tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post4125973064938372201..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Good News, Bad News on JudgesJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-65911522409494048652011-03-09T07:13:54.832-06:002011-03-09T07:13:54.832-06:00No. They're letting the non-controversial ones...<i>No. They're letting the non-controversial ones through as part of a deal...which came from Dem pressure for filibuster reform. </i><br /><br />And it speaks volumes that letting noncontroversial nominees get an unobstructed floor vote is now a bargaining chip instead of just the way things are done.Kevin S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06076147424768269913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-42317630704526915792011-03-08T20:05:20.699-06:002011-03-08T20:05:20.699-06:00The American people are electing some pretty hard ...The American people are electing some pretty hard boards these days.<br /><br />http://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2009/12/hard-boards.htmlTaylor Wrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290713725463878436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-88412956488210959782011-03-08T14:12:00.449-06:002011-03-08T14:12:00.449-06:00Andrew --
No. They're letting the non-controv...Andrew --<br /><br />No. They're letting the non-controversial ones through as part of a deal...which came from Dem pressure for filibuster reform. <br /><br />Meanwhile, as long as the Democrats have 60 votes (which they do, on most judicial nominations, even in the new Senate), there's really nothing that Republicans can do to stop it. They can chew up floor time, but ultimately if you have 60, you can do what you want. <br /><br />That it was lack of interest by the WH/Democrats was more obvious in the 111th Congress, of course, when they easily had the votes.<br /><br />To anticipate the objection: if McConnell could successfully pressure Lugar, Snowe, etc. to vote against cloture for every single nominee, the next step would be cloture reform. If, that is, Democrats cared about judicial nominations.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-10840144604367502092011-03-08T14:05:00.375-06:002011-03-08T14:05:00.375-06:00Granted, part of the reason the administration is ...<i>Granted, part of the reason the administration is slow to act is because of GOP obstruction. Still, as usual, there's no sign at all that Barack Obama or anyone in the White House considers this a priority.</i><br /><br />It's 2011, and you <i>still</i> don't understand the way Obama or the congressional Republicans work.<br /><br />If anyone in the Obama administration even <i>hinted</i> that confirming judges was a priority for them, then GOP would effortlessly obstruct even the non-controversial ones. Result: ZERO new judges (that's less than three per week, by the way).Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15913245096162048743noreply@blogger.com