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View Full Version : Left Finally Admits They Pack Courts With Politicized Judges, And Plan To Amp It Up




Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 02:36 PM
Still smarting over the election of President Trump, some on the Left have concocted another scheme to gain the arbitrary and unlimited power they believe they deserve. One of the writers pushing the plan calls (https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-democrats-could-thwart-trumps-supreme-court-takeover) it “a classic authoritarian maneuver used by aspiring dictators who seek to consolidate their power by dismantling democratic institutions.” Naturally, he endorses it.
The proposal is simple: when Democrats next hold the presidency and Senate, they should pack the courts to ensure that the Left can achieve its goals. Instead of only nominating judges for existing vacancies, they would expand the courts and fill the new positions with left-wing judges. These “living constitutionalists” would reinterpret the laws and the Constitution to advance the Left’s agenda. Just keep adding new Supreme Court justices who believe the Constitution means whatever the Left wants, until they add up to a majority.
It was reasonable to dismiss this as an idle thought when it was just Twitter chatter among left-wing media figures and activists. But with the idea gaining (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2018/05/10/democrats_prepare_to_pack_the_supreme_court_442013 .html) traction (https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-democrats-could-thwart-trumps-supreme-court-takeover) in multiple left-wing outlets, it must be taken seriously.
To ensure the rule of law that ensures a republic instead of the rule of whim that fosters a banana republic, we have long established that judges are supposed to be umpires, not political players, who call balls and strikes according to rules that apply equally to everyone and have been decided by elected representatives. Politicians make the law, judges apply the law. That’s an intrinsic part of justice. Well, not any more.
Those promoting the plot acknowledge it is banana-republic stuff. They claim that they do not want to use these methods, but may be forced to use them because…Donald Trump, with the aid of the Federalist Society, has kept his promise to pick judges like the late Justice Scalia. That is all. That is what has leftists urging Democrats to attempt “a classic authoritarian maneuver” when they regain power.
Democrats Have Been Playing This Game for a While This proposal is extreme even for Democrats, who have spent decades escalating the fights over judicial nominees. They blocked the superbly qualified Robert Bork on ideological grounds, and attempted a “high-tech lynching” against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on trumped-up charges.
They first used the filibuster as an ideological weapon against George W. Bush’s judicial nominees. They then abolished the use of the filibuster for lower-court nominees when Republicans used it against some Obama selections. And they are still using every remaining procedural trick to delay Trump’s nominees.
Given this history, it was entirely justified for the Republican Senate majority to reject President Obama’s lame-duck appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and muscle through the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch. When Democrats started this fight, they should have known that the other side would eventually hit back.
But instead of accepting this as the price of hardball politics, some of them are plotting a judicial coup. Although expanding the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, is not in itself a coup against our constitutional order, doing so to secure arbitrary and unlimited power would be. And that is what these leftists want.

More at: http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/16/left-finally-admits-pack-courts-politicized-judges-trump-will-amp/

Zippyjuan
05-16-2018, 02:41 PM
Republicans block Obama nominees. Democrats block Trump nominees. Judges have always been political appointments. Both sides play the game.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 02:47 PM
Republicans block Obama nominees. Democrats block Trump nominees. Judges have always been political appointments. Both sides play the game.
The dems are the ones who started playing dirty and they are the ones talking about going hog wild.

Zippyjuan
05-16-2018, 02:48 PM
The dems are the ones who started playing dirty and they are the ones talking about going hog wild.

It is as old as politics. Dems didn't start the idea. Neither did Republicans.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 02:50 PM
It is as old as politics. Dems didn't start the idea.
They are the ones who have escalated things beyond business as usual and they are talking about going full bore banana republic.

Zippyjuan
05-16-2018, 02:56 PM
They are the ones who have escalated things beyond business as usual and they are talking about going full bore banana republic.

But they started it!

https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/commentary/no-more-obama-judges


No More Obama Judges

With the Senate back from its election hiatus for a brief lame-duck session, there is one thing that Republicans must absolutely not do: confirm any of the remaining judicial nominations of President Barack Obama still pending in that chamber.

We know that Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, won’t be confirmed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made that a central theme of the presidential campaign — that Republicans would give voters the opportunity to decide who should be on the court when they picked the next president.

To the surprise of many, Republicans senators formed a solid block in supporting McConnell and maintained this stand throughout the election. The voters have now spoken, and President-elect Donald Trump will pick the next justice.

