Obama Left Largely Helpless As Judicial Vacancies Reach Crisis

[onehandle]

The Obama administration is aware of the growing alarm over its inability to fill long-standing judicial vacancies. White House officials frequently voice displeasure with the pace, offer heated indictments of the GOP's stalling tactics, and occasionally threaten to circumvent the Congressional process. But for all the rhetoric, threats and critiques, even sympathetic observers acknowledge that the president is largely powerless (if not helpless) on the matter.

That's because both he and allies in Congress simply lack the tools to force the Republican Party's hand.

This past Friday, the Associated Press published a rather shocking report about just how poor Obama's record on judicial vacancies is. "Fewer than half of Obama's nominees have been confirmed," the news wire wrote, "102 out of 854 judgeships are vacant," and "forty-seven of those vacancies have been labeled emergencies by the judiciary because of heavy caseloads."

When pressed about the article's findings during Tuesday's daily briefing, however, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs offered only a well-trodden denunciation of the GOP's tactics.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/07/obama-left-largely-helple_n_707859.html

[emulatorloo]

1. Love the "liberal media" headline. "Obama weeping and quivering in the fetal position"

[bluestateguy]

2. I will be standing up to Republican obstructionism this November

nt

[texastoast]

3. +1000

And so will anyone else who doesn't want another regime like the Bush years.

[global1]

4. Two Words......

recess appointments.

[Nancy Waterman]

5. Change the f*&*%* fillibuster!!!

That will take care of everything.

[Salviati]

6. Exactly...

What he should do is find some of the most controvercial leftist judges, I mean ones that would make Eugene V. Debs look like a member of the John Birch Society, and give them recess appointments, with the promise of more to come unless the repulbicans start acting like fucking adults. That's how you play hardball, Messrs Obama and Emmanuel.

[suzie]

7. Okay, we have the silly suggestion out of the way, now what do you really think he

ought to do?

[Warren Stupidity]

12. What exactly is the answer besides recess appointments?

And why not use the power that he has to walk around an obstructionist Republican Party?

[suzie]

16. Recess appointments for judges.

So how many lawyers are you gonna get to give up their law practices for a part of a year appointment to a federal judgeship?

Or perhaps you're gonna convince judges who sit on a state court to walk away from their appointed/elected positions and take a part of a year appointment? Knowing that they won't be able to go back to those state level jobs, and that there's a good likelihood that they won't be confirmed as a federal judge, how many of those are you going to attract?

Or law school professors, they're going to give up their tenured positions and take a federal judgeship for a few months, then have to go back out into today's job market?

[pscot]

8. I like that a lot.

n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

11. yeah. Why not?

What is wrong with us as a political organization? They have roadblocked almost all appointments, so fight the fuck back and recess every damn one of them.

[maxsolomon]

9. yeah, it's Obama's fault that the GOP is blocking everything...

if only he were willing to compromise with the Coburns and Kyls...

[MadMaddie]

13. They always seem to ignore the Republican actions don't they?

[indepat]

10. Maybe if only the president would reach across the aisle in the spirit of bi-partisanship, pubs

would meet him in the middle in a show of good faith and statesmanship, thereby performing their constitutionally-mandated duties. :)

[SharonAnn]

14. ...would cut off his hand, then his arm, then .....

[krispos42]

15. Duuuuuuuuuude

:smoke: