Senate GOP leaders to meet with Obama on Supreme Court nominee process

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: washingtonpost

Senate Republicans will have a chance this week to directly confront President Obama on his vision for reshaping the nation's courts.

The president is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to discuss who should fill the seat of Justice John Paul Stevens, who has announced his plans to retire at the end of the Supreme Court's current term. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will also attend the meeting.

Republicans have threatened to filibuster any nominee who they view as a "judicial activist." And some Democrats are offering their own advice to Obama, arguing that the president should tap a nominee who is not currently in the judiciary because every member of the current court was once a federal appeals court judge. Leahy has emphasized the importance of going outside "the judicial monastery."

Former president Bill Clinton said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that "some of the best justices in the Supreme Court in history have been non-judges."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/19/AR2010041904601.html

[Tumbulu]

1. How many times did W meet with the Democratic Senators

about his nominees? And why didn't they ever ever ever threaten to filibuster? Or did they and I forgot?

[FrenchieCat]

2. It's customary. Even Bush did it!

[No Elephants]

10. A relatively NEW "custom." BTW, with which Democrats did Bush discuss nominations of Meiers &

Alito?

This is not a long-standing tradition, by any means. I think Clinton, the triangulator, started the practice of conferring with the opposition before naming a nominee. Then, the filibuster threats and the Gang of 14 came into play. But the Gang of 14 agreement expired years ago.

[NYC Liberal]

6. He did meet with Dems. nt

[budkin]

3. Fuck those assholes... why?

[Bitwit1234]

4. Who in the devil do these bunch of republicans think they are

bush was allowed to pick his own nominees. BUT they want to pick Obama's. Just goes to show you they are crazy as loons. And have egos to match.

[tomm2thumbs]

5. put Bill Clinton on the court - they'll love that

smiling down at them from one of the other 3 branches of government.

(Clinton waving at McConnell, Sessions and the GOP)

[No Elephants]

8. I'd prefer a liberal to a DNC co-founder, thanks. Besides, Bubba recently said neither he's not

interested and strongly implied Hillary is not interested, either. He said the nominee for filling Stevens seat should be younger than either Hillary or him, and also that Hillary and he are "doers." (Apparently, he doesn't see the SCOTUS Justices as "doers.")

Oh, yeah, and, like Harry Reid and the DNC, I don't want to hear about his ongoing infidelities anymore, or risk another impeachment. The Republicans were wrong to impeach him, but they've shown no sign of improving. To the contrary, they seem worse than ever. I'm guessing they'd have a private detective on him if he were a SCOTUS Justice.

[JanusAscending]

15. UH........what's wrong with the DNC??

Did you mean DLC by any chance? Just askin'.

[kimmylavin]

7. How?

How can these men have the nerve to complain about the possibility of liberal "judicial activism" with this current, conservative-heavy, activist-as-hell Court trampling all over hundreds of years of precedent?

[NecklyTyler]

9. Listen to the Minority, then rule from the Majority position

That is the way a representative government works. The Republicans are in the minority, and they just have to live with what we give them

[No Elephants]

11. Right. Because we'll give them pretty much the best they can expect from the jump.

And they'll fake complain about that, too.

[pattmarty]

12. An observation: For all the Obama "doubters" and the Obama..............

..............."praisers", this will be the REAL test of where Obama stands. My opinion is he will probably pick someone that is not "controversial" and "centrist" so as not to get into a partisan battle and confirmation battle. I am hoping I am wrong and he appoints a liberal in the Stevens mold, but I don't think that will be the case.


Anyone for bets?

[disndat]

13. as some wise person said,

the Repugs would find the man in the moon controversial, so Obama may as well pick a progressive.

[mikeSchmuckabee]

14. Have them bring beer and pizza

and use the servant's entrance.

[classysassy]

16. Eric Holder

I hope he pick Eric Holder just so I can watch the dixiecons explode.