The Goat Pen

I would think that if the Republicans play politics on this SCOTUS thing, it won't really matter if Obama gets to nominate the next justice because by the time the Dem. candidate takes office, there won't be many Republicans left in Congress to block it. Take a look around. People are sick of politicians doing politics.

Who would crossover from the R's? For that matter, would any of the Dems not vote to confirm?

Good stuff.

Although, regardless, Obama will put up a moderate. So, it doesn't really matter, but the theater will be fun.

Saint wrote:I would think that if the Republicans play politics on this SCOTUS thing, it won't really matter if Obama gets to nominate the next justice because by the time the Dem. candidate takes office, there won't be many Republicans left in Congress to block it. Take a look around. People are sick of politicians doing politics.

No they're not. Whatever their stripe of pol does is fine. It's the other guy that's the issue. It's always the other guy. And that's just the engaged electorate. Most are too apathetic or too cynical, and the rest are just ignorant. Hell, I'm apathetic and cynical. Hillary is Cruz is Rubio is Sanders. It just doesn't matter. They're all the same. The campaign promises are just a bit different.

Not a dimes worth of difference.

Exactly. The only thing that Obama has done different is to copy and implement RomneyCare.

Wait, what?

I think its stupid to believe that Obama shouldn't nominate a supreme court justice, but even Obama realizes he can't go with a hard core liberal. The country would lose its minds outside of New York and California if he tried to push another Sotomayor.

So he'll probably go with a non-Latino, non African American - male moderate candidate and attempt to guilt the Republicans in the Senate to give him a hearing.

If he does propose another candidate like Sotomayor, then I'd suggest that a member of the Senate sub committee take that person behind the capital and knock them in the head with a baseball bat and then ask for the next candidate.

If I haven't expressed it in clear thought so far, I really , really dislike Sotomayor

Better than what's her name that Bush tried to float that time. She was monstrously underqualified and even the senate repubs were embarrassed for him. What a fiasco. FWIW, I'm pretty satisfied with Roberts and Alito. But Foghorn Leghorn would've been better than that one Bush tried to nominate...

hedge wrote:Better than what's her name that Bush tried to float that time. She was monstrously underqualified and even the senate repubs were embarrassed for him. What a fiasco. FWIW, I'm pretty satisfied with Roberts and Alito. But Foghorn Leghorn would've been better than that one Bush tried to nominate...

I kinda remember her. I don't want someone incompetent on the court but I also don't want someone coming in with the idea that a modern interpretation to prevailing times should be a filter in which to interpret the constitution.

It's a living document! Like the bible!

Harriett Miers...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_M ... nomination

George Will of all people had this (in part) to say about Miers:

"Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Miers's nomination resulted from the president's careful consultation with people capable of such judgments. If 100 such people had been asked to list 100 individuals who have given evidence of the reflectiveness and excellence requisite in a justice, Miers's name probably would not have appeared in any of the 10,000 places on those lists."

I wonder who would be willing to be the sacrificial lamb for Obama as a nominee? Clearly, they will be turned down and that will be their last shot.

I think if Obama goes with a middle ground candidate he's going to put alot of pressure on the Senate to confirm

Unless it's one of the 9 children of Scalia they will say no.

Obama should nominate Ted Cruz for Supreme Court and see what happens.

sardis wrote:Obama should nominate Ted Cruz for Supreme Court and see what happens.

that would be pretty good strategy

Cruz would take it in a heartbeat I think.

Maybe a I give up 1 SCOTUS today but get 2 down the road

He'll put up a woman (Amy Klobuchar) who is a Senator (from MN, I believe), Chicago Law School graduate and a current member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Obama will see if the Senate eats its own.

I'd buy everybody here a beer if the repubs have the balls to Bork whoever he nominates.

Who ya with? Apple or the FBI? I understand both sides but im with Apple. Apple probably has the technology already anyway.

Apple was pulling a smart, practical and (largely) PR move. The tech community has been struggling with privacy issues for ages without any legal framework to guide much of it. Tim Cook gets a bunch of free press for his company in the name of "protecting the privacy of our consumers" (which is a big issue in the tech community) and puts the pressure back on the government to design the law(s) that will govern a corporation's responsibility with respect to privacy and sovereign nations. He risks a little bit of complaining from people who think that Apple is somehow supporting terrorists with this action, but it will go away with the new release of iPhone 007, or some shit.

I bet the US law will be largely outlined in the next 3 weeks and the phone will be hacked by Spring (and the whole tech community will finally have guidelines to govern when they can and cannot infringe on the privacy of their customers...as opposed to dealing with individual requests for information, on a case by case basis).