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[Piecake]

The president seems to recognize as much, and so at the same time that he ridicules the judiciary for thwarting his proposals, he is working to reshape it. So far, he has named 16 nominees to the federal district and circuit courts—a group pulled almost entirely from the membership rolls of the conservative Federalist Society. On Wednesday, three of those nominees will appear before the U.S. Senate: Kevin Newsom, an 11th Circuit nominee from Alabama; John Bush, a 6th Circuit nominee from Kentucky; and Damien Schiff, a nominee for the federal Court of Claims. Together, they evince a deep hostility toward civil rights.

In 2000, Newsom wrote a law review article in which he equated the rationale of Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that affirmed abortion rights, to Dred Scott, the infamous 1857 decision upholding slavery. As Alabama’s solicitor general, he spent much of his time defending the state’s ability to execute people, and in 2005, he expressed regret at the Supreme Court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to execute juveniles. He also defended, both in court and the press, Alabama’s policy, nearly unique among the states, to not provide legal counsel to death-row prisoners seeking post-conviction relief. When prisoners challenged the policy, Newsom ridiculed them for painting a “gloom and doom” picture of accessing legal services on death row.

Bush is shocking in his blatant disdain for equal rights and animus toward racial and other minorities. While blogging under a pseudonym in 2008, Bush invoked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to attack women’s reproductive rights. In a post titled “The Legacy from Dr. King’s Dream That Liberals Ignore,” Bush joined Newsom in comparing Dred Scott to Roe (both “relied on similar reasoning and activist justices”), and wrote that “slavery and abortion” are the “two greatest tragedies in our country.” In his Senate questionnaire, he dismissively referred to the brutal 1993 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers as a “police encounter.” In another blog post, he brushed aside the discriminatory effects of voter ID laws. Bush has also said that a landmark Supreme Court ruling protecting the freedom of the press was wrongly decided, a view disturbingly convenient for a president who incessantly attacks the media. Perhaps most troubling about Bush, though, is what he hasn’t voiced: In forms filed with the U.S. Senate, Bush failed to disclose—as required by Senate Judiciary Committee rules—that a Louisville social club to which he belongs had a long history of excluding African-Americans, women and Jews.

Of the three nominees, Schiff may be the most extreme. He has already received attention for calling Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy a “judicial prostitute"; said he “strongly disagree” with the Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down statutes criminalizing sodomy; and criticized a school district for teaching that “homosexual families are the moral equivalent of heterosexual families,” arguing that it remains an open question. Shockingly, in May 2009, Schiff wrote that, for the same reason, he would have objected “to an anti-racism curriculum being taught in 1950s Arkansas.” Not to be outdone, Schiff provided his own take on Dred Scott—saying that the court’s dead-letter affirmation of slavery is no different from efforts to remedy segregation and increase diversity. In a 2011 law review article, Schiff said that Grutter v. Bollinger, which upheld race-conscious college admissions programs to further student diversity, repeated the same mistakes of the Supreme Court’s most infamous decisions, including Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Korematsu.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/st...minees-civil-rights-newsom-bush-schiff-215253

 

[Cagey]

"Strange" is a weak way to put it.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

Another time to ponder the mental acuity of so called 'moderates' who really did attempt to use their brains, and came to the conclusion that Trump was different and was going to 'shake things up'.

 

[Blader]

Another time to ponder the mental acuity of so called 'moderates' who really did attempt to use their brains, and came to the conclusion that Trump was different and was going to 'shake things up'.

Those people didn't care about civil rights in the first place.

 

[Frozenprince]

Those people didn't care about civil rights in the first place.

Ding.

 

[demosthenes]

Is anyone surprised?

 

[Stinkles]

Is anyone surprised?

Only that they aren't more random. Trump doesn't care about any of that shit, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of strippers, a relative, maybe a clown from his youth in the mix.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

"Strange" is a weak way to put it.

Yeah, I think "mega-bigoted" is the word they were looking for.

 

[Game Guru]

Only that they aren't more random. Trump doesn't care about any of that shit, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of strippers, a relative, maybe a clown from his youth in the mix.

Why would it be more random? Trump wants people in the courts who would support his Muslim Ban, and these guys look like the sort of shit who would indeed support a Muslim Ban.

 

[Lightning_Roller]

Those people didn't care about civil rights in the first place.

And were done here.

