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Nov 2023 Mod notice:


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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#111926: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:36:31 PM

Not while Obama is in office. The Senate will never allow it. Makes the downtickets more important than ever now though.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#111927: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:38:52 PM

Yeah, if the GOP wins this election they get to replace Scalia with a nutbar, and probably Ginsberg and Bayer to.

Canada should probably get to work on that border wall, just in case.tongue

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#111928: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:41:35 PM

Put a fence and slabs on top of it, to keep the spiders out.

P.S. Fuck trying to pothole Minecraft.

edited 13th Feb '16 3:42:29 PM by Luminosity

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#111929: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:44:21 PM

The maple syrup mortars are already in place. We are a bit overbudget on the puck repeaters though. Jury's still out on the attack beavers.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
darksidevoid Anti-Gnosis Weapon from The Frontiers (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Robosexual
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
#111930: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:48:04 PM

There's going to be a lot of pressure on the Senate to confirm someone, though. Not confirming anyone until the next President takes office means leaving SCOTUS with only eight Justices for almost a full year, and I'm fairly certain there's never been a vacancy on the Court for that long.

GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#111931: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:48:25 PM

[up][up]O_o

[up]I put nothing past this current Congress.

edited 13th Feb '16 3:48:59 PM by FFShinra

ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#111932: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:53:54 PM

So, the stakes are higher. If we didn't absolutely need a Democrat in office before, we sure do now.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#111933: Feb 13th 2016 at 3:55:50 PM

Worry about the Senate more or it won't matter who is in the white house....

ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#111934: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:00:03 PM

Oh...right. Well, the Senate has a republican bias in the first place, alas...

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#111935: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:00:28 PM

Re: Scalia, my thoughts can best be summed up as, "And nothing of value was lost."

Meanwhile, Republicans waste no time in loudly proclaiming their intent to block whoever gets the nomination.

What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia?

If anything this will put a full stop to all Obama judicial nominees going forward.

The longest it has ever taken to confirm a Supreme Court nominee is 125 days. Obama has 361 days left in office.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
FalseDichotomy from Your mind :o Since: Oct, 2015 Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#111936: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:01:39 PM

Why would Obama nominate an ultra conservative? And what has that to do with leverage over the GOP?

Obama's been trying pass a trade agreement the "Trans-Pacific Partnership" (TPP). The thing has some pretty nasty stuff in it, I don't have all the information on hand right this second but some of the nasty stuff in the TPP include: Allowing countries to import food to the US that would under any other circumstances fail the sanitary requirements we have in place, give make it easier for international corporations to sue us and our states individually for passing laws that inadvertently affect them, allow these lawsuits to be settled by a tribunal of appointed corporate lawyers who are allowed to alternate between being judges and being advocates for the corporations doing the suing. Prosecute whistle-blowers and journalists when they come forward to point out a company's dirty dealings because these dirty dealing will be protect under the title of "trades secrets". And other horrible things as well.

Apparently there's supposed to be some good stuff in the TPP (I doubt it) and Obama wants to get it passed before his final term as president is up. Normally this stuff would be a Republican's wet-dream, but with the political climate being what it is, they're too scared to pass it.

Since the chances of a Republican making it to the White House aren't looking too great, the Democrats have a shot (not sure how good) of taking the Senate back in this years election and since judges are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate, playing keep away with the Democrats might only work short term.

I'm probably the least knowledgeable person in this thread, but getting a judge to take up the vacant seat before the 2016 elections is in the GOP's best interest. Obama could give them their dream pick in exchange for the TPP.

But then again, the GOP isn't some insidious hive mind. I don't really know how much power the RNC has over its individual members, and I don't know how many Republicans in the House would be willing to fall on their swords for the greater...good(?).

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#111937: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:02:13 PM

The Senate math tends to favor the Democrats, a lot of the Tea Party guys got put in place in 2010 are now up for re-election, and the political winds don't quite favor that sort of garbage right now. If the GOP nominates Trump, Cruz or even Rubio, a lot of Governors and Senators will be vulnerable if they support a candidate that their state sees as a lunatic.

[up]Obama is not going to destroy his social policy legacy to pass TPP.

edited 13th Feb '16 4:07:31 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#111938: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:02:26 PM

Scalia was apparently a pleasant enough fellow, poisonous ideology aside.

Also, we're all doomed.

