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| Trump's Supreme Court Announcement Thread | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 31 2017, 08:41 PM (139 Views) | |
| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 08:41 PM Post #1 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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Well, give the man credit: he's turned what is normally a solemn affair into an Apprentice-style media scrum.... (The Guardian) President Donald Trump will shortly announce his pick for the supreme court vacancy created by the death of staunchly conservative justice Antonin Scalia in February last year. Such nominations are rarely without controversy, of course: Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland for the same vacancy in March 2016, warning Republicans that any delays in confirming his appointment would cause a loss of faith in the supreme court, the justice system and democracy. Garland did not become a supreme court judge. But tonight’s announcement takes the circus to a new level: both presumed finalists – though let’s not assume there is no Trump joker card waiting to be played – have reportedly been summoned to the White House for a live broadcast announcement at 8pm ET, during which the president will tell one of the pair that he is hired. It is not clear whether Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman, judges in Colorado and Pennsylvania respectively, themselves know who is to be handed the prize. Perhaps they will find out with the rest of us – though leaked reports suggest Gorsuch is the frontrunner. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:15 PM Post #16 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() --Judge Neil Gorsuch: "I pledge that If I am confirmed, I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution." (Fox Business, 31 Jan. 2017) |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:16 PM Post #17 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) “Impartiality and independence, collegiality and courage” is what is expected of judges, Gorsuch says. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge. He says he will speak to people on both sides ahead of his confirmation. He says his family, friends and faith keep him grounded, and thanks them. His wife Louise is standing beside him at the lectern. Gorsuch winds up by saying he is honored and humbled, and thanks Trump. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:17 PM Post #18 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() --The #NRA applauds the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s #SCOTUS seat! #2A (National Rifle Association, 31 Jan. 2017) |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:20 PM Post #19 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Vice-president Mike Pence is on board: --Judge Gorsuch is one of the most mainstream, respected, and exceptionally qualified Supreme Court nominees in American history. (Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States - 31 Jan. 2017) “Mainstream” is an interesting choice of word – a challenge to Democrats who had signalled the possibility of blocking or slowing any confirmation of a Trump pick. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:22 PM Post #20 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Texas Senator Ted Cruz is also a happy man: (1) Our country desperately needs #SCOTUS justices who revere the Constitution and are willing to elevate it over their own personal preferences (2) I wholeheartedly applaud President Trump for nominating Judge Gorsuch. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:27 PM Post #21 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) A dissenting voice comes from Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, the minority leader of the Senate committee on the judiciary. Leahy says: In light of the unconstitutional actions of our new president in just his first week, the Senate owes the American people a thorough and unsparing examination of this nomination … President Trump said he would appoint justices who would overturn 40 years of jurisprudence established in Roe v Wade. Judge Gorsuch has shown a willingness to limit women’s access to healthcare that suggests the president is making good on that promise … I question whether Judge Gorsuch meets the high standard set by Merrick Garland. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:33 PM Post #22 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, says Gorsuch must also be subject to the 60-vote “super-majority” rule – “a bar that was met by each of President Obama’s nominees” – rather than a simple majority confirmation: The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the constitution from abuses of the executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans. Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuch’s ability to meet this standard. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:40 PM Post #23 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Where does Gorsuch stand? --Gorsuch’s track record as a judge on the US court of appeals for the 10th circuit does not shed obvious light on how he might rule as a supreme court justice on hot-button topics such as abortion and marriage equality. He is the author of a book about euthanasia in which he writes, “to act intentionally against life is to suggest that its value rests only on its transient instrumental usefulness for other ends”. Ideological strands running through Gorsuch’s appeals court rulings would seem likely to endear him to congressional Republicans and Trump’s conservative base. He has shown himself to be solicitous to claims of religious exemptions from the law, to gun rights claims and to the prosecution of death penalty cases. During Trump’s announcement, Gorsuch addressed the crowd briefly, declaring himself “honored and humbled” and promising to be a “faithful servant to the constitution and laws of this great country” and paying tribute to the principles of partiality, independence, collegiality and courage. “A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge,” Gorsuch said, “stretching” for rulings he desires instead of reading the law on the page. