The idea that the GOP would put up a false fight to mollify their base and spare the country from more unrest is crazy. It has been almost fifty years since Roe v Wade polarized the American electorate. Entire lives on the Pro-life side have been spent organizing, rallying, convincing and financing the creation of a political environment where someday, the controlling vote in the Court would be available to flip. And now, at the point where this is actually achievable, we're supposed to be happy with a good, hard fight in the Senate? Absolutely not. Mitch McConnell's message to his caucus to "keep your powder dry" is appropriate. And maybe he will let a couple (even three) Senators' votes peel off in order to appease their home states. But if he knows that he needs one, or two of them to confirm a candidate, he needs to march them into his office and threaten them with a fully-funded primary challenge should they vote against the President. We have come too far to let this slip away now. And the people who have been funding the GOP for decades will openly rebel if the GOP lets this opportunity pass. Now is the time to use the leverage we do have to put the equivalent of a young Thomas on the Court. Anything less that that is completely unacceptable.
Although it is true that pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:8), I don't think GInsburg is responsible for the major battle that will take place over her SCOTUS replacement. Rather, I believe what is responsible is that the Supreme Court for the last 50 years has regularly issued rulings based on the judges political views rather than the letter of the law. Consequently, Chief Justice Roberts' statement that there are no Obama judges and no Trump judges is complete hogwash and both political parties know it.
Our country landed at this point in time because of the set of Republicans who let the Democrats change the courts from a set of judges who issued rulings based upon the Constitution to a court system dedicated to implementing new laws in direct opposition to the Constitution. The failure of the Republicans to stop the politicization of the courts over the last 50 years has allowed the Democrats to implement laws that would never have passed Congress and allowed the Democrats to effectively change the Constitution without the need for a legal amendment.
Starting with the Democrats filibuster of Rehnquist in 1968, the Democrats have made clear that they are playing to win the right to control the courts at all costs, with the smear jobs of Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh being prime examples of how low they will go in an attempt to win the game. The Democrats appear willing to tear down the country because of the consequences of losing an election. But if elections don't determine the political control of our country, we have already ceased to be the country we were founded to be.
I don't believe in a play-to-lose strategy. I think that is folly from both a Biblical and a political perspective. There probably are Senators in the GOP coalition who might prefer to attempt to try to save their own electoral skin by compromising with the Democrats rather than supporting a judicial nominee dedicated to returning the courts to issuing rulings based on the Constitution. But the GOP Senators that previously fell into that category share at least part of the blame for how we got into this judicial mess to begin with.
The Republicans didn't fight to prevent the Democrats control of the courts because for a long time a segment of the Republican party campaigned on positions that its base supported but then voted for positions that its base opposed after winning election. Thus, it has been common for some candidates to "run to the base in the primaries" and "run to the center in the general election." Trump changed all that for the GOP as he ran to his base in both the primary and the general elections, which the Democrats have been doing for a long time. The Democrats sticking up for their base is why they were able to pack the courts. It is also why I have never seen a Democratic judge switching sides to give the Republican side a 5-4 ruling, but why I have seen various Republican justices switching sides to give Democratic side a 5-4 ruling. It is also why confirmation hearing almost always have the Democratic side voting in a near unanimous block.
No wonder the Republican base so solidly supports him. It must have been horribly frustrating. I wonder if the GOP will go back to the base-then-center business as usual. I do see that here sometimes, still, at the local level.
It was horribly frustrating for the Trump base. I believe that is why the people who attend Trump rallies are so enthusiastic: i.e., after decades of frustration they finally had somebody in office who was trying (and often succeeding) to implement policies that they want. I believe it is also a major reason why the portion of the Republican Party that won't support Trump (roughly 5-10%) will do anything to get him out of power, including siding with Democrats. If you paid attention in 2016, the Never-Trump goal was to see Trump so thoroughly thrashed in the election that this 5-10% of moderate-GOP-voters could go back to setting the GOP policy for the other 90-95%. This group of voters has long pushed the theory that in order to win elections, one has to be moderate (with a significant globalist free-trade influence) . I believe the remaining portion of Never-Trump voters still believes that if Trump goes down in 2020, they will regain the power that they lost. Personally, I think that is never going to happen, and that the choice for the near term future for our country is between Trump’s policies and Sanders-AOC-policies. In my opinion, the major issue has never been about Trump’s personnel flaws, but is instead the choice between his policies and the policies of the progressive-Democrats. If Trump wins in 2020, I think either Mike Pence or Ted Cruz would run on his policies in 2024 (without the Trump-cringe-factor) and that is what I hope will happen.