But at last count, there were another 58 judicial nominations pending in the Senate, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That includes seven nominations for the federal courts of appeal (four still before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and three on the floor of the Senate); 44 nominations for district court positions (including territorial courts), of which 22 are on the Senate floor; two for the U.S. Court of International Trade; and five for the Court of Federal Claims.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 02:58 PM
https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/commentary/no-more-obama-judges

This proposal is extreme even for Democrats, who have spent decades escalating the fights over judicial nominees. They blocked the superbly qualified Robert Bork on ideological grounds, and attempted a “high-tech lynching” against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on trumped-up charges.
They first used the filibuster as an ideological weapon against George W. Bush’s judicial nominees. They then abolished the use of the filibuster for lower-court nominees when Republicans used it against some Obama selections. And they are still using every remaining procedural trick to delay Trump’s nominees.
Given this history, it was entirely justified for the Republican Senate majority to reject President Obama’s lame-duck appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and muscle through the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch. When Democrats started this fight, they should have known that the other side would eventually hit back.
But instead of accepting this as the price of hardball politics, some of them are plotting a judicial coup. Although expanding the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, is not in itself a coup against our constitutional order, doing so to secure arbitrary and unlimited power would be. And that is what these leftists want.

Zippyjuan
05-16-2018, 03:00 PM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-court-vacancies-20161225-story.html


As Obama's nominees languish in GOP Senate, Trump to inherit more than 100 court vacancies


Donald Trump is set to inherit an uncommon number of vacancies in the federal courts in addition to the open Supreme Court seat, giving the president-elect a monumental opportunity to reshape the judiciary after taking office.

The estimated 103 judicial vacancies that President Barack Obama is expected to hand over to Trump in the Jan. 20 transition of power is nearly double the 54 openings Obama found eight years ago following George W. Bush's presidency.

Confirmation of Obama's judicial nominees slowed to a crawl after Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015. Obama White House officials blame Senate Republicans for what they characterize as an unprecedented level of obstruction in blocking the Democratic president's court picks.

The result is a multitude of openings throughout the federal circuit and district courts that will allow the new Republican president to quickly make a wide array of lifetime appointments.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 03:01 PM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-court-vacancies-20161225-story.html

This proposal is extreme even for Democrats, who have spent decades escalating the fights over judicial nominees. They blocked the superbly qualified Robert Bork on ideological grounds, and attempted a “high-tech lynching” against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on trumped-up charges.
They first used the filibuster as an ideological weapon against George W. Bush’s judicial nominees. They then abolished the use of the filibuster for lower-court nominees when Republicans used it against some Obama selections. And they are still using every remaining procedural trick to delay Trump’s nominees.
Given this history, it was entirely justified for the Republican Senate majority to reject President Obama’s lame-duck appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and muscle through the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch. When Democrats started this fight, they should have known that the other side would eventually hit back.
But instead of accepting this as the price of hardball politics, some of them are plotting a judicial coup. Although expanding the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, is not in itself a coup against our constitutional order, doing so to secure arbitrary and unlimited power would be. And that is what these leftists want.

Zippyjuan
05-16-2018, 03:04 PM
Have Trump confirmations been slow?

http://time.com/5066679/donald-trump-federal-judges-record/


President Trump Appointed Four Times as Many Federal Appeals Judges as Obama in His First Year

President Trump likes to tout his appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court as one of his main accomplishments in his first year in office. But he broke an important record Thursday that proves he also stands to have a major effect on lower courts.

As of Thursday, Trump set a record for the most ever federal appeals judges confirmed during the first year of a presidency, Axios reports. Trump has successfully appointed 12 so far; President Barack Obama confirmed just three in his first year, and President George W. Bush confirmed six. He beat out presidents Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, who each confirmed 11.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican head of the Judiciary Committee, cheered the historic milestone on Twitter Thursday:

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 03:10 PM
Have Trump confirmations been slow?

http://time.com/5066679/donald-trump-federal-judges-record/


Conservative senators have sent a letter (https://www.perdue.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Senators%20Call%20On%20Leadership%20To%20Make%20Co ngress%20Work%20Again.pdf) to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) demanding that lawmakers confirm President Donald Trump’s 271 outstanding nominations and pass a spending bill before the August recess or skip the break altogether.

“We continue to witness historic obstruction by the minority party when it comes to funding the federal government and confirming the president’s nominees,” the letter said. “If we are complicit we are on the track for another last-minute spending battle come September.”
“However, if we take action now, we can break the cycle of continuing resolutions and omnibus spending deals,” the letter said. “Therefore, we want to offer our full support to expedite floor consideration, even if we must work nights and weekends and forgo the August recess to get it done.”
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) spearheaded the letter, which was also signed by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Dean Heller (R-NV), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
“President Trump said he would never sign another massive omnibus bill again,” Perdue told Breitbart News. “Congress only has 66 days to get next year’s funding bill to President Trump’s desk.”