Keybreak (Long Runner)
#111939: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:22:56 PM

He DID however believe that violent video games are free speech and protected by the First Amendment. That's my favorite thing he's ever said.

edited 13th Feb '16 4:23:29 PM by Keybreak

You gotta believe me when I scare you away, all that I wish for is that you would stay
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#111940: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:27:38 PM

[up]Stopped clocks and all that?

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Artificius from about a foot and a half away from a monitor. Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Norwegian Wood
#111941: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:28:48 PM

If they can see far enough, the Senate's Republicans might note that this fight against the misfortune of a conservative justice dying on a liberal president's watch would cause months and months of stories about the GOP being obstructionist idiots to air, leading right up into November. I don't know how surely they've gerrymandered districts to their advantage for the House, but the class of senators up for reelection would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater, the velocity at which that baby was chucked probably being inversely proportional to how close to November they got before they relented. Any cases which split on 4-4 lines would be left up to the lower court, apparently. So... Maybe they shouldn't try to avoid making a decision for half a year? For their own benefit? At least?

edited 13th Feb '16 4:31:48 PM by Artificius

"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#111943: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:45:25 PM

So we should just let one of the highest court seats in the land sit vacant for a year? That's idiotic.

GameGuruGG Vampire Hunter from Castlevania (Before Recorded History)
Vampire Hunter
#111944: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:48:28 PM

Basically, the Senate Republicans could hold up Obama from nominating another Supreme Court Justice, but given the majority of Senators up for reelection this election are Republican, they risk a potential Democratic President (either Hillary or the Bern, doesn't really matter) having a Democratic Senate which will rubber stamp a liberal Justice from the sheer turnout of Democratic voters wanting to make sure the Supreme Court goes Liberal. Conversely, the best hope the Republicans would have is a Justice nominated by Trump or Cruz, which is something no one, not even the Republican Establishment, wants and is unlikely since a Republican is already unlikely to be elected president. Best to take the L now while Obama might be willing to compromise. In any case, we are talking about a Hard Right Conservative Justice possibly being replaced by a Moderate Left Liberal Justice, which is going to shift the Supreme Court left.

That being said, RIP Antonin Scalia. At the very least, I respected his opinion on video games being free speech.

edited 13th Feb '16 5:11:03 PM by GameGuruGG

Wizard Needs Food Badly
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#111945: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:56:26 PM

That's a worthwhile point. Republicans can talk about taking back the White House all they want, but what they face in reality-land is the prospect of a Democratic Senate plus a Democratic President putting a super-liberal justice on the bench in 2017. They would do well to consider confirming whomever Obama nominates, lest they face that prospect.

edited 13th Feb '16 4:57:15 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#111946: Feb 13th 2016 at 4:58:34 PM

See, the Onion is as spiteful as the rest of us.

Justice Scalia Dead Following 30-Year Battle With Social Progress

http://www.theonion.com/graphic/justice-scalia-dead-following-30-year-battle-socia-52356?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:1:Default

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
TheWanted Since: Oct, 2013
#111947: Feb 13th 2016 at 5:11:19 PM

Honestly I'm actually somewhat interested in what things Scalia said that made him such a horrible person. Anybody care to enlighten me?

storyyeller More like giant cherries from Appleloosa Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
More like giant cherries
#111948: Feb 13th 2016 at 5:17:09 PM

So we should just let one of the highest court seats in the land sit vacant for a year? That's idiotic.

It won't necessarily be a year. If a democrat is elected president, they'll presumably fold right after the election.

But yes, welcome to the new world of American Partisan Dysfunction. At least it's not as bad as Belgium, I guess?

edited 13th Feb '16 5:17:57 PM by storyyeller

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#111949: Feb 13th 2016 at 5:20:27 PM

@Fighteer: Regardless, gravedancing is entirely uncivil and reduces the level of discussion in this forum to a grade-school level. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

Now, on to the political ramifications. I in fact predict that the Republican Senate will intentionally refuse to nominate anyone for the seat in hopes of taking the White House and Senate and appointing a justice from the farthest right of the Tea Party. A tied Supreme Court is better than a blank one, and remember that the oldest member of the bench right now is Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Hell, if the Republican Senate/Democratic President trend continued for a while, I wouldn't be surprised if the Supreme Court was reduced to three members and consequently shut down completely.

Artificius from about a foot and a half away from a monitor. Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Norwegian Wood
#111950: Feb 13th 2016 at 5:31:34 PM

[up]With that, the consolidation of the Executive and the Judiciary into an Imperial Presidency? Be still, my Spenglerian heart.

edited 13th Feb '16 5:32:52 PM by Artificius

"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."

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