 

[SpaceCadetKeon]

He's going to fill the courts with hateful right-wing extremists. How the hell are we supposed to come back from this?

 

[nintendoman58]

He's going to fill the courts with hateful right-wing extremists. How the hell are we supposed to come back from this?

This is only a few court seats. He's not firing everybody and stacking the whole deck.

It's bad, but it's not something that can't be recovered from.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

This is only a few court seats. He's not firing everybody and stacking the whole deck.

It's bad, but it's not something that can't be recovered from.

Congress obstructed a lot under Obamacare. I think there are a number that weren't filled with Obama that are now Trump's to appoint.

 

[WhiskerFrisker]

All three are cunts holy shit.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I'm sure if we just sit down and listen to their perspective we can meet somewhere in the middle, and that is true progress.

 

[John Rabbit]

Worth noting that the three of them are 44, 52, and 39 respectively. Just in case anyone expects them to be aging members of a dying generation.

 

[preta]

Schiff provided his own take on Dred Scott—saying that the court’s dead-letter affirmation of slavery is no different from efforts to remedy segregation and increase diversity.

This breaks my brain.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Worth nothing that the three of them are 44, 52, and 39 respectively. Just in case anyone expects them to be aging members of a dying generation.

Amazing

 

[SpaceCadetKeon]

Congress obstructed a lot under Obamacare. I think there are a number that weren't filled with Obama that are now Trump's to appoint.

About 120 federal court positions were left vacant due to obstruction. And Trump plans to nominate 10 people every month so they'll be filled before midterms.

 

[Lord Frieza]

This is only a few court seats. He's not firing everybody and stacking the whole deck.

It's bad, but it's not something that can't be recovered from.

This is something that's going to be felt for many, many years. Even if Trump is one term, the amount of appointments he's going to get is high because there's no real chance the Dems can take the Senate in 2018. I know you want to play the eternal optimist, but this is bad, this is going to play a large role in hamstringing progress for the rest of our (as in Millennial) generation.

 

[Ogodei]

He's going to fill the courts with hateful right-wing extremists. How the hell are we supposed to come back from this?

Lower courts exist at congress' whim. If they ever got out of hand you could simply dissolve them and rebuild from scratch.

For the Supreme Court, the answer is court-packing.

Of course, it would take immense political capital to do either. 2nd-term FDR got burned trying to do the latter.

 

[Lord Frieza]

Lower courts exist at congress' whim. If they ever got out of hand you could simply dissolve them and rebuild from scratch.

Yeah, but that isn't going to happen unless there is massive shift in the GOP, and if anything they are getting progressively more right wing.

 

[PopeReal]

Another time to ponder the mental acuity of so called 'moderates' who really did attempt to use their brains, and came to the conclusion that Trump was different and was going to 'shake things up'.

Moderates lol.

 

[Lord Frieza]

He's going to fill the courts with hateful right-wing extremists. How the hell are we supposed to come back from this?

The simple truth is that we can't, not really. The only hope is that these are too far out there for even this Senate, but they confirmed Sessions, they confirmed DeVos, they confirmed Gorsuch, they'll confirmed anyone short of a out and proud Nazi, and even then I'm not even sure if that would be enough to be honest. This kneecaps the Millennial generation.

 

[nintendoman58]

This is something that's going to be felt for many, many years. Even if Trump is one term, the amount of appointments he's going to get is high because there's no real chance the Dems can take the Senate in 2018. I know you want to play the eternal optimist, but this is bad, this is going to play a large role in hamstringing progress for the rest of our (as in Millennial) generation.

Don't get me wrong, the effects of Trump picking judges will be felt for many years. I'm not saying

At worst though, they'll only be the scars of his presidency once he's out.

The simple truth is that we can't, not really. The only hope is that these are too far out there for even this Senate, but they confirmed Sessions, they confirmed DeVos, they confirmed Gorsuch, they'll confirmed anyone short of a out and proud Nazi, and even then I'm not even sure if that would be enough to be honest. This kneecaps the Millennial generation.

Not entirely true. These people aren't some shadow council that can control everything despite who's in power.

Look, I'm not trying to undermine what's going on here. I'm trying to actually think of possible alternative paths that can be taken.

I'm sick and tired of every, literally every, bad piece of news being reacted with "AHHHH NO GG AMERICA ALL IS LOST NO HOPE LEFT AAAH!"

