Democrats agree to confirmations of 15 Trump judges

[madville]

Source: Politico

Senate Democrats accepted an offer from Senate Republicans to confirm 15 lifetime federal judges on Thursday in exchange for the ability to go into recess through the midterms so endangered Democrats can campaign.

The calculation by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus was simple: That Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be able to confirm roughly 15 judges if he kept the Senate in session for the next few weeks anyway. So Democrats OK'd an offer to confirm three Circuit Court judges and 12 Circuit Court judges as the price to pay to go home for election season.

Some liberal activists are urging Democrats to show more fight after Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court; Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos even said that Democrats "need a new Senate leader" after the agreement was struck. But actual senators had to weigh that dynamic along with the approaching midterms and the brutal Senate map. And with a half-dozen Democrats facing serious challenges in Senate races, it made more sense to make what Democrats said was a reasonable deal with McConnell so that they could make a serious run at saving endangered senators.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/story/2018/10/11/senate-democrats-judges-895168

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/10/11/politics/senators-leaders-judge-nominee/index.html

[madville]

1. Then even after the midterms

They have two months to push even more through regardless if they keep the majority or not

[kacekwl]

3. Oh well.

[bluestarone]

4. Their call BUT

I'm NOT happy about it!

[oldtime dfl_er]

5. WHY??

Why are we negotiating and making deals with those fuckers? I am afraid Chuck Schumer has to go. He doesn't have any fight, nor any tricks up his sleeve. I miss Harry Reid. I miss Howard Dean. Where are the fighters?????

[FBaggins]

11. They didn't have much choice

It was either let 15 judges through and go home and campaign... or NOT go home to campaign and watch while 15 judges go through.

[JudyM]

19. Harry Reid was a fighter? I didn't see him that way.

[oldtime dfl_er]

47. Harry Reid

always had a trick or two up his sleeve. I thought he was pretty feisty.

[LenaBaby61]

38. "I am afraid Chuck Schumer has to go."

Now now, don't criticize Dems

It's not like Schumer gave up that much.

Just:

TONS of life time judgeships to male, right-winged nut jobs

Hey, Dems and thuglicans needed to get out the vote, especially thuglicans

[msongs]

6. 15 hard right judges - lifetime appointments? so endangered repubs can campaign?

this allows repubs to go campaign too in return for which we get .... what exactly?

[dsc]

8. there is one endangered Republican maybe 2

I don't like the deal but they didn't need to campaign we did.

[groundloop]

7. Maybe I'm not being pragmatic, but I'd have made the ratfuckers fight tooth and nail for every judge

Besides, it seems that it's the repukes who more desperately need to get home to campaign. Schumer should have told McTurtle to go fuck himself, and that we'd be every bit as accommodating as they were for Merrick Garland.

[catrose]

9. I can't help thinking that seeing Democrats fighting tooth and nail against Trump judges

would help the Democratic campaigns.

[The Liberal Lion]

12. What is the use of having an opposition party

if they oppose NOTHING!?!

[Ccarmona]

13. I Agree with Kos n/t.

[bluestarone]

14. I'm hoping they will not be the judges that

Make decisions about local election rules???

[AZ8theist]

15. McConnel will go down in history

As the most treasonous, anti-American, motherfucking ASSHOLE in US History.

With perhaps the exception of his boot-licked recipient, DOTURD.

FUCK ALL OF THEM TO HELL.

[dhol82]

16. How is it that the republicans have us so badly by the short hairs

Just asking for a friend.

[PoliticAverse]

22. They have a 51-49 majority in the Senate, and a VP to break any ties. n/t

[dhol82]

23. Yes, the question is how has this happened?

We have more people who vote for us, we have more people who believe in us.
How is it that we have less power?
It seems like the republicans, with their forty year plan, have fucked us over.
Can we not come together and overcome the the inertia that we, as Democrats, have to deal with?

[Ccarmona]

28. Unfortunately, Senator Reid Gave Up the Fillibuster

For all judges except those nominationed for the Supreme Court.
It was the worst decision he ever made as the Majority Leader.

[dhol82]

32. Huh, wonder why?

He was not a dim bulb. He must had some reason.