“We need to take action now so President Trump is not jammed with another bad funding deal,” Perdue said. “We ought to work as long as it takes – including nights, weekends, and through the August recess if necessary – to get funding done and make progress on the backlog of nominees.”

“At this pace, it is unlikely the president will have all of his nominees confirmed before the end of his term,” the letter said.

More at: http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...-summer-break/ (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/05/11/gop-senators-to-mcconnell-address-271-trump-nominees-get-budget-done-or-skip-summer-break/)



The other reason for the delay in getting Trump’s nominees vetted and confirmed is, as noted above, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), shown. He is limiting the Senate from considering them by cutting its hours. This has so outraged conservative leaders that 133 of them wrote McConnell directly complaining (http://conservativeactionproject.com/the-senate-needs-to-confirm-president-trumps-nominees/) that “the slow pace of Senate confirmations is exacerbated by the Senate’s continued insistence on working no more than 2½ days a week: arriving on Monday evening for a handful of votes, and departing, on average, by 2:30 pm each Thursday afternoon.”
The opportunity to transform the American judiciary toward freedom and away from tyranny won’t last forever. It’s hard enough for the president to fight intransigent Democrats who are opposing him every step of the way. He now finds that he must fight Republican Senator Mitch McConnell as well.

More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnew...icial-nominees (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/27358-mcconnell-democrats-stalling-trump-s-conservative-judicial-nominees)

Zippyjuan
05-16-2018, 03:14 PM
So it is McConnell's fault. Republicans do control both houses of Congress.


Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), shown. He is limiting the Senate from considering them by cutting its hours.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 03:19 PM
So it is McConnell's fault.
Dems and RINOs work together.

enhanced_deficit
05-16-2018, 03:44 PM
To understand this debate on labels, is this guy Left or Right?


Trump Supreme Court pick sides with liberals in immigration ruling
Apr 17, 2018
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/trump-supreme-court-pick-sides-liberals-immigration-ruling-against-administration-n866681


https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AJwG8tF1A2tVJ4fJb4rhTbNbVuI=/0x0:633x331/fit-in/1200x630/cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9245523/Screen_Shot_2017_09_14_at_10.41.46_AM.png
https://www.autostraddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/trumpgayflag.jpg
http://www.dw.com/image/39109574_303.jpg
NRA gun rights supporters

dude58677
05-16-2018, 03:48 PM
FDR wanted to pack the court it did you forget this little detail?

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 03:52 PM
FDR wanted to pack the court it did you forget this little detail?

And he was a Demoncrat.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 03:54 PM
To understand this debate on labels, is this guy Left or Right?


Trump Supreme Court pick sides with liberals in immigration ruling
Apr 17, 2018
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/trump-supreme-court-pick-sides-liberals-immigration-ruling-against-administration-n866681
That was a ruling against overly vague laws.

Anti Globalist
05-16-2018, 04:23 PM
Yeah that's not shocking at all.

dude58677
05-16-2018, 05:02 PM
And he was a Demoncrat.

Exactly!

PierzStyx
05-16-2018, 05:28 PM
They are the ones who have escalated things beyond business as usual and they are talking about going full bore banana republic.

If business as usual is packing the courts with judges sympathetic to your politics, how is packing the court with judges sympathetic to your politics and how is it any different than what the Republicans do?

All republics are banana republics. Some are just slightly more obvious than others. But those in power never change.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 05:29 PM
If business as usual is packing the courts with judges sympathetic to your politics, how is packing the court with judges sympathetic to your politics and how is it any different than what the Republicans do?

All republics are banana republics. Some are just slightly more obvious than others. But those in power never change.
Please read the article before commenting.

PierzStyx
05-16-2018, 05:33 PM
FDR wanted to pack the court it did you forget this little detail?

The most important curt case in history, Mabury v. Madison was a result of President John Adams packing the courts by having his Federalist Congress create sixteen circuit judgeships and forty-two justices of the peace for the District of Columbia in the last three weeks of his term and then him ordering appointments for all of them, which would have effectively given the Federalist Party control of the courts. This was in 1801.

PierzStyx
05-16-2018, 05:35 PM
Please read the article before commenting.

I did. It was boringly partisan. Written just perfectly to manipulate the ignorant while ignoring the other side has always played the exact same game.

Swordsmyth
05-16-2018, 05:39 PM
I did. It was boringly partisan. Written just perfectly to manipulate the ignorant while ignoring the other side has always played the exact same game.
LOL

timosman
05-16-2018, 06:45 PM
I did. It was boringly partisan. Written just perfectly to manipulate the ignorant while ignoring the other side has always played the exact same game.

