Tags
Abuse of Power, An Open Letter to Mitch McConnell, confirmation, Kate Geiselman, nomination, Pres. Obama, Republican Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Senate, Supreme Court
I suspect most readers of MillersTime, as well as most individuals who are concerned about the nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court of Pres. Obama’s selection, have already settled in their mind where they stand on this issue.
My two cents is not so different from what I read in an Open Letter to Mitch McConnell by Kate Geiselman, someone I have never known. They key part of her view is toward the end of her very short, six paragraph letter:
The purpose of the confirmation process is not so you can wait for someone from your party to take office and pick a nominee you like better. No, the reason checks and balances exist is so that one branch of the government cannot abuse its power. By design, the system slows government down, and that’s as it should be. But deliberately forestalling the confirmation process of a moderate, qualified nominee who would likely sail through were it not an election year is not “checking” the executive branch. It’s ugly partisan politics.
Actually, I would take it a bit further.
It’s not just partisan politics. It’s obstruction, something Sen. McConnell has perfected in the last seven years.
It seems to me the bottom line is that the Republican Senate, because of their numbers, has the power to wait to advise and consent until a new President is elected, despite the fact that there are nine months remaining in the current President’s term (his second term).
But because someone or some group has a certain amount of power, that does not mean that exercising that power is the right thing to do. To deny the President and his nominee a hearing and a vote is an abuse of that power.
It’s that clear and simple to me.
Anon-2 said:
Sorry, statists can’t complain about the abuse of power. This is just politics as usual. At least Obama didn’t nominate a complete radical loon…either way he wins, even with a moderate. So repubs in congress are doing exactly what one would guess they are doing. Wait till the election. If a repub (hopefully not trump_) wins, he can choose his own. If a dem wins (probably Biden…my longstanding prediction), go ahead and confirm to prevent a true lefty from being appointed.
From a beltway “establishment” conservative:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/03/the-supreme-court-and-the-hypocrisy-of-the-left.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+powerlineblog%2Flivefeed+%28Power+Line%29
Anonymous 11 said:
IT IS an abuse of power. And what can we do about it?
I can’t even vote for a senator.
:(
Lydia said:
Late to the party, but thank you for your cogent thoughts on this.
Yes, yes, YES!
And I have no idea how to solve it in the short term other than have some clever law professor sue McConnell for refusing to obey his Constitutional orders. The lawyer in me would LOVE to watch that unfold.
I read somewhere (perhaps even here) that the fact that Obama is a moderate has forced Congressional Republicans to go so far right and ridiculous to oppose him that they can’t see their way out of a paper bag. I hate to suggest that the solution would involve putting the Senate back into Reid’s hands, because I do like the value of opposing parties in the two different branches, but I don’t know how else to handle it. McConnell has turned himself into a farce…I wonder if they dug up a Paul Ryan equivalent things would calm down.
If Hillary wins, I do worry that the Congressional obstructionism, in some ways, will get worse, despite the fact that she will probably be much more willing to negotiate. That doesn’t mean I think Bernie would actually be any better, despite the fact that he’s actually Left, which could bring the Republicans back into the middle. And now I’m just using your Comment section to muse. Thank you for your patience. :)