[Ccarmona]

33. He was sick of McConnell's Obstruction

Reid couldn’t get any of Obama’s Judicial selections confirmed because the Repugs stood fast and the nominations never could get the 60 votes they needed. Reid went to the nuclear option and we’re still paying for it today. McTurtle went to the same option last year and included Supreme Court nominations so now, even the two Supreme Court nominations went through with a simple majority.

[dhol82]

34. Damn!

McConnell is an evil fuck!

[Ccarmona]

35. Well...there's that

[hughee99]

57. Short term thinking. n/t

[dhol82]

60. That and apparently, frustration.

[Orangepeel]

37. Like McConnell wouldn't have done it anyway?

At least Reid got a few judges through while Dems had power.

[question everything]

17. This has bee happening since Trump took office

While we concentrated on Mueller and MeToo, he has been happily filing posts, at a rate no one has done before.

[dhol82]

25. I put this at McConnell's door

This has been the republican plan for forty years.

[Ccarmona]

29. See Reply #28.

[in2herbs]

18. I posted in a thread the other day that we had to replace Schumer with someone with a spine and

this is exactly why I feel that way. Why can't these Senators stay in session and have video town halls?

[rurallib]

20. I am curious who you would suggest?

I just don't see many real fighters - Warren? Harris? Booker? not sure about Durbin.
I have never been a fan of Schumer's.

[George II]

21. It's simple math - the republicans have a 51-49 majority, they only need 50 votes to confirm.

I don't understand what would have been accomplished had the Democrats forced a delay of the confirmations that would have happened anyway.

It was a common sense, practical decision.

[Polybius]

39. Maybe we could have delayed until January?

With the hope of taking the Senate, of course.

[Blanks]

51. I agree...

and democrats didn’t seem to be winning the PR battle over fighting against Kavanaugh.

Trump actually gained ground. The lower courts don’t matter as much as the Supreme Court, it’s better to put the effort into something else.

[JonLP24]

55. Most oppose Kavanaugh's nomination

They did find PR wise it was the Republicans who came out looking bad.

[Blanks]

56. Probably...

But that’s not the way the press is reporting it. Trump’s approval went back up again.

There’s the huge gap between men that support Trump and women who support Trump, but they’re reporting his approval at 41%.

Better than last week.

[diva77]

24. Even if the numbers determine the fate of the appts., Dems should not roll over

They can gain publicity by attempting to resist -- corp. media won't say squat about the appts. unless there is some sort of resistance -- that's what we just went thru with Krappinoff

Wasted opportunity from Senate Dems IMHO

K&R for exposure

[Va Lefty]

27. This post! K & R

Last thing we should do is roll over for them! Make them jump thru every hoop imaginable. They are going to get 12, 13 maybe 14 confirmed. If we keep 1 conservative judge from getting a lifetime appointment, it's a win.

[diva77]

46. If people had known there were a bunch of Kavasloth clones about to be apptd. to federal benches

they would have demanded they be questioned, have their biases exposed, and that the confirmation process be slowed down.

What a travesty

[Shipwack]

41. +1000...

"Wasted opportunity from Senate Dems" should be a macro...

[diva77]

45. What's a "macro" ?

[Shipwack]

48. Sorry for being cryptic...

A "macro" is when you program your keyboard to type out an often used phrase using only one key. Typically used in word processing programs to spit out something like a signature block.

[diva77]

50. Thanks for explaining!

[BlueWI]

26. If capitulating now is the better option

better see some wins in the blue column in November.

Otherwise, learn from the error and hold fast next time. And if vote suppression gets green lighted by these new right wing judges...well, there's that.

[TrollBuster9090]

30. In football it's called a PHANTOM SACK, and Senate Democrats are pretty good at it.

And I don't expect to be flagged for that comment. If RACHEL friggin' MADDOW is giving Senate Democrats a hard time for agreeing to this with no conditions, I can too.

The Phantom Sack illustrated. This is what Senate Democrats just did with these lifetime judicial appointments. Nice going guys...

[FloridaBlues]

31. I look at it this way after the start of the new session 2019 we will have control

Sen Nelson needs to get back here to off set all the free airtime his opponent is getting.

[Basement Beat]

36. I'm sorry, I'm just sick and tired of Dems constantly conceding to the repubs all the time...

At this point, a lot of the old guard seems like friendlier, less bat-shit crazy wing of the right.

