Well that didn't take long. Cloture invoked on nominee Patricia Millett 55-43!

[Cali_Democrat]

60 votes no longer needed!



https://twitter.com/DSenFloor/status/403588609703706625

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Pack. The. Fucking. Courts.

Immediately, if not sooner.

They did it under Bush 2 with a group of nuts. Even it out. Elections have consequences.

[malaise]

4. Except that there are three vacancies so it's not packing to all but ReTHUGs

Go Dems!!

[arely staircase]

6. we need to start filling those vacancies fast with not jut progressives

but young progressives who will be on the bench a looooooong time.

[malaise]

8. +1,000,000

[Fantastic Anarchist]

39. +Infinity

[Politicub]

49. +1 and a bounce!

[riversedge]

50. Yes, this IS

our opening opportunity.

[bluestate10]

51. Some people change their political leanings.

The great Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun came in as a conservative and became a liberal lion on the bench. Brennan was a conservative entering and became the leading liberal justice of the century that he served and likely beyond. Potter Stewart was a conservative and became a liberal. John Paul Stevens, a great liberal justice came in as a conservative-moderate.

[mdbl]

61. Clarence the angel hasn't

visited thomas, scalito and scalito yet. I see no evidence so far that they think that we should live "a wonderful life".

[Gore1FL]

68. I just want them to be qualified and fair n/t

[Bandit]

18. There are over ninty vacancies.

You are just talking about one court. There are federal courts in every state and a huge backlog of vacancies.

[malaise]

32. You're right

[DWinNJ]

67. And that's just the vacancies in the courts

While judicial appointments have more impact over a longer time I don't even recall the number of vacancies in federal agencies because of the republicans.

[JHB]

19. Three vacancies on the DC Appeals Court, plenty more elsewhere

[brush]

62. I heard there are 42 vacancies?

Don't know if they are all judges but I did hear that number on satellite radio yesterday.

[mountain grammy]

13. NOW, THIS MINUTE!! EVERY SINGLE OPEN SEAT!

[LynneSin]

25. And make sure they are young enough to stick around should we lose the WH in 2016

If we have a dynamic candidate we should be able to keep the White House. But just incase. Find some 40 year olds to put on those benches.

[Cosmocat]

43. They have 12 months to dig out for the MASSIVE hole

they are in with republicans' playing thermonuclear war games over court appointments for the last 15 or so years ...

Who knows how the senate is going to break a year from now, so the A LOT of holes to fill and make up for them playing tackle football on this while the dems played flag football.

[The Magistrate]

47. Hear Hear, Sir: Fill Every Vacancy That Exists

[markpkessinger]

64. By all means, appoint liberal justices, but please don't use the phrase "pack the courts" . . .

. . .That phrase has a really troubled history, dating back to FDR's threat to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court in order to create a majority that was more favorable to his policies. It was a rather scandalous thing of FDR to even consider.

What's more, accusing the President of trying to "pack the courts" is precisely the language the GOP is using. Filling court vacancies as they arise is in no wise "packing the courts." If anything, the phrase is more appropriately applied to what Republicans have been trying to do with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, namely, to control the ideological balance of the court by altering the number of seats. The only difference is, they want to eliminate seats rather than add them, but the net effect is the same.

[HenryWallace]

66. Exactly!

"Pack" implies that Obama is doing something underhanded or unconstitutional!

The Judiciary lands where it lands by design. If there are more liberal judges than conservative, its a reflection of the will of the people as manifested by elections. Democrats have realized this in the past and reserved filibusters for only the most extreme of nominees.

"Sandbagging" every nominee is "underhanded or unconstitutional." If Republicans no longer have the opportunity to object to "the most extreme of nominees," it is there own fault!

The reality of this situation is that Obama will not nominate ideologues the way that Bush did; he is a judicial moderate.

If this results in a liberal/conservative imbalance, it is just further evidence that we are not a "center-right" nation.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. OK. This is PROGRESS. n/t

[grahamhgreen]

55. Progressive policies once again are a win for us all:)

[zappaman]

3. Awesome!

[MineralMan]

5. Excellent!

[Skidmore]

9. Who was it who used to have that avatar

of the creepy froggy that grinned to show a mouthful of human teeth?

[MineralMan]

11. Sorry, I don't know...

[PeaceNikki]

15. Maddy McCall

It was her signature pic.

[Skidmore]

20. Thank you.

I knew it was a female name but the memory doesn't work so well anymore. That frog would give you nightmares but it was in the Hall of Fame for DU avatars, like the dancing underpants and the smiley thay mooned you as it climbed over something. I think the smiley may have belonged to matcom. Sure miss matcom's perspectives.

[Mnemosyne]

29. I miss matcom's smiley butt too. nt

[Owl]

41. I miss matcom too, but not so much the smiley butt.

[juajen]

54. I miss them all!

[Mnemosyne]

70. It always made me smile! So many to miss these days...

[sheshe2]

21. Love that picture, MineralMan~

[MineralMan]

22. Me too. Frogs make good stand-ins for humans.

Thanks!