It's like I don't see people thinking anymore. So many posters here instantly jump to the worst case scenario and adopts a "give up" attitude like everything's set in stone.

Some of the "resistance" I'm seeing (not all of it, mind you) is ridiculously weak. With statements like "I'm doing everything I can, but we must prepare for a loss." - The hell kind of attitude is this? Where's the energy? Where's the passion?

How can you expect to win anything if you're constantly preparing to lose? Really think about this.

Ever since November 8 it's been like this. People are caught in a nihilistic loop trying to set expectations for anything to be the worst possible thing in literally every scenario! And no matter what facts you throw at them they always use the exact same responses of "Trump is president anything goes, old trends don't apply anymore, etc. etc."

If you want ANY sort of progress to happen, this mindset needs to go. You need to fill your head with only the thought of winning, and spread it to others. Never mind what you see on the news or what you read in a random article.

If you let ANY of that waver you, you're only giving more ammo to the other side.

I'm sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant, but i feel like this needs to be said. It's literally the only thing I myself can do as someone who lives in Canada.

 

[Lord Frieza]

Don't get me wrong, the effects of Trump picking judges will be felt for many years. I'm not saying

At worst though, they'll only be the scars of his presidency once he's out.

120 far right appointees aren't​ just some scar.

Not entirely true. These people aren't some shadow council that can control everything despite who's in power.

Look, I'm not trying to undermine what's going on here. I'm trying to actually think of possible alternative paths that can be taken.

I'm sick and tired of every, literally every, bad piece of news being reacted with "AHHHH NO GG AMERICA ALL IS LOST NO HOPE LEFT AAAH!"

It's like I don't see people thinking anymore. So many posters here instantly jump to the worst case scenario and adopts a "give up" attitude like everything's set in stone.

Some of the "resistance" I'm seeing (not all of it, mind you) is ridiculously weak. With statements like "I'm doing everything I can, but we must prepare for a loss." - The hell kind of attitude is this? Where's the energy? Where's the passion?

How can you expect to win anything if you're constantly preparing to lose? Really think about this.

Ever since November 8 it's been like this. People are caught in a nihilistic loop trying to set expectations for anything to be the worst possible thing in literally every scenario! And no matter what facts you throw at them they always use the exact same responses of "Trump is president anything goes, old trends don't apply anymore, etc. etc."

If you want ANY sort of progress to happen, this mindset needs to go. You need to fill your head with only the thought of winning, and spread it to others. Never mind what you see on the news or what you read in a random article.

If you let ANY of that waver you, you're only giving more ammo to the other side.

I'm sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant, but i feel like this needs to be said. It's literally the only thing I myself can do as someone who lives in Canada.

This is a nice speech and all, but I don't see how any of it applies here. I'm not on the Senate, I can't vote against these people. All I can do is contact my Senators, which I have already done, but it doesn't matter because both of my Senators are trash and will vote for all three of these because their seats are pretty safe since TN has strengthened it's redness in the last decade.

Sometimes reality is just hard.

 

[Barzul]

#Whitelash Buckle up folks, gonna be a long 4 years. All these judges will get confirmed too, no filibuster and GOP will acquiesce to Trump's picks.

 

[nintendoman58]

120 far right appointees aren't​ just some scar.

120 appointees out of how many? Is that the entirety of America?

This is a nice speech and all, but I don't see how any of it applies here. I'm not on the Senate, I can't vote against these people. All I can do is contact my Senators, which I have already done, but it doesn't matter because both of my Senators are trash and will vote for all three of these because their seats are pretty safe since TN has strengthened it's redness in the last decade.

Sometimes reality is just hard.

Okay, this right there? Don't say it anymore. That's the first step. You let that sink into your head and you're only gonna find yourself chained to it, unable to accomplish anything.

Talk to people IRL. If you already do it, do it some more. Show them your activism. Keep calling your senators. Keep calling your reps.

Reality is something that can only change the more willing we are not to submit to it. And sadly, that's an attitude I'm not seeing a lot of on here.

I don't see RESIST. I see SUBMIT. That needs to change.

 

[FStubbs]

If the situation were reversed, the GOP would be arguing Trump has no right to nominate anybody while he's under suspicious of treason and high crimes.

 

[SpaceCadetKeon]

They're holding a confirmation hearing for John Bush today. I called my senators and told them not to confirm him, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[Mivey]

120 appointees out of how many? Is that the entirety of America?

