Joe Liebermann and the Supreme Court - Decisions, Decisions...

[Median Democrat]

Here is Arizona Senator Kyl threatening to filibuster Obama Supreme Court nominees like John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg or David Souter. Thus, the cost of tossing Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic Party might be the ability to appoint liberal or moderate Supreme Court justices.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/11/03/daily77.html

/snip

Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, warned president-elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal.

Kyl, Arizona’s junior senator, expects Obama to appoint judges in the mold of U.S Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer. Those justices take a liberal view on cases related to social, law and order and business issues, Kyl said.

“He believes in justices that have empathy,” said Kyl, speaking at a Federalist Society meeting in Phoenix. The attorneys group promotes conservative legal principles.

Kyl said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster.

/snip

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Are there ANY moderate Republicans that might buck Sen Kyl???

[Eric J in MN]

2. John McCain voted for Bill Clinton's Supreme Court nominees. NT

NT

[jwirr]

11. And McCain has little reason to be loyal to the party that has treated

him like a sacrificial lamb.

[smiley_glad_hands]

3. Spectar, Collins, and Snowe.

The threat of a nuclear option would also suffice.

On edit: dont let the door hit you in the ass Joe.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. So LIEberman is among the irrelevant...

[eleny]

4. Up or down! Up or down!

[opihimoimoi]

5. Is that man nuts? He is threatening President elect Obama?? Oh well...some get it fast...others take

longer

[Eric J in MN]

6. I hope that Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano doesn't get a job...

...in the Obama administration.

That way, she can run for US Senate against John McCain or Jon Kyl,

[Unsane]

7. Kyl doesn't have the votes. Breyer, for example, passed like 96-4.

We probably have Collins, Snow, Specter, Voinovich on our side.

[galaxy21]

8. Obama's going to pick liberal justices...they just can't appear to be too liberal

Also, if Obama does pick a hispanic woman, like the rumours suggest, it would be difficult for the republicans to block that.

[Unsane]

10. Sonia Satomayor for SCOTUS.

[Orsino]

12. Wow. Filibustering nominees.

Did we Dems know we can do that?

[MadMaddie]

17. No our Dems took the word of the Repug appointees that they

would be fair minded, they let the potential and eventual justices slide on answering questions. So instead of Fillibustering they just took their word....that worked out not so well for America.

[Tutonic]

13. Kyl will get his back broken. The Chicago Boys will do more than

stare him down. Ask Bill.

[Independent_Voice]

14. Hold on a minute here....

So when Bush gets a second term and the O'Connor/Rehnquist seats become vacant, Chimpy gets to appoint whoever he wants for a full up-or-down vote? And the Democratic minority apparently has "no right" to filibuster any of Bush's nominees?

Yet, when Obama is elected president, the Republican minority has the right to filibuster whoever Obama appoints, whenever they want?

Yeah, that really makes sense...

[Proud Liberal Dem]

15. WTF?

"Kyl said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster".

Don't judges HAVE to consider the factors in each case? If the "rule of law" and "legal precedents" are the ONLY things that matter in cases, then why not just have robots as Supreme Court justices?

:shrug:

[Eric J in MN]

18. Furthermore, there is no way to just look at precedents.

No two cases are exactly the same.

A case before the court may seem similar to one previous case to one Justice, and similar to another case with a contrary ruling to another Justice.

Even if we did have "robots as Supreme Court justices," the robots would have to look at facts unlike the facts in any previous case and decide how to apply the previous cases.

[Dr Fate]

16. And Blue CT will be cool with that? Does Blue CT really approve of Anti-DEM obstructionism?

We seem to keep forgetting about this part of the equation- it's not like Joe can just go in there and vote like a raging Republican and still expect to get re-elected.

Joe still needs to maintain his moderate and "gets things done" voting record in the Senate if he wants to stay there.

[Catshrink]

19. Vile Kyl is a douchebag full of hot air.

I plan to work my ass off for his opponent next time he's up for reelection.