Watching MOJO. Do people understand that Gorsuch was NOT Trump's pick??? Nor is any other SCOTUS

[sarabelle]

pick Trump's pick. ALL the latest SCOTUS appointments have been McConnell's picks.

Do people understand that no matter who is President, the Senate is the key to SCOTUS appointments?

That the key to individual rights, human rights, civil rights rests with state and local elections?

Do Democrats understand that their messages have been focused on the least influential elections when it comes to gerrymandering, voting rights, civil rights, personal rights??

If we don't or can't make the case for voting at the state and local levels we will always lose the social and civil democratic agendas.

Preaching this for years seems to have fallen on deaf ears...even in 2016.

[watoos]

1. The picks come from the Federalist Society.

[DeminPennswoods]

2. Specifially Leonard Leo

Leo's an anti-abortion zealot, too.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Rome: Scott Pruitt dines at 5-star restaurant with Cardinal under investigation for child sex abuse.

Top Federalist Society official initially paid for Scott Pruitt's costly dinner in Rome, EPA officia

Source: Washington Post

Top Federalist Society official initially paid for Scott Pruitt’s costly dinner in Rome, EPA officials confirm

By Juliet Eilperin May 7 at 7:11 PM

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt dined at one of Rome’s finest restaurants at the expense of a top official at the conservative Federalist Society, agency officials confirmed Monday, only to reimburse him later.

The meal at Al Ceppo, first reported by the New York Times, was one of several events that Leonard Leo, Federalist Society executive vice president, set up for Pruitt during his trip to Italy last June. Leo, a longtime Pruitt confidant and prominent American Catholic, personally arranged multiple events at the Vatican as well as three separate meals that included high-ranking Vatican officials.
....

Rome: Scott Pruitt dines at 5-star restaurant with Cardinal under investigation for child sex abuse.

Credit, as requested: the lyin' New York Times.

Brought to my attention by: losin' Pulitzer Prize winner David Fahrenthold of the failin' Washington Post. The failin' Washington Post is owned by cheatin' Jeff Bezos.

Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

During trip to Italy, SCOTT PRUITT dined at a 5-star restaurant with a Cardinal who is a climate change skeptic, even though @EPA staff knew the Cardinal was under investigation for child sex abuse. But they omitted the Cardinal's name from schedules released under FOIA. THREAD:

Link to tweet

FOLLOW ALONG WITH US HERE, as we walk through a FASCINATING collection of documents The NYT has pulled together about a certain dinner in Rome that EPA's Scott Pruitt had last June with Cardinal Pell, who is now facing sexual abuse charges. (PLEASE CREDIT NYT )@LFFriedman

Link to tweet

Dinner at La Terrazza is not cheap. It costs $240 per person, before wine and other stuff for the tasting menu. Pruitt, his chief of staff and senior political adviser were there, along with Leonard Leo, of the Federalist Society, Cardinal Pell, among others.

Link to tweet

Here are a few more documents. FOUR different calendars that have been put out by the EPA covering this day. None of them mention that Cardinal Pell was at the dinner. Here is the FIRST

Link to tweet

[SharonClark]

4. Exactly.

[procon]

3. The Federalist Society concocted Trump's

list of ultra conservative judges. He picks one, then McConnell only has to bring Trump's nominee up for a simple majority vote.

Leonard Leo, longtime leader within the Federalist Society, Leo has had Donald Trump’s ear on judicial appointments and has been the main curator of the president’s list of Supreme Court candidates. Two of Leo’s personal picks, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, have been elevated to the highest court in the country since Trump’s election.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/leonard-leo-federalist-society-new-deal-trump-judges.html

[Kaiserguy]

10. Here is my Question

Using the Federalist Society an outside group which only represents a small minority of people to select and appoint judges with a provable bias how does that not violate the rights of all the American citizen who don't agree with this group ideas. last time I looked under the constitution we are entitled to certain rights and one of the most basic right should be a judicially which is free of bias. By using any outside group to recommend judge we are not protecting that right. A bias court is not a fair or honest court. Seem to me that we could and should sue to stop the Federalist Society from having any say in judicial appointments. One has to only read all the sections that pertain to voting rights in the constitution to realize that the bias courts are not protecting even that most basic right!!!!