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:42 PM Post #24 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) I don’t believe he’s tweeting from it himself, but Neil Gorsuch has a new verified Twitter account: @GorsuchFacts. The bio reads: Judge Gorsuch will be fair to all regardless of their background or beliefs. This is exactly the kind of #SCOTUS Justice @POTUS promised. #JusticeGorsuch |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:48 PM Post #25 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell says Trump has made an “outstanding decision”, saying Gorsuch has: a long record of faithfully applying the law and the constitution. McConnell notes that Gorsuch was confirmed by voice vote in the Senate in 2006: I hope members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of presidents Clinton and Obama. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:51 PM Post #26 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Sensing some sarcasm from the Democratic representative for California: --Just like Merrick Garland, Neil Gorsuch is a respected judge. He should receive the same type of fair & honest consideration in the Senate. (Rep. Mark Takano, D-CA - 31 Jan. 2017) |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 09:55 PM Post #27 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Ben Sasse – the conservative Republican senator for Nebraska who didn’t vote for Trump in November – is having a little fun with his statement (although the qualifying “hogwash” suggests he wants to be sure we don’t take the hyperbole seriously): Neil Gorsuch is a highly-regarded jurist with a record of distinguished service, rooted in respect for the law. He was confirmed unanimously by Democrats and Republicans. Senator Schumer is about to tell Americans that Judge Gorsuch kicks puppies and heckles piano recitals. That’s hogwash. Democrats are working overtime to cast Judge Gorsuch as a reflexive partisan but, as I said when Justice Scalia died, there are no Republican or Democratic seats on the supreme court. This shouldn’t be a partisan debate but an opportunity to teach our kids civics. In the coming weeks, everyone who loves the constitution should celebrate the uniquely American idea that government power must be limited and that those in power must be checked and balanced. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 10:09 PM Post #28 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, tells CNN Trump has made “a very bad decision”. He has appointed someone who has come down on the side of corporate America … He comes down on the side of felons over gun safety. [He is] hostile to women’s reproductive rights … Pelosi says Gorsuch is “hostile to children”, ruling that children with autism are not entitled to protections for disabled children. She says it’s the prerogative of the Senate to confirm Gorsuch or not: Where we’d like them to come down is to make sure that this confirmation subjects the candidate to the strongest scrutiny when it comes to honoring the constitution of the United States. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 10:25 PM Post #29 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Senator Elizabeth Warren says she will oppose the nomination of Gorsuch: President Trump had the chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, he failed that test. Warren says she has “reviewed in detail” Gorsuch’s public record: Before even joining the bench, he advocated to make it easier for public companies to defraud investors. As a judge, he has twisted himself into a pretzel to make sure the rules favor giant companies over workers and individual Americans. He has sided with employers who deny wages, improperly fire workers, or retaliate against whistleblowers for misconduct. He has ruled against workers in all manner of discrimination cases. And he has demonstrated hostility toward women’s access to basic health care. For years, powerful interests have executed a full-scale assault on the integrity of our federal judiciary, trying to turn the supreme court into one more rigged game that works only for the rich and the powerful. They spent millions to keep this seat open, and Judge Gorsuch is their reward … Based on the long and well-established record of Judge Gorsuch, I will oppose his nomination. |
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| Webster | Jan 31 2017, 10:32 PM Post #30 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Republican senators from all wings of the party enthused about the choice. “There’s nothing not to like about Neil Gorsuch,” said Jeff Flake of Arizona. Even more enthusiastic praise came from Ben Sasse of Nebraska who told the Guardian that Gorsuch “is the kind of person that the founders envisioned sitting on the supreme court”. Republicans unanimously dismissed any lingering hard feelings from the Senate’s refusal to hold hearings on Merrick Garland, Obama’s nominee for the seat. “I think that’s a bogus argument” said Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. “I thought it was a bit unfair when you look through the history of the country when a vacancy occurs in the last year of a sitting president and the primary process is almost over … If that’s the reason they use, it’s a bogus reason.” Others thought that Trump’s victory in November was the ultimate appeal to authority. As Ted Cruz told reporters after the announcement, the election “was a referendum on the supreme court and the direction it would go … the choice was given to the people and we the people spoke overwhelmingly.” |
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