I am glad you are here to correct the record.

TheTexan
05-16-2018, 07:10 PM
Judges are fair and balanced. Like Fox news

Pauls' Revere
05-16-2018, 07:27 PM
What if we elected judges instead?

Brian4Liberty
05-16-2018, 07:51 PM
Party doesn't matter. What is important is the agenda of the nominee and their backers. Is it to uphold the Constitution and rule of law? Then it is appropriate.

Is their hidden agenda to destroy the Constitution and misinterpret and change the law? Then they are not appropriate. They are probably guilty of treason. They are stealth revolutionaries.

TheTexan
05-16-2018, 07:54 PM
What if we elected judges instead?

That's an excellent idea. That would give us a whole new set of elections to look forward to!

Pauls' Revere
05-16-2018, 08:10 PM
That's an excellent idea. That would give us a whole new set of elections to look forward to!

Great! so how do we get it on the ballot? both at State and Federal levels?

Imagine: we actually vote for the judges that will pass "judgement" upon the people. Make their voting record public and easily accessible.

TheTexan
05-16-2018, 08:49 PM
Great! so how do we get it on the ballot? both at State and Federal levels?

Imagine: we actually vote for the judges that will pass "judgement" upon the people. Make their voting record public and easily accessible.

We could take it a step further, and have people vote on the court judgements themselves!

Maybe to make it more efficient, have a group of 12 lucky people that get to vote on each judgement?

Sonny Tufts
05-17-2018, 08:20 AM
FDR wanted to pack the court it did you forget this little detail?

His plan was rejected by an overwhelmingly Democrat Senate by a vote of 70-22.

devil21
05-17-2018, 10:36 AM
His plan was rejected by an overwhelmingly Democrat Senate by a vote of 70-22.

His plan to expand SCOTUS to 15 justices was rejected. His ability to stack the court with New Deal sympathizers obviously did not fail. He was the only 4 term President so he was given an extra ability to appoint more justices than any other President would have been able to. He appointed 8 of the 9!

Raginfridus
05-17-2018, 10:39 AM
I wish somebody had rolled Roosevelt down the stairs.

Sonny Tufts
05-17-2018, 12:56 PM
He was the only 4 term President so he was given an extra ability to appoint more justices than any other President would have been able to.

So what? Taft was only a one-term President, and he appointed 5 justices. The point is that every President tries to appoint people who share his views. But many times it backfires -- Teddy Roosevelt, for example, appointed Oliver Wendell Holmes because he thought he would be a strong supporter of the antitrust laws. It turned out otherwise. Some justices turn out to be more liberal (Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren, Gerald Ford appointed John Paul Stevens, and Bush senior appointed David Souter) while some become more conservative (FDR appointed Felix Frankfurter).

In a 1984 speech Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist pointed out that while there's nothing wrong with "court-packing", it doesn't always work. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/10/20/court-packing-backed-in-rehnquist-speech/56c37eb4-82a2-43f7-8722-eff8dd25d845/?utm_term=.44db60245f5d

dude58677
05-17-2018, 03:11 PM
So what? Taft was only a one-term President, and he appointed 5 justices. The point is that every President tries to appoint people who share his views. But many times it backfires -- Teddy Roosevelt, for example, appointed Oliver Wendell Holmes because he thought he would be a strong supporter of the antitrust laws. It turned out otherwise. Some justices turn out to be more liberal (Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren, Gerald Ford appointed John Paul Stevens, and Bush senior appointed David Souter) while some become more conservative (FDR appointed Felix Frankfurter).

In a 1984 speech Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist pointed out that while there's nothing wrong with "court-packing", it doesn't always work. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/10/20/court-packing-backed-in-rehnquist-speech/56c37eb4-82a2-43f7-8722-eff8dd25d845/?utm_term=.44db60245f5d

You can say that about any type of job or anyplace where you recruit someone. The difference is that in this case(no pun) the people your hiring can't be fired and while there are a few busts(the Ryan Leafs of Supreme Court picks) most of the time the justices go with the views of the president picking them. If they are going to try to pack the court with socialist we should try to stop them instead of leave it chance that the picks backfire.

phill4paul
05-17-2018, 03:19 PM
Leaving the interpretation of what the CONstitution meant to nine clowns in gowns was just another asinine aspect of it. Should have stuck with the Articles.

Pauls' Revere
05-17-2018, 07:39 PM
We could take it a step further, and have people vote on the court judgements themselves!

Maybe to make it more efficient, have a group of 12 lucky people that get to vote on each judgement?

Why 12? lets cut it down to 5. Yeah, im talkin about electing judges into office and 5 jurors. :)