Yes, the Notorious RBG should have retired pre-trump. Unfortunately, we are now left with a life-long abuser or women choosing the successor of a life-long fighter for women's rights.
If you use Romans 13 to support Trump, then you must also use Romans 13 to divinely sanction the support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, so I assume that you do.
This would be an appropriate time for a moderate appointee, one that Murkowski, Collins et al will not deny.
Also, this would be a good time for GOP to re-evaluate their priorities. This would be a good time to faithfully consider, and implement by compromise if still possible . . . to toss a health care life preserver to pandemized Americans, instead of the senatory dignitaries digging their heels into scorched earth with fatcat schemes to deny health care to poor people.
The GOP cannot let Democratic threats of violence stop them from fulfilling their Constitutional prerogative to nominate and confirm a replacement for RBG. I'd be fine with having the final vote after election day if that makes some Republicans more comfortable, but there's no need to delay hearings. The Democrats are going to do whatever they want if they win the Senate regardless of this confirmation, so the only option now is the move forward. If some GOP senators want to abstain from voting to protect their seats, then fine, just don't get in the way.
Was RBG saved???
I don't think so, She was Jewish, but I believe was more secular than anything.
The idea that the GOP would put up a false fight to mollify their base and spare the country from more unrest is crazy. It has been almost fifty years since Roe v Wade polarized the American electorate. Entire lives on the Pro-life side have been spent organizing, rallying, convincing and financing the creation of a political environment where someday, the controlling vote in the Court would be available to flip. And now, at the point where this is actually achievable, we're supposed to be happy with a good, hard fight in the Senate? Absolutely not. Mitch McConnell's message to his caucus to "keep your powder dry" is appropriate. And maybe he will let a couple (even three) Senators' votes peel off in order to appease their home states. But if he knows that he needs one, or two of them to confirm a candidate, he needs to march them into his office and threaten them with a fully-funded primary challenge should they vote against the President. We have come too far to let this slip away now. And the people who have been funding the GOP for decades will openly rebel if the GOP lets this opportunity pass. Now is the time to use the leverage we do have to put the equivalent of a young Thomas on the Court. Anything less that that is completely unacceptable.
Although it is true that pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:8), I don't think GInsburg is responsible for the major battle that will take place over her SCOTUS replacement. Rather, I believe what is responsible is that the Supreme Court for the last 50 years has regularly issued rulings based on the judges political views rather than the letter of the law. Consequently, Chief Justice Roberts' statement that there are no Obama judges and no Trump judges is complete hogwash and both political parties know it.
Our country landed at this point in time because of the set of Republicans who let the Democrats change the courts from a set of judges who issued rulings based upon the Constitution to a court system dedicated to implementing new laws in direct opposition to the Constitution. The failure of the Republicans to stop the politicization of the courts over the last 50 years has allowed the Democrats to implement laws that would never have passed Congress and allowed the Democrats to effectively change the Constitution without the need for a legal amendment.
Starting with the Democrats filibuster of Rehnquist in 1968, the Democrats have made clear that they are playing to win the right to control the courts at all costs, with the smear jobs of Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh being prime examples of how low they will go in an attempt to win the game. The Democrats appear willing to tear down the country because of the consequences of losing an election. But if elections don't determine the political control of our country, we have already ceased to be the country we were founded to be.
I don't believe in a play-to-lose strategy. I think that is folly from both a Biblical and a political perspective. There probably are Senators in the GOP coalition who might prefer to attempt to try to save their own electoral skin by compromising with the Democrats rather than supporting a judicial nominee dedicated to returning the courts to issuing rulings based on the Constitution. But the GOP Senators that previously fell into that category share at least part of the blame for how we got into this judicial mess to begin with.