[sharp_stick]

7. Fantastic

she is more than qualified. The only reason the pukes are pissed is that it's going to change the balance away from the kochsuckers put there by shrubbo.

[Ms. Toad]

53. How about swapping that insult out

for one that isn't a homonym for a homophobic taunt.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

10. How many are out of committee and currently blocked from vote?

[Tx4obama]

14. Two long lists on the link below

Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Barack_Obama

The highlighted ones are out of committee waiting for full senate vote
the one NOT highlighted and not yet confirmed have to have a committee vote.

[Tx4obama]

12. She had been already voted out of committe. BUT there is a HUGE problem now...

... regarding the nominees that are still at the Senate Judicial Committee level and this will affect all future nominees...

Republicans have already found a way to F*CK up the judicial nominees !!!!!!!!!!

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024071026

[Cali_Democrat]

16. So then change the judiciary committee quorum rules.

All they need to change the rules is a simple majority, right?

Problem solved?

[Tx4obama]

17. I don't know how they will fix this - but they will have to find a way. n/t

[sharp_stick]

26. Why do you think it's huge?

They won't just continue to boycott the committee, it would look really bad for fundraising.

I'm betting this is just a pout.

[Tx4obama]

27. Oh course they could continue to boycott the committee and their supporters would love that...

Just like they supported the GOP for shutting down the government and all the other BS the GOP does.

They will say they are standing on principle and they probably will even fund-raise on it.

[jeff47]

36. No, they can't.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024071372

[sheshe2]

23. Yipee!!!!!!

~

K&R..................

[polichick]

24. Are there any liberals? Haven't been following this and would hate if...

Obama's choices are conservadems.

[Tx4obama]

28. Obama picks the nominees from lists that the U.S. Senators of 'that state' submit to him...

... so the list of nominees in the red states (that have two republican senators) come from GOP conservatives.

[polichick]

30. He can only choose from those lists?

[Tx4obama]

31. That is how it has always been done. Tradition.

Some folks say that Obama could attempt to put together a list on his own to pick folks from - but that would start World War III

[polichick]

33. Bring the war on then!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

42. Exactly.

Bring it the fuck on already.

I'm sick of the reactionary right-wing. They need a punch to the face and a kick to the groin. Enough with the playing nice bullshit.

[CFLDem]

48. Well it's too late for timidity.

We need to get as much done now any way we can so if we happen to lose the next round of elections, they won't have enough time to undo our progress.

[MatthewStLouis]

34. Yay!

Good news for a change!

[Cha]

35. Harry Reid..

Majority Fucking Rules. What a freaking Concept!

[kestrel91316]

37. It's about effing time.

[Jack Rabbit]

38. November 13, 2013 will go down in US history as the day Senator Reid found his spine

Whooyah!

[brush]

63. Also the day he finally had the votes

That was part of the hold up.

I'm glad Reid made sure it would pass.

[Laelth]

40. k&r for progress! Celebration time. n/t

[font size=48 color=blue]CELEBRATE![/font]



-Laelth

[PM Martin]

44. Pack those courts, Barack Hussein Obamsavelt!

[freshwest]

45. K&Rrrrrr!

[nolabear]

46. Actual work getting done? How DARE they!

GO DEMS!

[alfredo]

52. I wonder if she is related to Col Lew Millett? He was also from Maine.

Lew Millett was a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient for his daring bayonet charge during the Korean war. His unit went up against a force six times the size of his. http://www.pbs.org/weta/americanvalor/stories/millett.html

He was my commander up at Fort Devens when at the ASA training school. He knew how to lead.

[Left Coast2020]

56. So will we now have influence on this DC circut court?

A bit nieve of how the courts are set up and processes, but I'm just wondering if she gets on the bench, is it something that can thwart some of the crap that the previous squatter did?

Is this also a life appointment?

What other courts/legislation can Reid get through?

I concur with previous poster, but my feeling is just shove it back down their f-ing throats.

Show the scumbags we have steeltoe'd boots too. And can stomp some ass in em.

My hope is to overturn some of the major damage that has been done in the form of rulings that hurt the less fortunate--who deserve some justice. And that comes from the heart.

[last1standing]

60. If all the vacant posts are filled on the DC Circuit it could lead to incredible changes.

Most government agencies are sued in the DC Circuit so the constitutionality of many regulations are decided there. That makes this Circuit arguably the most powerful court in the country outside the SCOTUS. And yes, they are lifetime appointments.

This is why the nuclear battle was so important; the DC Circuit has the power to fundamentally change how government works and how effective it can be.

[Warren DeMontague]

57. Bout damn time.

Enough is enough.

[Liberal_in_LA]

58. k&r

[great white snark]

59. Great news to wake up to!

Please Senate more of the same.

[calimary]

65. Renominate Goodwin Liu!!!!

Let's get him in there! And more like him!

[emsimon33]

69. Finally!