Congressional Hearings

[SeattleGriz]

The Obama administration participated in reverse targeting. You say you are watching the Russian, but your main point was really to catch the Americans words.

[JohnStOnge]

Yes because codifying zero transparency in government is just what we need

If it was about transparency I would be all for it. But I don't think it is. It's about two major political parties jockeying for power. There's no objectivity to these things. It's a Republican Administration and the Republicans are in power so they're interested in protecting it and focusing attention elsewhere. The Democrats are interested in finding any scrap of information or innuendo they can use to undermine it. The Republicans are in the majority so Congress as a whole will try to avoid making Trump look bad. If the Democrats were in power Congress as a whole would be trying to crucify him.

I was thinking today while driving back from field work that it's another illustration of why having a system with two major parties is not good. The two parties are much more interested in their positions relative to each other than they are in the truth or the well being of the country.

[CID1990]

Yes because codifying zero transparency in government is just what we need

If it was about transparency I would be all for it. But I don't think it is. It's about two major political parties jockeying for power. There's no objectivity to these things. It's a Republican Administration and the Republicans are in power so they're interested in protecting it and focusing attention elsewhere. The Democrats are interested in finding any scrap of information or innuendo they can use to undermine it. The Republicans are in the majority so Congress as a whole will try to avoid making Trump look bad. If the Democrats were in power Congress as a whole would be trying to crucify him.

I was thinking today while driving back from field work that it's another illustration of why having a system with two major parties is not good. The two parties are much more interested in their positions relative to each other than they are in the truth or the well being of the country.

Yes let's have no transparency because politicians just want to grandstand

Officer thinking there


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[Ivytalk]

Meanwhile, Judge Gorsuch is doing just fine in his hearings, despite the best efforts of Feinsteinbergwitz and Blumenthalbaumstein to derail him.

Anti-Semite.

Douchebag.

[Grizalltheway]

Anti-Semite.

Douchebag.

Now you've gone and hurt my feeling.

[CAA Flagship]

Douchebag.

Now you've gone and hurt my feeling.

Which one?

[Ivytalk]

Douchebag.

Now you've gone and hurt my feeling.

Did I trigger you? It was intended as sarcasm. My former law partners Steinmetz and Goldstein understood my warped sense of humor. Schlump is a Methodist.

[Grizalltheway]

Now you've gone and hurt my feeling.

Did I trigger you? It was intended as sarcasm. My former law partners Steinmetz and Goldstein understood my warped sense of humor. Schlump is a Methodist.

I wasn't being serious (or funny, apparently). I'll regroup and try to do better next time.

[Ivytalk]

Did I trigger you? It was intended as sarcasm. My former law partners Steinmetz and Goldstein understood my warped sense of humor. Schlump is a Methodist.

I wasn't being serious (or funny, apparently). I'll regroup and try to do better next time.

I thank you, and Senator Al Frankenstein thanks you!

[GannonFan]

I wasn't being serious (or funny, apparently). I'll regroup and try to do better next time.

I thank you, and Senator Al Frankenstein thanks you!

Now what do you have against fictional monsters?!?!?!

[JohnStOnge]

If it was about transparency I would be all for it. But I don't think it is. It's about two major political parties jockeying for power. There's no objectivity to these things. It's a Republican Administration and the Republicans are in power so they're interested in protecting it and focusing attention elsewhere. The Democrats are interested in finding any scrap of information or innuendo they can use to undermine it. The Republicans are in the majority so Congress as a whole will try to avoid making Trump look bad. If the Democrats were in power Congress as a whole would be trying to crucify him.

I was thinking today while driving back from field work that it's another illustration of why having a system with two major parties is not good. The two parties are much more interested in their positions relative to each other than they are in the truth or the well being of the country.

Yes let's have no transparency because politicians just want to grandstand

Officer thinking there

I don't think it's transparency. I think it's obfuscation. And whichever Party has the majority in Congress is in a better position to obfuscate.

[CID1990]

Yes let's have no transparency because politicians just want to grandstand

Officer thinking there

I don't think it's transparency. I think it's obfuscation. And whichever Party has the majority in Congress is in a better position to obfuscate.

You're right. You don't have a right to know what your government is up to


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[BDKJMU]

Schumer announces donks will fillibuster Gorsuch..
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/23/521233951 ... n-with-gop

Time to go nuclear...

[GannonFan]

Schumer announces donks will fillibuster Gorsuch..
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/23/521233951 ... n-with-gop

Time to go nuclear...

Going nuclear was all but going to happen anyway. Once the Dems opened that floodgate when they went nuclear a couple of years ago there was never any doubt. The moment any majority party was faced with a filibuster on a SCOTUS justice they were going to use it. And really, knowing that the other party is going to go nuclear, then you all but guarantee that the opposing party is going to filibuster. It's like game theory and the outcome is clear. John Nash is smiling somewhere (probably because he's not here).

[Ibanez]

Schumer announces donks will fillibuster Gorsuch..
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/23/521233951 ... n-with-gop

Time to go nuclear...

Going nuclear was all but going to happen anyway. Once the Dems opened that floodgate when they went nuclear a couple of years ago there was never any doubt. The moment any majority party was faced with a filibuster on a SCOTUS justice they were going to use it. And really, knowing that the other party is going to go nuclear, then you all but guarantee that the opposing party is going to filibuster. It's like game theory and the outcome is clear. John Nash is smiling somewhere (probably because he's not here).

