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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis is What's Really At Stake in Battle for Senate Control: Talking Points Memo
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/whats-really-at-stake-in-senate-control________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Arguably the most significant consequence of a Republican Senate takeover in 2014 is absent from the campaign trail, and hardly registers in any polls asking Americans what their top election issues are.
It's not Obamacare. It's not taxes or spending or immigration. It's not the ISIS terrorist threat.
It's judicial and administrative nominations: who gets to be a lifetime-tenured federal judge, and who gets to run powerful government agencies.
Major legislation will remain bottled up under any plausible outcome in November as President Barack Obama will still hold the veto pen and Republicans will still control the House. But the Senate is the exclusive guardian of the nomination process. And in a potential Republican-led Senate, probable Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) would have complete control over which of Obama's nominations may come up for a confirmation vote.
"My guess is they put a stop to a host of nominations and try to use that process for hostage taking and leverage," said Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "Certainly it means the ability of Obama to get any judicial nominations through becomes about zero."
riqster
(13,986 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)tritsofme
(17,379 posts)a horrible ransom to confirm even the least controversial nominees. It would make for a very nasty two years.
Exactly. Sadly some people can't seem to see all the reasons "WHY" we need to get rid of republicans, and prevent them from gaining ground in the Senate, and the House. The more democrats we put in office the better chance we have of actually accomplishing something between now and 2016. If republicans win the Senate, we will regret it for decades.
Stuart G
(38,434 posts)Alaska, Iowa, North Carolina, and Georgia.
... A fair chance in Kentucky...
Very Good..in Colorado, New Hampshire Michigan .Minn..
?????????????????? in Kansas.....North Carolina?????.
Poor in Ark, and Louisiana ....If we get those 7 of those 8 I think we will be good.
But with unlimited money from the Republicans, it is much to early to know...d
Seven weeks is a long time..