Supreme Court

[Badsmerf]

Hearing the Wisconsin gerrymandering case. It is a tragedy Gorsuch is on this court. This is maybe the first in a string of monumental cases expected to be heard. How different our country could be with a liberal leaning court. The civil rights movement was halted in the 70s as the court became more conservative. I have a hard time seeing Trump and the republicans hold power in 2020, so the successful stall tactic used in 2016, could be short lived.

[drjim]

I'm curious what Anthony Kennedy is thinking. Depending on when he decides to retire, he's going to lose half his legacy.

[drjim]

And Gerrymandering is bad, but it will always exist in some form unless Congressional Districts are abolished.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I'm curious what Anthony Kennedy is thinking. Depending on when he decides to retire, he's going to lose half his legacy.

 

kennedy grilled the pro gerrymandering side, and didn't make a peep on the other side. He's voting against gerrymandering.

 

yes, it is criminal Obama didn't get to put in a justice. He totally blew that, not pushing hard. The dems totally blew it. Awful politics.

[Badsmerf]

kennedy grilled the pro gerrymandering side, and didn't make a peep on the other side. He's voting against gerrymandering.

 

yes, it is criminal Obama didn't get to put in a justice. He totally blew that, not pushing hard. The dems totally blew it. Awful politics.

There were some that pushed pretty hard. I would say Frankin and Warren were the loudest to me. It all comes back to the dems curling up in the fetal position when they should bang the walls. Instead, they focused on bathroom equality. Obama tried to lay low and allow Clinton to slide in. He ****ed that up.

[drjim]

 

kennedy grilled the pro gerrymandering side, and didn't make a peep on the other side. He's voting against gerrymandering.

 

yes, it is criminal Obama didn't get to put in a justice. He totally blew that, not pushing hard. The dems totally blew it. Awful politics.

 

His only option was to force a Constitutional crisis. Other than that, no chance Republicans were voting a nominee in no matter how hard he "pushed".

 

I do think Clinton could have made it more of an election issue. Conservatives certainly did. If Scalia didn't die, Trump wouldn't be President.

[gunnarthor]

I think Kennedy will side with the Dems on the Gerrymandering case b/c the if that gerrymandering is ok, nothing can be unconstitutional and Kennedy won't go that far. I'm far more worried about him retiring and letting Trump get to pick his replacement. (or any of the other justices dying. Ugh).

 

I do wish the Dems had made the court a bigger part of the election. Not sure why they didn't. Congress wasn't going to let a black man pick Scalia's replacement? Seems like they should have made that a real issue.

[stringer bell]

Complacency has a lot to do with not fighting hard to get Obama's nominee on the court. They thought Clinton would win and that Democrats would have a majority in the Senate, neither happened.

[PseudoSABR]

The lingering issue on gerrymandering is if it's declared unconstitutional what is a manageable standard that it should appropriately adhere to.  Kennedy has already hinted at his displeasure, but he'll need a workable standard to sign on to.  I hope he's been trying to develop one on his own/with his staff.

[Badsmerf]

Anyone catch any of the hearing? Kavanaugh seems like a pretty solid nomination. These hearings aren't phasing him at all. Spending your life in Washington is probably an advantage in dealing with these situations.

[jimmer]

Besides refusing to answer some important questions.

[Badsmerf]

Meh, he shouldn't be expected to give a definitive answer on a case before he has the chance to hear the arguments. I don't like opinions, much like gorsuch, but I think he has less conflicting past opinions than gorsuch did. I struggle with his bias toward business, regulation, possibly abortion, and executive power.

 

This process has become way more partisan than it should be. The resistance to gorsuch was justified because the republicans stole that seat on the bench. I'm guessing Kavanaugh will see more support from democrats. I bet we'll see 5+ vote for him, and in my opinion, it should be more.

[gunnarthor]

He's going to be an absolute horrible judge and roll back even more of our constitutional protections. But, yeah, he's smart and he'll survive these hearings.

 

And not a single Democrat will vote for him.

[Badsmerf]

They have no ground to stand on to oppose. Just because he is ideologically conservative doesn't mean he is unfit for the bench. I could see the case where democrats push for all the documents to be released before confirming, and maybe that is a valid request. I only recently started paying attention to this process.

[PseudoSABR]

 

They have no ground to stand on to oppose. Just because he is ideologically conservative doesn't mean he is unfit for the bench. I could see the case where democrats push for all the documents to be released before confirming, and maybe that is a valid request. I only recently started paying attention to this process.

Yes, they do.  It's not just ideology.  It's that he's refused to recuse himself from potential cases that implicate Trump.  That he's written about the President should not be indited while in office.  And he's refused to answer simple questions like whether the President can be subpoenaed (which precedent--from Watergate era--suggests the President can be).  And whether the President could actually pardon himself.   

And more, there are still undisclosed documents which Kavanaugh authored, which has never happened with a SCOTUS nominee before.   Perhaps that is just overreach by the Trump admin; but if Kavanaugh authored memos about the President's lack of liability or about immigration or torture under the W. Bush regime, that's certainly relevant.  

