Tim Kaine: Democrats Will Nuke Filibuster For Supreme Court Nominees If GOP Won’t Cooperate

[babylonsister]

Tim Kaine: Democrats Will Nuke Filibuster For Supreme Court Nominees If GOP Won’t Cooperate
Senate Republicans are already indicating they’ll block any potential nominee put forward by Hillary Clinton.
10/28/2016 04:24 pm ET | Updated 11 hours ago
Sam Stein Senior Politics Editor, The Huffington Post
Amanda Terkel Senior Political Reporter, The Huffington Post



COLUMBUS, Ohio ― Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine warned on Thursday that his party would move to eliminate rules allowing a minority of Senate Republicans to block Supreme Court nominees should they refuse to consider those nominated by a future president Hillary Clinton.

Kaine was not predicting Clinton’s victory, though, during a sit-down interview with The Huffington Post at the Land-Grant Brewing Company, he expressed confidence with where the election stood 11 days out. Instead, the Virginia senator was responding to recent remarks from Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) indicating that they were prepared to leave the current Supreme Court vacancy open should Clinton end up winning, leaving only eight justices on the bench.

“I was in the Senate when the Republicans’ stonewalling around appointments caused Senate Democratic majority to switch the vote threshold on appointments from 60 to 51. And we did it on everything but a Supreme Court justice,” Kaine said. “If these guys think they’re going to stonewall the filling of that vacancy or other vacancies, then a Democratic Senate majority will say, ‘We’re not going to let you thwart the law.’”

Democrats, Kaine ultimately predicted, “will change the Senate rules to uphold the law.”

Kaine’s remarks add some teeth to threats being made by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this week. The Nevada Democrat, in an interview with Talking Points Memo, said that his party was prepared to change the rules of the Senate to eliminate GOP ability to block Supreme Court nominations should Republican intransigence continue into a prospective Clinton administration.


more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tim-kaine-supreme-court_us_5813a8f4e4b0990edc31285f?

[PoliticAverse]

1. Kaine understands that the Democrats can end the filibuster at any time...

if the have the majority - something Harry Reid demonstrated.

[unblock]

2. if??? *if*??? there's not "if"! it has to be done on january 3!

there's no time to give them any more chances. they're already stonewalling garland and they've already vowed to block any hillary nominee.

it *has* to be done january 3, no if's about it.

[stopbush]

3. Yep. It needs to happen on January 3. The Rs wil promise to play nice,

but that will be a lie to get them past the Jan 3 date. If the Senate rules aren't changed then, they have two years to obstruct all nominees to the SCOTUS.

[dalton99]

4. Just fucking do it. Our democracy is at stake.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

5. If you don't stand up for something,

you'll fall for anything!

[Wounded Bear]

6. Fillibusters used to be a rarity...

now, they happen on virtually every law proposed. Requiring a super-majority to get normal business done is not democracy, it is minority rule.

The other things they need to end are the secret holds and shit that allow one senator to stop things for no disclosed reason.

[PoliticAverse]

8. Not only were they a rarity, but when actually done they were rarely successful...

For example the filibuster of the Civil Rights Act ultimately failed.

[Panich52]

7. Another brick in case f/ down-ballot Blue vote—as if another needed

[LakeArenal]

9. Why isn't an Atty General bringing charges to these "upholders of the Constitution??????

At least an investigation. How can elected officials continually not do anything? And brag about it. Meanwhile calling the working class lazy takers. We do need to make Congress great again. Buy the blue hat on the other discussion...

[Cryptoad]

10. Nuke it,,,,,,,

those GOP Assholes would never think twice about doing it if the table was turned!

[spanone]

11. here's how the republicans intend to cooperate...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028258974

[tritsofme]

12. This fight has been inevitable since at least 2013.

Since Harry Reid touched the nuclear button then, it's been widely understood that no Senate majority would tolerate a filibuster of their president's SCTOUS nominee.

[Salviati]

13. No threats, no bargaining, no compromise.

Just end the filibuster on Jan 3. end of story.

[Initech]

14. The GOP are being complete dicks about this. They deserve to lose the court.