Posted on 08/29/2018 11:38:03 AM PDT by jazusamo
Liberal advocacy groups are criticizing Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) for cutting a deal on judges with Republicans days before confirmation hearings are set to kick off for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Schumer agreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to speed up votes on 15 of President Trump’s judicial nominees, which will give vulnerable Senate Democrats more time to campaign at home this week.
A senior Democratic aide pointed out that most of the judges have received Democratic support and were going to get confirmed anyway since the minority party does not have the power to filibuster nominees in the Senate.
But the deal is coming under intense criticism from activists on the left, who fear it could portend Democrats going easy on Kavanaugh, Trump's second Supreme Court pick who could shift the ideology of court to the right for decades.
The left’s entire #WhipTheVote coalition, which opposes Kavanaugh, came out against the deal.
“A week before hearings begin, dozens of Senate Democrats have yet to publicly oppose Kavanaugh. Not only has Schumer lagged in unifying his caucus in opposition, he’s cutting deals with Mitch McConnell to fast-track Trump’s judicial appointees, helping Trump shape a right-wing judiciary for a generation,” said MoveOn.org executive director Anna Galland.
“We don’t need Democrats cutting deals to help Trump and the Republican agenda. We need them—and Schumer—fighting with the rest of us to protect our rights, our democracy and our lives,” she added.
Brian Fallon, the executive director of Demand Justice, a group leading opposition to Kavanaugh’s nomination, said an extra few days on the campaign trail isn’t worth the impact on the federal judiciary.
“Trading this many lifetime positions away for a couple days back home in the dead of August is a metaphor for how myopic the Democrats' approach has been at this dark moment in history,” he said in a statement.
“An entire branch of government is being lost for generations and Senate Democrats are willfully blind to it. In the coming months and years, these same Democrats will issue outraged statements about the rulings issued by the very judges that they could not be bothered to try to slow down. It is pathetic,” he added.
McConnell and Schumer on Tuesday agreed to expedite consideration of 20 Trump nominees — 15 judicial nominees and five executive branch appointments.
Seven of the judicial picks and five of the executive branch nominees received Senate confirmation on Tuesday. They rest are locked in to receive confirmation votes after Labor Day.
The deal angered liberals all the more as it came at a time when activists are gearing up to oppose Kavanaugh ahead of his confirmation hearings, which start Tuesday.
Indivisible Project, a liberal advocacy group dedicated to defeating Trump’s agenda, also criticized the deal, arguing Democrats “got absolutely nothing out of it.”
A senior Democratic aide said the deal spares Democrats from having to spend days in Washington running down the procedural clock when Republicans are very likely to have the votes they need to confirm all the nominees.
“[The] question was were they going to get confirmed while Dems were in DC or while Dems were back in their home states trying to take back the majority before folks come back for McCain services.”
Lawmakers are expected to return to Washington later this week to pay tribute to the Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who will be lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Friday.
Funeral services for McCain are scheduled for Saturday at Washington National Cathedral, where former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama will deliver eulogies.
Centrist Democrats running for reelection in states that Trump won by large margins in 2016 said there was little point in dragging out another week in Washington to vote on a batch of judges considered largely noncontroversial.
“These judges came out of the Judiciary Committee with Democrats and Republicans both signing off and endorsing them,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told The Hill last week.
He said it was better to save time and move the package of nominees instead of spending another week in Washington so both parties could “yell at each other.”
The Senate usually takes a monthlong recess in August, but McConnell cancelled it this year so the chamber could vote on nominees and the Defense-Labor, Health and Human Services spending bill.
AND THE MOLLIE TIBBETS SUFFER...Elizabeth Warren along with Schumer is another do gooder politician who supports aliens over American Citizens in all things well fare.
We don't need people like that on either side running our government.....Elizabeth should go back to her imagined reservation.
For the Lord's sake don't vote for these people and let the swamp critters take us back to the Socialist, NO Constitution years!
Totally agree and I’m loving it, all we have to do is vote and let them self destruct.