[AlexSFCA]

11. Common mistake. Constitution by itself is meaningless.

It is subject to interpretation by SC.

[procon]

14. I agree. Using any biased outside agency

to supply judges that are prevetted and essentially guaranteed to deliver handpicked ultra conservative justices unfairly packs the court. I don't think that was the intent of the Founding Fathers.

Remember, as a representative democracy we citizens have to rely on the honor and integrity our our elected officials to do the right thing for the common good, not for political power. That seems to be in short supply when Republicans can flaunt theit mad power schemes to remake the nation into some disastrous dystopian video game.

[CousinIT]

5. Actually they are the Federalist Society's picks. n/t

[sarabelle]

13. Federal Society may pick candidates but they do not have the final vote.

And there is nothing in the Constitution that says the candidates must be chosen by a Federalist Society. BS.

It's the Senate and the President that have the final say. Obama should have appointed Garland anyway. What could they have done to stop him?

[rampartc]

6. 2020 state elections (2019 here in louisiana) are of extreme importance

1. reapportionment after the 2020 census can solidify and extend their gerrymander for another decade. this is especially important in maine, Nebraska, and other states that might appoint electors by congressional district.

2. they still want a constitutional convention, and are only a few state legislators short of calling it. if you think that this could possibly be a good thing, the delegates will be selected by the state legislatures and will vote on amendments proposed by alex (= Koch brothers.)

3. observe what their state legislators have done in recent weeks.

[jalan48]

8. I'd say not even McConnell but his wealthy backers.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. More evidence that McCONnell rigged the 2016 election (he blocked warnings & knew for Merrick). . nt

[Honeycombe8]

12. It was the Heritage Foundation's pick, to be precise. I think that's the RW org. who picked them.

Or was it another? Anyway, both Trump & McConnell agreed to that organization's pick. It provided a short list, in order of preference. So McConnell/Trump went for the top ones both times, and got them confirmed.

The key to law in the country lies with the S.Ct., IMO. Local and state levels can do things, only insofar as they don't contradict the federal law. THe ultimate authority on interpretation of fed law is the S.Ct.

[FBaggins]

15. Of course he was Trump's pick

The President and Senate both play a role. And, yes, of course the Federalist society influences Republicans in both spots - because that's how their base expresses their opinions on the subject.

This isn't (as you imply) "the President doesn't matter... it's the Senate that runs the show". It's that both have key rolls and controlling one but not the other is going to be a problem.

[sarabelle]

16. If the Senate didn't run the show, Garland would be on the SCOTUS.

[FBaggins]

17. Nope

If the Senate DID "run the show" then they would just have put in their own selection.

Garland was never going to be on the supreme court.

Obama picked him because he knew that the Senate wasn't going to confirm his pick anyway... so he picked a moderate that would make them look as bad/partisan as possible in blocking the nomination. If Clinton had won, Obama was going to dump his nomination before the Senate could confirm him so that Hillary could pick a more progressive selection.

And for all the bluster... that's exactly what would have happened if the roles were reversed. In fact it is what happened.

[redstatebluegirl]

18. The Federalist Society is choosing them.

The court is why they have to keep the orange moron in office so they can pack the courts with a ton of 35 year old arch conservatives who will impact our lives for 40 years. The Federalist Society is infiltrating all aspects of our lives including higher ed.

[ecstatic]

19. We must defeat mcconnell. That's as important as getting rid of rump. nt

[Perseus]

20. People must understand that nothing comes from the buffoon, he is a decoy

All the strings are being pulled by Pence, McConnell, most probably Graham, Miller, and other in the GOP, all behind the scenes while the buffoon distracts everyone with his stupidity, he is the "idiot who can handle a pen" that the GOP has always wanted.

The GOP would throw the buffoon under the bus in a heart bit, but right now he is the very useful idiot who has captured everyone's attention with his insane behaviour allowing them to work behind the curtain, and the iron curtain for that matter.