874 authorized federal judgeships.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_judge). Though the number seems to be in flux over the decades. Not sure how this works.

 

[Lord Frieza]

120 appointees out of how many? Is that the entirety of America?

It's a lot, and he'll potentially get even more, maybe twice as many, in the second half of his term.

Okay, this right there? Don't say it anymore. That's the first step. You let that sink into your head and you're only gonna find yourself chained to it, unable to accomplish anything.

Talk to people IRL. If you already do it, do it some more. Show them your activism. Keep calling your senators. Keep calling your reps.

Reality is something that can only change the more willing we are not to submit to it. And sadly, that's an attitude I'm not seeing a lot of on here.

I don't see RESIST. I see SUBMIT. That needs to change.

Don't try to qualify what I do. I won't be shamed for the things I do, for the calls, emails or faxes I send, or for the amount of money I can't really spare that I donate to causes or the votes I put in every election. I don't care if I pass your purity tests, I know what I do.

But this is just reality. It is hard to accept, I know, but shoving our head in the sand and go "ra, ra, ra, everything is going be awesome!" isn't going to change that.

 

[Beartruck]

According to Wikipedia, there are 874 federal judges currently. If Trump fills all 120 positions, 1/8 of all federal courts will be run by psychopaths. Great. Fantastic.

Edit:beaten.

 

[Seth Enosh]

As a conservative I'm most worried about what would happen when a Trump appointee makes a ruling against Trump in a high profile case (e.g. if Gorsuch makes a ruling against the travel ban). It's only a matter of time and of course Obama faced this a few times but handled it well.

Right now Trump seems to be taking a hands off approach to judges and we are just getting standard republican nominees (the whole dredd Scott = roe v wade is very standard for right wing judicial thinkers and scholars to say). He's appointing people who will likely uphold some civil rights against him (e.g. Gorsuch is actually better on civil rights vs police than Merrick Garland was, despite all of Trump's pro police rhetoric). What happens if he tries to find full on authoritarians for the courts instead?

 

[Lord Frieza]

As a conservative I'm most worried about what would happen when a Trump appointee makes a ruling against Trump in a high profile case (e.g. if Gorsuch makes a ruling against the travel ban). It's only a matter of time and of course Obama faced this a few times but handled it well.

Right now Trump seems to be taking a hands off approach to judges and we are just getting standard republican nominees (the whole dredd Scott = roe v wade is very standard for right wing judicial thinkers and scholars to say). He's appointing people who will likely uphold some civil rights against him (e.g. Gorsuch is actually better on civil rights vs police than Merrick Garland was, despite all of Trump's pro police rhetoric). What happens if he tries to find full on authoritarians for the courts instead?

You need to read this article over again if you think any of these three are normal.

And Trump can't do anything like without Congress I'm pretty sure

 

[nintendoman58]

Don't try to qualify what I do. I won't be shamed for the things I do, for the calls, emails or faxes I send, or for the amount of money I can't really spare that I donate to causes or the votes I put in every election. I don't care if I pass your purity tests, I know what I do.

But this is just reality. It is hard to accept, I know, but shoving our head in the sand and go "ra, ra, ra, everything is going be awesome!" isn't going to change that.

What is this reality you're talking about here? What do you mean by this?

You clearly don't mean that America cannot ever recover from what it happening right now. Otherwise you wouldn't be doing the things you're doing.

I'm not trying to get you to pass a purity test of mine. I'm trying to make you feel empowered in the actions you take, as hanging around with a constant cloud of doom and gloom will only have negative psychological consequences on yourself and those around you.

 

[Lord Frieza]

What is this reality you're talking about here? What do you mean by this?

You clearly don't mean that America cannot ever recover from what it happening right now. Otherwise you wouldn't be doing the things you're doing.

I'm not trying to get you to pass a purity test of mine. I'm trying to make you feel empowered in the actions you take, as hanging around with a constant cloud of doom and gloom will only have negative psychological consequences on yourself and those around you.

The reality that roughly 1/8, or more, federal judge appointments will be far right judges who are hostile to civil rights and probably a lot of corporate whores mixed in.

It doesn't really matter how emboldened I am in what I do. It won't make me stop, but I know that no matter how much you scream love at the heart of the world, it doesn't stop the world from turning