He's in our minds....

[BDKJMU]

Schumer announces donks will fillibuster Gorsuch..
http://www.npr.org/2017/03/23/521233951 ... n-with-gop

Time to go nuclear...

Going nuclear was all but going to happen anyway. Once the Dems opened that floodgate when they went nuclear a couple of years ago there was never any doubt. The moment any majority party was faced with a filibuster on a SCOTUS justice they were going to use it. And really, knowing that the other party is going to go nuclear, then you all but guarantee that the opposing party is going to filibuster. It's like game theory and the outcome is clear. John Nash is smiling somewhere (probably because he's not here).

Gorsuch received UNANIMOUS approval 90 something to 0 as a Busch circuit court nominee. If Trump had nominated a flame thrower like Pryor of Alabama I could understand the donks fillibustering. But Gorsuch has to be one of the least, if not the least controversial off of that Trump list of 20 or whatever potential nominees that he floated during the campaign. If the donks fillibuster Gorsuch, it means there isn't a single nominee that Trump could put up short a known liberal judge the donks wouldn't fillibuster..

[GannonFan]

Going nuclear was all but going to happen anyway. Once the Dems opened that floodgate when they went nuclear a couple of years ago there was never any doubt. The moment any majority party was faced with a filibuster on a SCOTUS justice they were going to use it. And really, knowing that the other party is going to go nuclear, then you all but guarantee that the opposing party is going to filibuster. It's like game theory and the outcome is clear. John Nash is smiling somewhere (probably because he's not here).

Gorsuch received UNANIMOUS approval 90 something to 0 as a Busch circuit court nominee. If Trump had nominated a flame thrower like Pryor of Alabama I could understand the donks fillibustering. But Gorsuch has to be one of the least, if not the least controversial off of that Trump list of 20 or whatever potential nominees that he floated during the campaign. If the donks fillibuster Gorsuch, it means there isn't a single nominee that Trump could put up short a known liberal judge the donks wouldn't fillibuster..

I agree, but the fact of the matter is unless he was going to be replacing Thomas or Alito the next judge to replace is going to be from the moderate to liberal wing of the Court and the Dems were never going to vote for that replacement either. Go nuclear now or go nuclear then, I guess they figure this way they can hopefully tarnish Gorsuch as the "Son of Bork" and please the alt-lefties that they fought the good fight. Both parties pander to the alt's of their party, so the Dems doing this is really par for the course these days.

[GannonFan]

Has any judge for the SCOTUS ever been filibustered before? I know just a quick check since 1900 I don't believe any justice has been filibustered since then (there were some oddities in the 1800's, especially between John Quincy Adams and Jackson supporters while Adams was President). Just odd in that Alito and Thomas were both confirmed with less than 60 votes in the Senate and certainly Thomas would've been a candidate if you were going to filibuster you'd filibuster him.

[Skjellyfetti]

I think it has to do with not confirming a SCOTUS pick in the last year of a President is in office.

[BDKJMU]

I think it has to do with not confirming a SCOTUS pick in the last year of a President is in office.

Just following Biden's lead.

phpBB [video]

[Skjellyfetti]

Wooooosh.

[GannonFan]

Wooooosh.

Yes, I think he missed the nuance in your earlier post. With that said, I don't think Trump is going anywhere. I know you want to think the Russian stuff is going to end up being, to use his term, "bigly", but it has all the markings of being even less sensational than Benghazi.

But regardless, I think the nuclear thing in this case could actually be trying to filibuster the nominee rather than vote on him. The Biden Rule (the Biden rule of no nominees in an election year - not the Biden rule that nominees can avoid talking about topics that could come up in future cases, which is pretty much everything - that Biden, he really mucked up the nomination process) wasn't all that novel as the discussion of nominations late in a term had at least been talked about before. Actually filibustering a nominee for the Court is pretty out there. I think the last threat of filibuster, other than Kerry's weak attempt to get one going when Alito came up, was for Abe Fortas. But that was Congress not wanting him to be a Chief Justice - he was already on the Court so the filibuster wouldn't have blocked him from the Court. IMO, if you don't filibuster Clarence Thomas, then I don't see any logic in filibustering Gorsuch.

[Skjellyfetti]

Yes, I was joking about Trump being gone in a year. I actually don't think he will be impeached or gone in a year.

But, no way is it less sensational than Benghazi. There is an active, multi-agency investigation of Trump and his campaign. It's already way bigger than Benghazi. Stop fooling yourself.

[Ivytalk]

Gorsuch nomination reported out of Senate Judiciary Committee on 11-9 party-line vote. Delaware's shrimp Senator Coons voted no. Pint-sized Chris and that doddering old fvck Carper will filibuster. Delaware is truly hopeless.

[CAA Flagship]

Gorsuch nomination reported out of Senate Judiciary Committee on 11-9 party-line vote. Delaware's shrimp Senator Coons voted no. Pint-sized Chris and that doddering old fvck Carper will filibuster. Delaware is truly hopeless.

Fear not. NJ'ers are moving there to get things straightened out.