The following excerpts from an AP dispatch may serve to explain what happened today in the U.S. Senate (52-48 vote), suggest some of the implications, and what some Republicans are thinking. It should be understood that the action by all but three Senate Democrats does not change the ability of a minority to hold up legislation or U.S. Supreme Court nominations, only appellate and district judgeships, which are lifetime appointments, and administrative appointments currently subject to Senate “advice and consent.”
The Democrat majority in the Senate on Thursday pushed through a major rules change, one that curbs the power of the Republican minority to block President Barack Obama’s nominations for high-level judgeships and cabinet and agency officials. . . .
Current Senate rules allowed any one member of the chamber to block a president’s nominations unless 60 of the 100 Senators vote to move forward with the nomination. The 60-vote threshold has proven difficult for Democrats to assemble given they hold only a 55-45 edge over the Republicans . . .
The latest battle is over Obama’s choices to fill three vacancies at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Since Oct. 31, Republican filibusters derailed the president’s nominations . . . The D.C. Circuit Court is viewed as second only to the Supreme Court in power because it rules on disputes over White House and federal agency actions. The circuit’s eight sitting judges are divided evenly between Democratic and Republican presidential appointees. Three seats are vacant . . .
“I suspect the reason they may be doing it is hoping Republicans overreact, and it’s the only thing that they could think of that would change the conversation about Obamacare,” said Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander . . . “But we’re not that dumb.”
The bold typeface applied to the AP text is our emphasis. Reid’s actions are essentially for the purpose of facilitating a court packing scheme by Democrats that will survive their current legislative hegemony. The D.C. circuit is extremely important on its own, but the implications up and down the line, are extremely influential as to any efforts by conservatives to right this country.
Obama will be able to “pack” or extend the liberal tilt of every court in the land in the same way he will now pack the 2nd Circuit. Thus, every Obama/Democrat initiative or whim will stand however unconstitutional, illegal, immoral, unworkable, or whatever.
Elections can be overturned, vote fraud/intimidation can be upheld, conservative pundits, activists, donors, etc. can be shut down, intimidated, financially ruined…all by court ruling or directive, or by ignoring justiciability and from the effect of the Obama administration,s edicts.
The GOP must stop it now or the Party is, indeed and forever more, largely dead in its tracks. How to stop? The Dems would figure it out, you can bet. The GOP must stop action on ALL legislation until the Senate reverses the “nuclear” option it just exercised! That sentiment is held by influential conservative Gary Bauer as well.
Sure, there will be criticism for shutting down the Senate and blocking votes. But Harry Reid is not allowing votes on legislation he does not like, such as the House-passed bill allowing individuals to keep the health insurance plans they like.
This vote is just the latest manifestation of the left’s growing intolerance and its willingness to ignore, bend and break rules it finds inconvenient. Obama didn’t like the Defense of Marriage Act, so he just ignored it. He didn’t like our immigration laws, so he changed them. When parts of Obamacare started to cause trouble, Obama unilaterally altered them.
To the left, the ends justify the means. Harry Reid broke the Senate rules in order to make it easier for Obama to pack the courts with more left-wing judicial activists.
The 2014 elections cannot come soon enough!
Democrat strategists may be afraid they are done as a legislative majority for awhile because of the current political fallout from Obamacare. They may figure that between now and Nov 2014 they must do whatever is possible to sustain their achievements. They overestimate Republicans, but they probably consider the nuclear option is the safe option, the agenda preserving thing to do.
Patriotic judges will try to wait out retiring until 2015 or even 2017. But that would only be a small amelioration. How do we live with a Democrat packed DC appellate court and a meandering Supreme Court willing to rewrite legislation to make it suitable to a liberal agenda ( Obamacare as a tax)? The implications are important enough for Republicans to go nuclear themselves and resolve to stop socialist legislation important to Dems, which of course they should do anyway.
Are there other effective responses? Possibly. But the message has to go out to Dems, because that is all they understand, that response / payback will be beyond tit for tat. Do whatever is possible to frustrate Democrat intentions now, and then use Reid’s rule against them, thoroughly and unabashedly, at the first opportunity. Will Republicans do anything effective? The good of the country awaits.
R Mall and DLH
“I suspect the reason they may be doing it is hoping Republicans overreact, and it’s the only thing that they could think of that would change the conversation about Obamacare,” said Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander . . . “But we’re not that dumb.”
“Not that dumb”, huh! I think that proposition has already been tested. I give you John “the Great Conciliator” McCain or Mitch “the $3 billion senator” McConnell. To suggest that the Dems went nuclear just to divert attention from Obamacare problems is naive in the extreme: a) this action effectively gives the Executive complete power…it already has usurped the Legislative branch’s Constitutional authority as a result of Congress’ abdication and Obama’s unprecedented use of Executive orders, regulatory dictates, DOJ lawsuits and questionable prosecutions. Today’s action gives it incredible power over the Judiciary. Any court which stands in its way can be “packed” just as the 2nd Circuit soon will be. And, does anyone doubt Harry Reid’s willingness to further “tweak” the filibuster rules to include legislation?. and, b) the Democrats can be confident that Republicans will have neither the courage or the stomach to retaliate in kind…if indeed, they are ever again in the majority in either branch after 2014. (To suggest that it’s virtually a sure thing that 2014 elections will go to Republicans is a bet I’ll not take, given the GOP’s performance so far in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.)
“Overreact”!? Fat Chance of that!
Unless this travesty is immediately reversed by whatever means the GOP Congressional caucus can devise, the nation may well be seeing the not so gradual demise of the Great Experiment that once was America.