R’s Supreme Court Boycott & Trump: How is That Going to Work Out for Them?
What if it is Trump? Or Trump vs. Clinton? Or Trump vs. Clinton vs. Bloomberg? What’s the end game for the McConnell-Grassley Triple No Strategy on the Court?
Can they really rely on a President Trump or a President Bloomberg actually going with a Scalia Federalist Society Originalist type? Are the really willing to go All IN on President Rubio?
Got more questions than answers. In fact no firm answers so far. But Ted has one week to put this election into Cruz Control, because if he is in second or third place trying to get around the fat ass of the Trumpmobile come next Wednesday at this time he is in the slow lane to nowhere. And Rubio is trying to make a play as being the most warlike warlock of the Neo-Cons even while being No Exception on Abortion while claiming the ‘moderate’ ‘sensible’ ‘main street’ lane to nativist populist Trump.
Yet the Federalist Society types are going all in with the bet they get better Court results with appointees in 2017 than with Obama in 2016. Seems to me they should have waited to get beyond Super Tuesday before they bet the future of the Court for the next couple of decades.
Open Thread on Nevada, Trump, the Supreme Court
Just another example of the GOP’s problems in allowing the birchers(that is the tea party) into the mainstream party. While the votes and excitement are great, the downside is that you end up doing incredibly stupid things to keep them from going off.
The GOP would be much better served, as you mentioned, to wait for Super Tuesday to make a stand. For that matter they could have just sat on their hands for longer than that and just simply refusing to approve any Obama nominee. But they cannot do either of those two sensible things without riling up the nut cases they now depend upon(and are scared to death of).
And now the Kirks, Toomeys and Portmans of the world will find themselves dancing on very thin ice.
WWTD – What Would Trump Do?
Nobody knows. Like most people I don’t believe it will come to that, but I also don’t see Rubio acceptiong the nod at the Republican Convention.
So the R’s are holding out for what? For whom?
Not to mention that Obama will undoubtedly nominate a moderate and President Clinton will have no reason to do so particularly if the Dems recapture the Senate which is at least possible if not probable. It is particularly stupid because even if they had allowed a moderate on the bench they would have strengthened their hand for approval of another Scalia if they did recapture the White House and Ginsburg or Breyer dies or retires. In other words if the GOP gets back the White House, a liberal majority on SCOTUS was likely to be a very short term issue.
I don’t think that this is so much about them caring who actually gets on the court as is it about upping evangelical turnout in the general election. “If you don’t vote for us, dem liberals will get a supreme court majority. ” It may also be about sidelining Trump because nobody has any idea who he’d nominate. The marriage between the social conservatives and the big-money establishment Republicans is starting to fray and this just might be an attempt to keep them together.
It won’t matter. The Senate repubicans will cave. It’s what they do.
To me this is part and parcel of a script they have been following at least since the 90s… They campaign on a platform that essentially boils down to “Government Doesn’t Work!” Then when they get elected they prove it.
It was a big part of W’s appeal as far as I could see. And his policy formulations once in office.
I agree this is largely about upping turnout meaning it is unlikely to go beyond the election and maybe not even the convention if Trump is it as it likely will be.
The latest headline at Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-says-wants-top-court-justice-independent-mind-132642922.html
is this: Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican and former federal judge, is among candidates being considered by President Barack Obama for appointment to the Supreme Court, a source close to the process said on Wednesday, as Obama sought to overcome Senate Republican resistance to any nominee.
I knew I could count on Obama to be Obama to the end. Still won’t just go for it as he suggested when he talked about his bucket list. Maybe this will rile up the dem voters to be more like the repub voters and truly throw a monkey wrench or 2 into our political establishment.
Obama might find himself with difficulty with Senate Democrats about Sandoval. They, like their Republican counterparts, may prefer to gamble on the next President’s selection.
Politicians politicizing SCOTUS? I’m shocked.
Obama filibustered Alito in 2006.Biden and Hatch took the same line as the Republicans are taking today. And then there is Chuckie Schumer….
The reason that Trump has a shot is that all the other players are insiders. America is sick of the insiders.
Who said what from The Hill:
BK Alito got hearings, Alito got confirmed, 2006 was not an election year and exactly no one has debated whether a filibuster for some period of time not to include blockage of a final vote is illegitimate.
So other than having gotten every possible relevant parallel wrong you done gud. Got two references to Obama in thar/
Trump is a consummate insider. He brags outright that he has every fucking politician in New York and beyond on his payroll, that they all do his bidding without question. Or is there some sense that the dispenser of bribes is less an insider than the recipient?
New record for Krasting.
Kudos!
He’s about as reliable a contrarian indicator as we get around here.
If Krasting would post his portfolio I’d be sorely tempted to short everything in it.
WSJ and Guardian both running stories saying Sandoval has removed himself from consideration.
So I guess he has to find somebody who is not only republican enough to embarrass Senate majority but willing to play along.
Sandoval has already served Obama’s purpose. He didn’t bow out until the Republicans had said they wouldn’t consider him or anyone else. Now I expect some Democrat will take one for the team and the whole thing will become more of what it already is: a campaign issue.
AS – You want to short my holdings? Ok.
About 1/3 is fixed income. Mostly NYS Munis. I have a small amount of high grade taxable stuff too.
My equity holdings are pretty standard stuff. I go “narrow and deep”. Approximately 1/3 S&P 100, 1/3 S&P 500 and 1/3 Russel 2000.
I also have a chunk in a hedge fund that I’ve been investing with for many years.
What on that list would you like to short? What’s in your portfolio?
I’m not sure about this one vacancy meaning much moving forward. I really wish that both Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer had retired before the Democrats lost the Senate in 2014.
If a Republican wins in 2016, I expect resignations from both Justice Kennedy and Justice Thomas within two years. And the Senate Republicans will do away with the filibuster in January, 2017.