“Schumer agreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to speed up votes on 15 of President Trump’s judicial nominees, which will give vulnerable Senate Democrats more time to campaign at home this week.”
Given McConnell’s excellent record on getting judges through, and I don’t say that jokingly - remember, he has to corral a half dozen toddlers in his caucus - I’m not surprised that this deal helps our side.
But I do think what REALLY happened is that the red state Senators told Shuemer to take a hike and that they were going to help the Republicans get this done so that they could leave DC and campaign for re-election and that Sheumer could work to with McConnell to try to get some deal in return. And so he did...
the criticism of this deal extends to the conservatives in the country, including many on this forum. McConnell offered a deal that that they could not refuse, a week to campaign. They may want to delay Trump judges, but what they want more than anything on the Planet is to get reelected.
Some of these appointments will last for forty years, while the career of some of these Senators will only last until January.
My dream day regarding the dems is a red tidal wave this fall, then Ruth Buzzard takes the celestial dirt nap the very next day. I would consider it payback for the non stop absurd levels of hysteria and hyperbole about literally everything no matter how minute
That is an excellent point and right on.
I’m wondering if maybe there are some democrat law makers that are afraid of the hard left lurch and so, are appointing more conservative judges as a Plan-B to stay in power.
Schumer knows. He knows now that the Kavanaugh fight is one that was lost when Kennedy decided to retire in an election year where there are so many vulnerable D seats to defend. Unless there is some real horrid skeleton in Kavanaugh’s closet, the reason the democrats have to oppose him will be flimsy.
Having said that:
If Schumer is successful in bringing Kavanaugh’s nomination to a halt through dirty tricks and a smear campaign, then he loses. He loses because democrats running in Trumpland, and they are aplenty, are going to be held to account. Schumer will quickly find himself with an even larger minority in the Senate, a new nominee and even less power to stop that nominee.
If Schumer allows the nominee through without a fight, then his own base turns on him. If he fights, falls on his sword and fails, he loses anyway because he doesn’t have the votes and his base eats him alive.
He created the false expectation with his base of stopping Kavanaugh. He also went along with Dirty Harry when ole one eye shoved the nuclear option down the Senate’s throat. Now, he is going to pay and pay heavily. I weep for the Senior dirt bag from New York.
Quote: “I hope not. We need to get rid of ideological justices. What I hope he does is shifts the court rule of law under the US constitution and the laws dutifully enacted by the legislature in conformance with constitutional provisions and limitations.”
According to the left, that is shifting to the “right.”
Kavanaugh already went through an extremely lengthy confirmation process to get his previous appointment. The Democrat senators know that. They can’t stop Kavanaugh from being appointed. All they can hope to do is to allow him to be confirmed as soon as possible, explain it to their voters and spend some time on their campaigns. Otherwise, they’ll lose more Senate seats.
Kavanaugh already has more than enough votes to be confirmed according to comments from senators.
Yes, and we can bet the farm Schumer knows it.
Constitution! Dems don't want the stinking Constitution... According to the left, that is shifting to the “alt-right.”
In their opinion, democracy (and the chaos it historically creates) is the only worthwhile goal...
The Constitution, in their opinion, created something in direct opposition to that chaos...A Republic that was designed to guarantee citizens the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...Something no 'democracy' has ever done...
McConnell ought to tell Schumer they’re working over Thanksgiving and Christmas as well
“...which will give vulnerable Senate Democrats more time to campaign at home this week.”
Thanks for the news, Chuckie.
Bump!
Oh, boo hoo! Liberals were deliriously happy when Obama appointed one after another, radical left wing, activist judges. Too bad we horrible conservatives get a turn at bat. Live with it.
Isn’t this the same Brian Fallon who was given blanket immunity in the Hillary Clinton “investigation”? (The whole purpose of which, was to immunize every one of her witnesses).
If there ever was a prototype for a PUTZ Schumer wins hands down
He even looks the part
This gives Republicans time to campaign too!
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