP candidate no matter what. It’s a numbers game, and if we don’t have the numbers, it doesn’t matter how good the people we have elected may be. They’re not going to be able to do anything.
I read that the Dems put a lot of pressure on Breyer to resign now while they still control the Senate and know they can get his replacement through without a fight. That’s the power of having the numbers. They may not have much of a majority, but all it takes is one.
The GOP should put a 1000 pound weight limit on the nominee.
Isn’t Ketanji PAUL RYAN’S SISTER IN LAW????
We’ve achieved MLK’s dream where people are judged solely on the color of their skin. Dem progress!
Since we get to request gender, and skin color for SCOTUS - can I also request big boobs?
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Sure, but no blacks, if you want to have SCOTUS shown in China - Big Boobs and NO Blacks - formula to penetrating Chinese market.
We’ll grant her a “fair hearing”
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But you will hear about how she went out of her way to take anti-Trump cases to rule against the conservative side, and how the Constitution plays no part in her rulings.
Anti-conservative, anti-constitution are excellent qualities for a lifetime appointment ruling by politics and not law.
She will be a racial preference hire which will fit in with the corporate push to return to 19th Century hiring practices where merit, skill, experience play second fiddle to race.
Ironically, SCOTUS is set to hear a case on that very matter: racial preference hiring - maybe she’ll get on in time to be part of the decision.
Its just a change out of one libtard for another. Nothing to freak out over.
Good thing he didn’t hear that he was pre-planning his funeral...
It helps to read the article.
Don’t need to, THEY control the Senate... THEY can change whatever rules get on the way, if THEY choose to.
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