Posted on 09/13/2017 2:52:54 PM PDT by cotton1706
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is weighing into a looming fight over judicial nominees, saying an obscure Senate rule shouldn't be used to block some judicial nominations.
"My personal view is that the blue slip, with regard to circuit court appointments, ought to simply be a notification of how you're going to vote, not the opportunity to blackball," Mr. McConnell told The New York Times.
The Senate's "blue slip" practice-which isn't a rule but a tradition enforced by the Judiciary Committee chairman-allows home states senators to sign off on a judicial nominee on actual blue slips of paper before the committee holds a nomination hearing.
By not returning the paper, the senators can effectively block a nominee.
McConnell added he supports continuing the blue slip rule for district court nominees, whose decisions can be overturned by circuit court judges.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Talk is cheap, Mitch.
What are you going to DO?
Keep it up and the public is going to sign over their pink slips , regardless of the owner’s party .
The one thing McConnell helped us on, was keeping that SCOTUS slot open so Trump could make the appointment.
Perhaps this is his forte. If so, I’d like to see him prevent the Democrats from pulling blue slip tactics.
This may be one area he is prepared to play hardball on. As much as I detest him, I’d be very pleased to see him do it.
He would deserve kudos on the point.
Then do something about it, Yurtle.
L
Then - McConnell - get some spine and make a Senate rule that “blue slips” ARE no more than what you say they ought to be - just an indication of how some Senator will vote, and not a one-person hold on any nomination. That same rule should apply to all executive branch nominations, not just judges.
The “blue slip” tradition - and that’s all it is is a tradition, not a Senate voted and enacted rule, errors mightily when its proponents claim it is part of “advice and Consent of the Senate”.
It is not. It is abrogation of an authority and power that belongs only to the entire Senate and puts it in the hands of a single Senator. If the Constitution were considered our political theology, I’d call the “blue slip” rule blasphemy.
It is not merely a tyranny of a “minority” it is the tyranny of a minority of one.
If the founders had chosen to put some basic rules for the House and Senate in the Constitution, instead of leaving them all up to the House and Senate to decide for themselves, I cannot imagine they would have placed the “blue slip” method of vetoing nominations into those rules.
Hi, DO!
McConnell is no dummy. He kept the SC nomination open as a sop to the base, as we were approaching the 2016 elections.
It was not a profile in courage, as there had been the Biden precedent set years before.
The GOP was in charge of both houses since Jan. 2015, and we got nothing.
It remains unclear whether Yertle will actually do anything.
His personal view is there should be no blue slips, and he could end the practice with one vote on the issue.
But Mitch will not do that, as he cannot control his majority, unlike Harry Reid, who used to produce lockstep voting on every issue with his Dem Senators.
Tis a shame, but we are stuck with this guy at this critical point in history.
I have no illusions that he will lead on anything.
The only one in DC I still have faith in, is Trump.
Can’t argue with any of that.
My only quibble is that we wouldn’t have gotten Goresuch without him.
Believe me, my view of him and Ryan are about as low as it could possibly be.
I’m certainly not trying to rehab his image based on one issue. I still try to give credit where credit should be on an issue.
You make very good points there though.
time to remove the rule forever - will we need it for ourselves in the future? Possibly, but if the Republicans do their job, they can stay in a long time as the other side is ready or a new designation - the Socialist Democratic Party.
Always a pleasure to discuss things with you.
Mitch got no balls
He ain’t gonna do squat
He hates the Donald
Thank you Exit82. Same here.
“:^)
McConnell describes a problem, but does not offer a fix.
Get rid of the Turdle.
When used for ideological reasons, it shouldn’t block anyone.
What does anybody "need" it for these days? A hundred years ago, judges came from the immediate area, were educated close to their hometowns, and practiced law there too. There was certainly no widespread practice of households moving from state to state or coast to coast every couple of years as there is today. A local Senator would have had a good feel for the prospective judge then. That assumption that only locals are going to be the pool of judges is long gone.
Ending blue slips for Circuit Court nominees is a BIG STEP FORWARD and would probably result in the Dems using the blue slips much less at the District level.
Let’s see now if McConnell is willing to at least support conservatives on this. Other than Gorsuch, he literally has nothing to show for his work.
Hey Turtle, this isn't a rule, it's a tradition. And it's holding up badly needed nominees. Whatcha gonna do?
I suggest you have a meeting with Chuck Grassley and 'splain stuff to him: "Nice chairmanship you've got there Senator. I'm sure you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to it."
The time for being cordial and collegial is over. Get to work!
Mitch might be slightly less clueless than we think.
Grassley is head of the Judicial Committee. Drop him a Tweet on this at https://twitter.com/chuckgrassley?lang=en
Goodbye, blue slips!?
Scott Johnson
Oct 11 2017
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/10/goodbye-blue-slips.php
In news of interest to those of us who have been following the judicial confirmation wars in the Senate in general and in the matter of the nomination of Justice David Stras to the Eighth Circuit in particular, Fred Barnes reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has taken the reins, whipped the horse and expedited matters. Fred supplies this bill of particulars (the first of which I have slightly rewritten):
(Snip)
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