Why didn't the Republicans fight, though? I'm wondering if they hoped to use the Court themselves.
The Republicans didn't fight to prevent the Democrats control of the courts because for a long time a segment of the Republican party campaigned on positions that its base supported but then voted for positions that its base opposed after winning election. Thus, it has been common for some candidates to "run to the base in the primaries" and "run to the center in the general election." Trump changed all that for the GOP as he ran to his base in both the primary and the general elections, which the Democrats have been doing for a long time. The Democrats sticking up for their base is why they were able to pack the courts. It is also why I have never seen a Democratic judge switching sides to give the Republican side a 5-4 ruling, but why I have seen various Republican justices switching sides to give Democratic side a 5-4 ruling. It is also why confirmation hearing almost always have the Democratic side voting in a near unanimous block.
No wonder the Republican base so solidly supports him. It must have been horribly frustrating. I wonder if the GOP will go back to the base-then-center business as usual. I do see that here sometimes, still, at the local level.
It was horribly frustrating for the Trump base. I believe that is why the people who attend Trump rallies are so enthusiastic: i.e., after decades of frustration they finally had somebody in office who was trying (and often succeeding) to implement policies that they want. I believe it is also a major reason why the portion of the Republican Party that won't support Trump (roughly 5-10%) will do anything to get him out of power, including siding with Democrats. If you paid attention in 2016, the Never-Trump goal was to see Trump so thoroughly thrashed in the election that this 5-10% of moderate-GOP-voters could go back to setting the GOP policy for the other 90-95%. This group of voters has long pushed the theory that in order to win elections, one has to be moderate (with a significant globalist free-trade influence) . I believe the remaining portion of Never-Trump voters still believes that if Trump goes down in 2020, they will regain the power that they lost. Personally, I think that is never going to happen, and that the choice for the near term future for our country is between Trump’s policies and Sanders-AOC-policies. In my opinion, the major issue has never been about Trump’s personnel flaws, but is instead the choice between his policies and the policies of the progressive-Democrats. If Trump wins in 2020, I think either Mike Pence or Ted Cruz would run on his policies in 2024 (without the Trump-cringe-factor) and that is what I hope will happen.
Yes, the Notorious RBG should have retired pre-trump. Unfortunately, we are now left with a life-long abuser or women choosing the successor of a life-long fighter for women's rights.
@virth3.....but yet he has been placed as President by God Himself. Read Romans 13:1-2.
If you use Romans 13 to support Trump, then you must also use Romans 13 to divinely sanction the support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, so I assume that you do.
Not supporting Trump, AOC or Omar....just pointing out who placed them in their positions. I do not know God’s plan involving these three.
@virth3.....glad to see that you learned something new. Yes AOC and Omar too!
This would be an appropriate time for a moderate appointee, one that Murkowski, Collins et al will not deny.
Also, this would be a good time for GOP to re-evaluate their priorities. This would be a good time to faithfully consider, and implement by compromise if still possible . . . to toss a health care life preserver to pandemized Americans, instead of the senatory dignitaries digging their heels into scorched earth with fatcat schemes to deny health care to poor people.
The GOP cannot let Democratic threats of violence stop them from fulfilling their Constitutional prerogative to nominate and confirm a replacement for RBG. I'd be fine with having the final vote after election day if that makes some Republicans more comfortable, but there's no need to delay hearings. The Democrats are going to do whatever they want if they win the Senate regardless of this confirmation, so the only option now is the move forward. If some GOP senators want to abstain from voting to protect their seats, then fine, just don't get in the way.
sigh. Just when 2020 couldn't get uglier.
Proof there is a God. Random acts could not script out a 2020 with these sorts of plot twists. There is a God and He is angry with us.
@Erick.....He May be angry, but always willing to forgive if we repent and turn to Him.
I am just grateful for God's mercy and grace. I can see these events through the lens of eternity, but that doesn't make it easier to watch.
Or endure.
Or endure. God must be shaking his head at us the same way He did over the Israelites in the wilderness.
Amen.