 

Kavanaugh was always the kind of candidate that is pretty far on the margins that his vote would fall along near party lines; but he's been bread for this, so his career has been designed to insulate him from the scrutiny he know faces.  

 

There is no need to hurry this, let's see everything he's written, and lets get his commitment to recuse himself from issues that involve the man that nominate him.  

[PseudoSABR]

Leaked Documents From Kavanaugh’s Time in White House Discuss Abortion and Affirmative Action

 

As a White House lawyer in the Bush administration, Judge Brett Kavanaugh challenged the accuracy of deeming the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision to be “settled law of the land,” according to a secret email obtained by The New York Times.

[gunnarthor]

The "committee confidential" tag has really bothered me. I know the GOP is just going to ram this through but it really mocks transparency and openness. All for a life time appointment? I can't believe the GOP would be ok if it was on the other foot.

[PseudoSABR]

 

The "committee confidential" tag has really bothered me. I know the GOP is just going to ram this through but it really mocks transparency and openness. All for a life time appointment? I can't believe the GOP would be ok if it was on the other foot.

And it's being administered by a private attorney who had worked for/with Kavanaugh (not to mention is the person attorney of Steve Bannon among others). 

[slash129]

From what I've watched of this hearing, I hope the Democrats have someone better than Cory Booker to run against Trump.  He seems to be the Democrat version of Trump where everything is about him instead of the good of the country.

[TheLeviathan]

The escalation of politicizing the Court is as dangerous as anything to our democracy.

[Badsmerf]

The withholding of documents is troublesome. The fact 40000 were dumped before the hearing, and many more are not available is reason to postpone this vote.

 

I still maintain, despite my differences with Kavanaugh, there hasn't been anything I've heard that disqualifies him. Roe is in danger, the nra is drooling, big business is printing checks, it is a devastating time to want progressive progress. This is our country, and the beginning of our fall from the top.

[Brock Beauchamp]

The escalation of politicizing the Court is as dangerous as anything to our democracy.

Agreed, but Republicans need to release the ****ing documents. I don’t believe these nominations should be as politicized and vitriolic as they’ve become but we need to know who this guy is.

[TheLeviathan]

I blame the GOP for about 80% of the politicization.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I blame the GOP for about 80% of the politicization.

That seems about right.

[slash129]

Those "Racial Profiling" subject line emails that Booker is risking his career over didn't seem very damning.  Considering the situation at the time, "grappling" with being politically correct versus ensuring airport security seems like the exact situation that lawmaker would be expected to deal with.  

 

The documents should be released, but if that's the meat and potatoes, then I fear this isn't going to be much of a battle.

[D. Hocking]

 

The fact 40000 were dumped before the hearing, and many more are not available is reason to postpone this vote.

 

 

I cannot remember who made this comment, but when Grassley said his people had been able to get through the documents that were received late the night before, someone replied that is impressive that they were able to get through 7000 pages an hour.  I am not sure Grassley was prepared for as much push-back as he got.

 

Maybe this guy is qualified and should be confirmed (although I cringe as the direction it will take the court), but I do have  a problem with it being rushed through because they are afraid of what will happen at the midterms or what will come out next about Trump.  I do think it smells a bit that possibly the main reason this guy was nominated is because Trump liked his views on whether a sitting President should be investigated, subpoenaed etc.  It is very possible that Trump is hand selecting a judge who he will appear before in the semi-near future.

 

In addition to the politicization of the nomination process, sadly I think you can even go broader than than that and say the entire court is now politicized.  There is not a lot of guess work in determining how the justices are going to rule on a case and how it aligns with their political affiliations.  I am sure there has always been a little of that, but it seems to have gotten worse the last 25 years or so.  There used to be a time when a president would occasionally be unhappily surprised that the newest justice is not ruling from the bench as he would have predicted from his political affiliation.  

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

The documents should be released, but if that's the meat and potatoes, then I fear this isn't going to be much of a battle.

If there's nothing there, good. I don't want to see Kavanaugh go down in flames.

 

All I want is transparency.

[Squirrel]

.  I do think it smells a bit that possibly the main reason this guy was nominated is because Trump liked his views on whether a sitting President should be investigated, subpoenaed etc.  It is very possible that Trump is hand selecting a judge who he will appear before in the semi-near future.

 

I think this is the only reason he was nominated. Everything else is just a ‘bonus.’

[Mike Sixel]

We all know he's going to be confirmed. We all know we are going to lose rights left and right.

 

I blame the liberal justices for not retiring early in Obama's second term (note, I said early, like, right away)......oh, and the electorate for electing Trump....but the justices had control over this situation....

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

We all know he's going to be confirmed. We all know we are going to lose rights left and right.

 

I blame the liberal justices for not retiring early in Obama's second term (note, I said early, like, right away)......oh, and the electorate for electing Trump....but the justices had control over this situation....

Except that wouldn't have changed anything. The court's political composition has been 5-4 in favor of Republicans for a long time.

 

All of this is the electorate's fault, including the Democrats for nominating a reviled candidate who couldn't steamroll a complete buffoon in an election.