#26. To: Hank Rearden, nolu chan, Vicomte13, tpaine, Liberator (#20)
Rumor has it the DL is sicker than she admits.
If only... But let's move on to who is topping the list to replace Kennedy.
Per Nice Deb, a Bloomberg reporter says the top choice is Judge Brett Kavanagh.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a top contender to succeed Kennedy, per a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. https://t.co/nUxpAlS7ZF— Greg Stohr (@GregStohr) June 27, 2018
If that name sounds somewhat familiar -- last week a district court ruled that the CFPB was unconstitutional.
In doing so, the judge ignored the main opinion of a decision from another jurisdiction and instead adopted the reasoning of the dissent which declared the CFPB was unconstitutional.
The author of that dissent? Judge Brett Kavanagh.
And why did Kavanagh reach that decision? Glad you asked.
Courts have found the law creating the CFPB unconstitutional in that it creates a "Director" running it, who is, in theory, a member of the Executive Branch, but then puts that Director unconstitutionally beyond the reach of the actual Executive, the President, stating that he can only be fired for cause.
One court reviewing this en banc chose to say that part is unconstitutional, but it can be "severed" from the rest of the law, and the law just rewritten by judge's fiat to say the Director can be fired by the president, like any other executive officer, for any reason.
Actually, a clarification: I think the rule is that members of a committee exercising executive power can be made fire-proof (or fireable only for cause), but you can't vest that kind of unfireable power in a singular head, as a Director is.
But one district judge says, "Nah, bro," and finds that that the can-only-be-fired-for-cause provision is part of the heart of the CFPB, and therefore cannot simply be severed/written out of the bill.
As that part is unconstitutional, and cannot be severed from the bill creating the CFPB, the whole law is unconstitutional, and the CFPB is unconstitutional and null and void itself. It strikes the CFPB as a party from the suit (against various defendants, including the NFL), finding it simply has no authority to act at all, in any capacity.
Obviously, a jurist from Trump's list who is that willing to outrage the liberal establishment would make an attractive hard-Right choice for Trump. Fauxcahontas would be in full war paint, ready to scalp him since CFPB is her baby.
His vote will be needed for confirmation. No justice would join the Court by voting for himself. And it would thin the Senate ranks further. After Trump lost Sessions' safe AL seat via Strange and Moore, he won't go for anything that makes it harder for the Senate GOP.
I had been worried about voter turnout in the fall elections since the low-info voters who supported the prez when elected all tend to disappear and the other party picks up lots of seats in any president's first midterm.
I thought that only a major gun massacre in the fall and consequent screams by the Left for a big gungrab could arouse the voters enough to hold off Pelosi as Speaker and keep control of the Senate.
Clearly, this confirmation will be conducted more as a central GOP political issue to rouse the voters rather than as a regular judicial confirmation.
Trump got a lot of reluctant votes just for the judicial appointments. A lot of people made it clear they couldn't stand Trump but wanted to deny Dems any court appointments. This is Trump's chance to score a midterm victory with exactly that issue to bring out those reluctant voters again.
Barrett is youngest, under 50. She got attacked for being too Catholic by Feinstein, she recently had a full vetting by the FBI and Dems and libmedia.
Looks good on paper but perhaps not experienced enough. Also there will be resistance to promoting her from her current court of appeals (a very high honor) and then appointing her again so soon to a higher court like USSC.
I think the GOP may go for a strong conservative, more bold and less circumspect about it than Gorsuch. It would likely cause a Dem meltdown and provide a lot of fodder for the fall midterms. Turnout, turnout, turnout. Especially those reluctant voters who voted for Trump just for the judges.
This is probably going to be the most politicized appointment to the Court in our history. And the 2018 election may end up being all about this justice, far more than the Dem attempt to do the same with the Merrick Garland nomination in 2016.
#35. To: Tooconservative, redleghunter, Liberator (#34)
Barrett is youngest, under 50. She got attacked for being too Catholic by Feinstein,
Too Catholic?? That's a hoot considering Fineswine was raised as one and claims to have great respect for Catholicism. So does this mean that Barrett is too Progressive or too Conservative since the church has both in it's ranks?
Too Catholic?? That's a hoot considering Fineswine was raised as one and claims to have great respect for Catholicism. So does this mean that Barrett is too Progressive or too Conservative since the church has both in it's ranks?
She's not Frankensteins brand of Catholic. The type who actually read the catechism on abortion.
