Posted on 10/11/2017 10:38:32 AM PDT by jazusamo
This may seem like an abstruse parliamentary maneuver -- and it is -- but Mitch McConnell just escalated the judicial wars in a minor but meaningful way. If frustrated conservatives want the GOP Senate majority to " start acting like one ," McConnell's decision eliminates a lever Democrats have been using to stymie some of President Trump's judicial picks. In that sense, he's very much acting like a majority leader; a Democratic one. Try not to let your eyes glaze over as you read the details of this move, which involves dramatically reducing the power of so-called "blue slips" on judges, with which Senators from the home state of a presidential selection have been able to withhold their consent in order to prevent that nomination from moving forward. Not anymore. McConnell warned Democrats that he was leaning this direction last month, hoping they'd abandon this form of partisan blockade. They didn't. So he's followed through on his threat -- via the Weekly Standard:
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
He should have done it from the beginning, instead he let the Dems run the show. He warned Dems last month that he could revert to this, but you don’t give your enemies a head’s up...you don’t threaten them unless you plan to follow through with those threats. He’s a turtle in every way...drags his a$$ all the time. I think his dragging had a lot to do with his personal vendetta towards Trump. Maybe he though he’d get some leverage with the White House on other issues if he didn’t push these nominees through. The guys a puke, and needs to go.
I agree he needs to go.
If we’d have had a majority leader with stones many of these nominees would already be on the bench.
THANK YOU. A change that was 30 years late in coming, but is welcome!
This is good but one atta-boy doesn’t eliminate hundreds of aww-chit’s.
Mr. Turtle needs to retire but only if a good conservative non-establishment cuck takes his place. Otherwise nothing good would be accomplished.
I grinned from ear to ear when I read that Townhall article this morning. I hope ole Mitch is losing sleep and sweating bullets these days. I want him force-fed every smug word he’s uttered about “crushing” conservative candidates, the smarmy jackass.
oh goody!!!
snaps for McConnell :)
The turdle just took a slightly faster step? Wow? Will wonders ever cease? Next thing ya know, we’ll see the Senate pass the repeal of O’Care!
Agreed. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy either.
Well I’ll be damned.
I have no issues giving the Dems a CHANCE to do the right thing, but once its obvious they are not, you take care of it... McConnell should have done this long long before now... because it was obvious long ago they weren’t going to ever return these blue slips.... If historical standard is 2 weeks, give em 3, once that’s done, change the rules.. instead you don’t sit there for MONTHS waiting.
Trump is starting to crack the whip!!
He asked Schumer’s permission first.
Good Boy Micky. Now you get a treat. About freaking time this idiot got with the program.
>>He’d never do this on his own. He’s feeling the heat from the donors. <<
I think you’re probably right about the pressure from donors making the difference.
What I don’t understand is why they aren’t putting a ton of pressure on him to dump the filibuster rule. That’s the only way conservative legislation is ever going to move through the Senate.
Good! Finally lest MAGA!
He'll never do it. Because today he can hide behind the democrats blocking things ("well we need 60 votes and we only have 52 so what can we do?") but the dirty secret is that if they had a simple majority rule it would become obvious that the "GOP" actually won't do the things they promised even when there is absolutely no impediment.
Yes, good for the Turtle.
I’ve scoured the Constitution and amendments, and I have yet to see any provision regarding “Blue Slips” or anything like them. So all that we are talking about is a tradition of obstructionism in the Senate. Buh-bye.
Are we on 51 votes now?
The REAL catch is that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said not so fast...HE will determine if the blue slip "tradition" continues, and Pat Leahy says Grassley promised him it WILL
ping
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