Yeah, we definitely need some new blood that's fighters. This age of Repubs would never concede 15 lifetime liberal judges.
This is sickening.

[elmac]

40. kind of reminds me of Oliver Twist, please sir, I want some more

but this is the way it should have played out

[PatrickforO]

42. This makes a lot of sense to me.

Yes, it is cathartic to demonstrate, resist, call your Senators every day. We all did that during the Kavanaugh hearings. And you know what? Kavanaugh was confirmed anyway.

What we need to focus on with a laser-bright, single-minded intensity is winning elections. The reason the Republicans are spewing out these horrible agenda-turds is they can.

Why can they? Because they have power.

Why do they have power? Because they learned to win elections. (yes, I know they didn't REALLY win, but they are in office nonetheless, so I guess they DID win according to the practical meaning of that term).

So, basically, our people could have waged a mighty battle, and ultimately lost, or did what they did, cut losses and went out on the campaign trail.

In the past, I have railed against Schumer and Pelosi when I've felt they are being too soft, but in this case, they did the thing that gives us the best chance to win seats.

BECAUSE IF WE DON'T WIN SEATS WE CANNOT STOP THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA.

[BlueWI]

43. WE ALSO DON'T STOP THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA

BY AGREEING TO THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA, WHICH IN THIS CASE IS APPROVING 15 RIGHT WING JUDGES AT ONCE WITH NO PUBLIC VETTING AND DISSENT.

IN FACT, EFFECTIVE PARTY LEADERSHIP MAY MEAN DOING TWO THINGS AT ONCE, OPPOSING JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS AND RUNNING CAMPAIGNS.

No more all caps - most of us read lower case too.

At best, confirming the judges is a gambit. Arguably it buys campaign time, but that's the only tangible result. Will it win an extra Senate seat or two? We better hope so.

Or maybe there shouldn't have been resistance against Kavanaugh. Is this what you're saying?

No choice left but to win in November!

[PatrickforO]

44. No, the fight against Kavanaugh had to happen.

But here's the thing. Kavanaugh DID still get confirmed in spite of the best efforts of millions of us. My hope is that this fight galvanized many who would not otherwise have voted, and there are some encouraging signs this is true.

My whole point is that the Dems right now are like a small, outnumbered company deep in enemy territory. Sure, we could choose a hill, fight the good fight and...die.

OR

We could beat a strategic retreat, get reinforcements, and go back and win.

We need to win more seats, period. Clinton 'lost' by what? about 78,000 votes in three key areas? Our people need to be out campaigning instead of fighting a futile battle. We had to fight the battle over Kavanaugh because we might have won. We didn't, but we might have. It wasn't a lost cause.

A fight against these appellate judges WOULD have been a lost cause. Now is the time to think strategy. Tilting against windmills is noble sometimes, but in the end, what would be much better is if our party WINS SEATS in November. If they goof around fighting this futile battle until the week before the election they have not seized the day - instead they would have seized the short end of the stick.

I'm sick of watching us snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. Time to start winning, and that means hitting the streets, the phones, mailing out postcards and focusing on winning races we can win. Less glamorous. Less heroic.

But you know what? I want healthcare. Right now I have shitty, rationed healthcare with financially crippling copays. And I want expanded Social Security. Neither of those things will EVER happen unless we win seats.

[BlueWI]

53. I hear your thoughts.

This is actually the 2nd time judges have been confirmed en masse in the last few weeks, for a total of 22.

Will we wake up with a Senate majority, or at least hold ground? We'll see.

The only certain results are time to campaign and 22 right wing federal judges to be seated immediately. I hope the same power politics occurred when we had a supermajority in 2009, but I don't hear about many decisions made by Obama-appointed judges.

It's been a long hard road. Whayever it takes. Hopefully this is the right strategy for the moment.

[Bengus81]

49. Pfffttt...it's the Republicans that want to go home and campaign.

[shanny]

52. We need someone else as majority leader. That is all.

[clementine613]

54. We made a deal to allow 15 NAZIS on the federal bench???

:: shaking my head in disgust :::

[truthisfreedom]

58. Nazis might be too harsh of a term. Let's just say fascists.

Who love beer.

[clementine613]

59. No. Nazis is correct.

Rethugs are Nazis. Plain and simple.