Time to go nuclear and confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch under the rules specified in the Constitution which only require a simple Senate majority.
I’m not really a basketball fan, but I understand why a team doesn’t go full court press on every single play.
The dems are making a mistake here. They need to choose their battles.
I’m really curious if Trump is going to cave on Gorsuch. I hope not.
Break out the Castle Bravos.
Dingy Harry opened Pandora’s box, and he was warned by his own side that he was doing so. He didn’t care.
Makes it that much easier when Ginsberg kicks off.
Dems are being very dumb here. If they force Rs to go nuclear this time, when the next one opens up they have nothing stopping it which would definitely tilt the court significantly more right.
McTurtle better not go wobbly on this.
Excellent news, thanks!
The GOP never uses the filibuster tool for SCOTUS nominees. I can’t believe Democrats would be stupid enough to do this, but looks like their insane communist base is demanding it. So be it.
You lost. Look it up.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/325890-dem-senator-not-included-to-filibuster-gorsuch
I don’t see the big deal here. The Senate ceased being a “great deliberative body” with the passage of the 17th Amendment.
Place your bets.
Once the filibustering starts, Mich McConnell will OK the Nuclear Option in:
1 Day
5 Days
10 Days
20 Days
30 Days
...
100 Days
Never
And in other news, Water Is Wet.
Rule XIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate plainly states that on any given question, a senator may speak only twice on the same "legislative day". This clause is known in Senate parlance as the two-speech rule. No senator may speak more than two times on the same matter on the same legislative day.
In simple terms, it means that once each senator has spoken twice on a matter, debate on that matter is concluded no matter what. It means that a final up-or-down vote is guaranteed. It does not preclude the Senate from invoking cloture before all senators have spoken twice, nor does it preclude the Senate from proceeding to a final vote in the absence of continued debate. Unlike the nuclear option, which kills debate instantly at the whim of the majority, enforcement of the two-speech rule effectively sets a limit on debate. Under longstanding Senate rules and precedents, a legislative day is the period of time between when the Senate convenes and when it adjourns. The Senate could therefore have multiple legislative days within the same calendar day, or it could have a single legislative day span several months if it wished.
In 1964, the Senate had an 81 calendar day-long "legislative day" to break Strom Thurmond's filibuster of the Civil Rights Act...
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield kept the Senate on the same legislative day for 81 calendar days, from March 30 to June 19, to enforce the two-speech rule to break the filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
DO IT!
There is zero reason to get rid of the filibuster rule for Gorsuch which does not also apply to the filibuster rule period.
“Because Harry Reid did it” is NOT a valid reason.
Because the supposed good of the rule is vastly outweighed by the bad is a valid reason.
A super-majority vote in the Senate does not actually lead to a more thorough “debate,” nor is it a needed check on power. The House, the President, the Judiciary and elections are enough of a check on the Senate.
Trash the entire rule NOW and give us a chance to get off the socialist path we are on.
McConnell should announce an up or down vote....and if he cannot get 60 votes for confirmation, employ the ‘Reid Rule’ and re-vote.
If only we controlled all three branches of goverment, we could get sh*t done...