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The Obama administration is apparently inviting supporters to a strategy session about getting more federal judges approved by the Senate, according to the Washington Times.
The president has invited 150 supporters from across the country concerned about the judicial vacancy rate to the White House on Monday for a forum and strategy session with administration officials, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Washington Times.
In the invite, the White House accused Republicans of subjecting consensus nominees to “unprecedented delays and filibusters.” [...]
In 37 cases, the courts have declared emergencies because of the length of vacancy and backlog of cases.
This strategy session sounds like a thinly veiled campaign event designed to make 150 potential donors feel important and listened to. If it is actually a sincere effort to try to solve this problem, let me take five minutes to completely fix it with my three step plan.
Step 1) Have Majority Leader Harry Reid say there is a judicial crisis and that he is prepared to have the Senate consent to judicial nominees with a simple majority vote if need be.
Step 2) Have at least 51 Senate Democrats take a procedural vote saying that the constitutional or senate rules don’t allow appointees to be filibustered. After all, the actual authority for determining what the Senate rules mean rests solely with a majority of Senators.
Step 3) Take a day to quickly approve all pending judicial nominees with majority votes.
I’m not being glib, just pointing out the facts that almost everyone ignores. This isn’t some highly complex unsolvable conundrum that requires an elaborate strategy. A simple solution already exists. The only problem is that Democrats don’t want to use it.
While we desperately do need more judges, this really isn’t a “judicial crisis” since it is such an easily solved problem. The only real crisis here is the crisis of Senate Democrats not wanting to govern. They have decided time and time again protecting the bizarre and destructive rules of their silly clubhouse takes precedence over actually trying to fix any real world problems facing the American people.
There’s little point in trying to concoct complex new solutions so long as Senate Democrats make it clear they aren’t interested in actually using the solutions they already have.
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There, in a nutshell, is what I’m sure drives most of us here damn near insane. In a world full of complex problems, we don’t go after the low hanging fruit. Indeed, simple solutions exist for most of the ‘problems’ the Very Serious People of the Beltway like to discuss over their cocktail weenies and book signings. To wit…
Social Security– Raise the payroll cap.
Health Care Costs– Single payer or at the least public option.
Afghanistan– Get the eff out.
$4/gallon gas– Position limits and must take physical delivery of oil.
Judicial Crisis– What Jon said.
See? All done, and it’s not even 5 o’clock yet.
“…must take physical delivery of oil.” Can I be there when the tankers pull up to the mansions? There are some very high end neighborhoods that are going to be drowning in oil.
You forgot “mint the $60 T coin” that’s the solution to the “debt crisis” and the problem of running out of money. Doesn’t even need Congressional action.
You are assuming they actually want the problem fixed. Based on the fact that they know the same rules you have stated, and CHOOSE not to use them, then the only answer is they don’t want the problems fixed.
When they began the new session with no rules changes, they showed their cards. Gridlock means never having to do your jobs, make hard choices or take responsibility.
What does one propose for us to push on this very serious gathering? Another Occupy? Noise? Calls, etc etc etc? We here hava a platform.
Thanks, Jon, for summing it up nicely.
Yes, there is a “judicial crisis,” but no, the solution is not “hard to find,” nor does it require special committees to waste tax dollars trying mightily to devise a “solution.”
Cue the Kabuki Show. This Act is entitled:
Wherein ObamaCo and the US Senate test their acting chops by pretending that there is simply no way to “force” those nasty-wasty Weepublicans into “allowing” the Democratic majority to obtain enough votes to approve all pending judicial appointments. Not to mention the fact that we are now three plus years into the reign of error called ObamaCo, and this pressing issue has not been addressed until now. What is it? An election year or something?? Oh wait…
Thanks for that. And it’s still not 5pm!
The only real crisis here is the crisis of Senate Democrats not wanting to govern.
Yes. And as long as Harry Reid is running the Senate, that’s the way it will stay.
Would those be the same Senate Democrats that you were lauding yesterday because polls show they may not suffer as many losses in Nov as once thought? IOW, the same worthless Dem Senators you waste time and FDL space on?
Yeah, I thought so.
And time to remember that Dems held Congress for the first two years of Obama’s administration. Some of the crisis could have been avoided if the President had recess appointed every friggin’ nominee he had after six months. Saying, “If the Senate couldn’t do its job and actually vote on the nominees, the President would have to do it, so from now on I will do this every six months.” And then add if the Senate updated their rules like ridding themselves of the nameless holds maybe they could get their job done. But that wouldn’t have been bipartisan even though he would have been beating up on a Democratic Senate – and it would have meant that some of his for show nominees actually got the job for awhile ruining even more of the kabuki.
I forget why do i go to work? Oh yeah someone needs me.
You’re so right.
I think President Obama is just holding another fundraiser, but this time it’s in the White House! How many fundraisers are enough???
Why isn’t the Senate voting on these Judges?
At least the GOP says what their priorities are, I have no idea what President Obama is going to do if he wins this election. Clearly the Senate Dems need a plan to move Forward. I wonder if we’ll see it before the Election.
The Senate has the filibuster, an institution so sacred that is has not been altered since 1979. Or perhaps the Democrats are deeply committed to the democratic principle that 11% of the country’s population – those in the 21 least populous states – should exercise veto power over the other 89%.
Richard Anderson-Connolly