Harry Reid, White House working hard to sell out on judicial nominations

[usregimechange]

Harry Reid, Republicans in talks on judicial nominees (That is the actual title but it isn't as accurate as mine)


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is negotiating a deal with Republican leaders to confirm a long list of President Barack Obama's judicial nominations that have idled on the Senate calendar for months, sources say.

The deal could involve as many as 19 of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees who the GOP consider non-controversial, but would leave out a shorter list of more liberal nominees Republicans consider objectionable — setting up another potential disappointment for liberal activists, who have spent months pushing for their confirmation.

Senate Republicans have flagged four nominations they want blocked: Goodwin Liu, who was nominated to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and federal district judicial nominees Edward Chen, Louis Butler, and John McConnell.

These nominations are seen as long shots for any deal with Republicans because they would likely require a cloture vote and debate time on the Senate floor — procedures that Democrats, already facing a slew of other legislative priorities like tax cuts, a repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the START treaty, would find difficult to schedule on a fast-dwindling legislative calendar...

By contrast, progressive judicial observers point to the Senate’s record on judicial confirmations during President George Bush’s first term: the Senate was able to confirm 20 nominees during that lame-duck session, including two who were considered controversial.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46262.html#ixzz17ras8oUC

[usregimechange]

1. How many are considered "noncontroversial?" Less than half of course

Currently, there are 38 nominees awaiting confirmation by the full Senate, but fewer than half of those were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month and are considered “noncontroversial.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46262.html#ixzz17rcMgtVf

[John Q. Citizen]

2. The Dems are just going to have to stay in session right on through the holidays.

[usregimechange]

3. They can't even start morning business before 2pm

[Pirate Smile]

4. What horrible sell outs they are to try to get some of the back log done.

If they can't get the more controversial ones done then lets just keep everything empty.

:eyes:

DU is stuck on stupid.

[usregimechange]

6. I am sure the GOP appreciates you on your knees begging for crums as well

You tell me how many cloture votes the GOP would have had with a near super majority.

[usregimechange]

8. Apparently since 2 is better than 0 you'd be fine with that as well

Some of DU are stuck on coward.

[BzaDem]

5. How is this selling out? It takes 2 calendar days + 30 hours of debate to confirm EACH nominee.

District court or appellate court. That's a little less than a week

There isn't that kind of time. They still have to fund the government. Even if they didn't pass the tax cuts, only spent time on the continuing resolution, didn't try to bring up the new standalone DADT repeal bill, and then debated and voted on judicial nominees around the clock until Christmas eve, they could BARELY get done 3 nominees.

How many would you rather have? 19 nominees under unanimous consent? Or 3 after debate? I would prefer the 19. Even if we picked the 3 most liberal judges in the queue, and got them ALL past a filibuster (very unlikely), that would barely change the balance on the courts of appeals at all, and it certainly wouldn't solve the judicial emergency of district court vacancies. Reid would be committing malpractice if he didn't negotiate a deal after having the chance to get 19 confirmed.

[usregimechange]

7. There isn't that kind of time because they took months to file for cloture

Now they are content to bargain for table scraps. What would the GOP do? Talk nuclear option and Dems get on their knees again, apparently with your full support.

[BzaDem]

10. "Now they are content to bargain for table scraps." 19 judges are table scraps??? Judges ALWAYS get

confirmed in the lame duck session. They have one giant unanimous consent agreement. This is completely normal.

If you want to blame them for not devoting more time to judicial nominees over the past 2 years, then fine. I would agree with that somewhat, and also blame Obama for not even appointing people to a huge number of vacancies.

But that is a completely different issue than what to do NOW, now that we can only get 3 judges with the time remaining without a UC agreement (assuming everything else gets dropped). I would be outraged if Reid did NOT take an agreement to confirm 19 judges. The number of judges is FAR more important than the minor differences between Democratic appointees -- especially when its 19 vs. 3. I would have thought you would have agreed with this, given your previous posts on judges.

If you want judges confirmed though, next session will probably be a good time for that. They won't be able to pass much real legislation (due to the Republican House), so they'll have plenty of time for judges (as opposed to this year, where HCR took a year, FinReg weeks, etc).

[usregimechange]

11. there are 38 nominees awaiting confirmation, 19 will be good but not good enough

[Bandit]

13. 19 judges approved by Republicans..

We know what kind of judges Republicans approve of...There is no Democratic Party any longer.

[longwinded]

14. Election fallout

The nominees from California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut (if you include Chatigny, who's also a huge target for the Republicans) will still have the support of their home state senators next Congress, so their nominations still have a sliver of a chance down the road. But with Feingold's defeat, Louis Butler's nomination is as good as dead when Congress reconvenes.

As their final act this Congress, Reid should file for cloture on Butler. Either Butler gets confirmed, or the Republicans go on record as supporting the first ever filibuster against a district court nominee. In any case, I predict we don't see him renominated next year.

[defendandprotect]

9. Like this is what the GOP would be doing if situation was reversed...??? wow!!

[usregimechange]

12. Not even close, they would have threatened nuclear option and we would be confirming Priscilla Owen