[James Brancheau]

No argument here, John. It's ridiculous, isn't it?

Added: I believe Trump to be in an advanced stage of narcissism and syphilis.

[RCL]

I have long been proud to live here. But there is no longer a here here.

[James Brancheau]

Never mind

[Jim Moonan]

Yes, the vote for confirmation of a Trump SCJ nominee must be stalled until after the election. It (the prospect of Trump nominating a hard right conservative mind for the SJC vacancy) could have the galvanizing effect on voters that's needed to turn the tide in November. There is no rest for the weary.

Pooch posted an oath on his FB feed today that I think captures the mentality needed to continue the resistance. I hope it's ok to re-post it here:

Despite the bad times now and worse to come,
despite disaster and a crass regime
of lies and thugs, despite the national scam,
I will be conscious. I will not play dumb.
Eyes tracking everything I can redeem,
I will be right here; I will give a damn.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx--A. Poochigian
x
x

[Roger Slater]

I agree we should put up a fight and act like we can win, since we will thereby score points and increase voter enthusiasm in November, but this will require us to engage in a little constructive denial since there's really very little prospect that the Dems can block or stall the nomination until after the election. The entire nation could march on Washington and call a general strike, and still the Republicans would hurry the nomination through and get Son of Gorsuch confirmed, probably with one or two Democratic votes as well (if the are running in red states and fear voter reprisal for a no vote). But put that thought aside and let's do what we can to resist.

[Max Goodman]

It's too early to know that the nomination can't be blocked. We might be surprised by where there is support for the nominee and where there is not.

The right is talking about overturning Roe v. Wade. Are there no Republican senators representing states where that's an unpopular idea?

Can red-state voters not be helped to see that a Court that guts unions is not good for them?

There's only one way to find out.

(Of course, the specific nominee may affect things, too.)

[Orwn Acra]

The nomination likely can't be blocked. But it is interesting that Kennedy's son is one of Trump's head bankers at Deutsche Bank, the only bank that would give Trump a loan:

"Deutsche’s key recruit was Jon Vaccaro from Citibank, who arrived as global head of commercial real estate in 1997. Other important figures for Mr Trump, over the years, were Mike Offit and Steve Stuart, a duo who joined from Goldman Sachs, and Eric Schwartz, a recruit from Moody’s who became the developer’s primary point of contact.

Some of the appointments gave Deutsche more clout in boardrooms and on the party circuit. Tobin “Toby” Cobb, formerly of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, is the son of two US ambassadors. Justin Kennedy, a trader who arrived from Goldman to become one of Mr Trump’s most trusted associates over a 12-year spell at Deutsche, is the son of a Supreme Court justice. Mr Cobb, Mr Kennedy, Mr Stuart and Mr Offit could not be reached for comment. Through a spokesperson, Mr Schwartz and Mr Vaccaro declined to comment."

From the Financial Times:
https://www.ft.com/content/8c6d9dca-...0-e1c239b45787

[Michael Cantor]

We've got to do whatever is possible - and then some more - to stall a replacement. We only need two Republican votes to hold this until we have a new Senate and, hopefully, a Democratic majority. The longer we wait, the longer - day by day - that more and more disgusting stuff emerges about almost every facet of this man and his administration - the greater the chance of an even larger scandal - the greater the chance we can pick up those few votes. As Pooch said - do not play dumb. There's a nation at stake.

[Perry James]

I am glad to see that there are so many liberals on the forum.

I'm as devastated as everyone else, but I am also resigned. A minority of the population (meaning conservatives) has managed to wrestle control of the government from the rest of us, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it. If not for the Electoral College, Clinton would be president now, and the Supreme Court would be making a left turn. The huge irony is that the Electoral College was devised by the founders to avoid a president like Trump.

I think the chances of a conservative NOT being confirmed before the midterms is very unlikely, even if John McCain doesn't vote. Collins and Murkowski say they want Roe v. Wade preserved, but both of those so-called centrists are spineless and will cave in the end. I understand that ALL of the candidates on Trump's list of 25 are against Roe v. Wade; but as long as the final candidate assures them that he will not vote against Roe v. Wade, those two will decide not to buck the party.

Unfortunately, there are three Democratic senators running for reelection in red states, and there is a chance that one or more of them will vote in favor of a conservative candidate, so that will clinch it.

The maneuver that the Republicans did on Merrick Garland still has me seething. It taught me what the word "evil" means. Obama made a big mistake in the way that he handled that. At the time that Scalia died, the Congress was in recess. Obama should have immediately made a recess appointment of Garland. That would have returned the Court to the balance it had when O'Connor was on the Court (O'Connor was a more liberal swing vote than Kennedy was). After being on the Court for 1-1/2 years, even the Republicans might have hesitated before knocking Garland off the Court. Obama always under-estimated the viciousness of the Republicans.

[Max Goodman]

We and our leaders have to fight resignation and question the received wisdom we've followed down the path to right-wing control of the government. We are the majority on every issue we care about and we have common ground on a lot of those issues with red staters.

A Democrat just won a senate seat in Alabama. (Alabama!)

Do red-state women really want to see abortion made illegal?

Years ago, researchers polled couples about their political views and those of their spouses. (Couples were interviewed separately and their responses were not reported to their spouses.) Men were largely convinced that their wives shared their political views, and a LOT of them were wrong.

There could easily be a large under-the-radar pro-choice sentiment in red states.

Red-state Senators who bet their seats on helping Donald Trump appoint someone who will make abortion illegal might be in for a nasty surprise.