Water Cooler 04/06/17 Open Thread; Things to Know About The Gorsuch Vote

The Nuclear Option Then And Now.

With the Gorsuch vote making progress to the senate floor and Senate Majority McConnell promising to use the nuclear option if needed, it’s good to look and see where the opposition party stands on this and where they stood on it. Here’s a table showing ranking democrats then and now positions on the nuclear option and the filibuster.

Democrat:	Then:	Now:
:
Chuck Schumer, Sen. NY	“We much prefer the risk of up-or-down votes in majority rule, than the risk of continued total obstruction. That is the bottom line, no matter who’s in power,” —– The Free Beacon	“I argued against it at the time. I said both for Supreme Court and in Cabinet should be 60 because on such important positions there should be some degree of bipartisanship,” Schumer, a New York Democrat and the incoming Senate minority leader, told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I won on Supreme Court, lost on Cabinet. But it’s what we have to live with now.” —Hot Air Ed: No contradiction there (sarcsm). Will also observe he becomes much more Bi-Partisan when out of the majority.
Elizabeth Warren Sen. MA	“If Republicans continue to filibuster these highly qualified nominees for no reason other than to nullify the president’s constitutional authority, then senators not only have the right to change the filibuster rules, senators have a duty to change the filibuster rules,” — The Free Beacon	‘If they can’t have broad support, don’t change the rule, change the nominee.’ —The Boston Globe
Dianne Feinstein Sen CA	It’s never, ever, ever been like this. You reach a point where your frustrations just overwhelm and things have to change.” — The Daily Beast	“Well, that’s interesting. That’s another threat in a long line of threats. And this Congress needs to stand on its own. We are a separate branch of government. We do have our ideals. Many of us are experienced and have been here for a while and I don’t want to see the Senate of the United States bow down to an executive demand like this” — Breitbart
Jeff Merkley Sen. OR	“ The minority should have even fewer rights to block legislation.We all have heard the story of President Washington saying the Senate is a cooling saucer, but never was the Senate intended to be a deep freeze yet that is what it has become.” — The Boston Globe	“This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a statement last week. “And I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the Court.” —Mother Jones Ed: Guess this isn’t one of those fewer rights.
Tom Udall Sen. NM	“If it’s a Republican president, he should have his team; Democrat president, he should have his team,” Udall said. “It isn’t a good part of the game to try to game the system so that you can fill more when your guy comes in, and that’s what both sides have done too much of.” —Politico	“It’s a good chance for Trump to try to unite the country,” Udall said. “He’s got a book that’s widely acclaimed in terms of ‘The Art of the Deal.’ This is a deal that makes sense for the country… It’s a deal that heals the real deep wounds we’ve had in this election.” –US News & World Report ED: Seems like Deal when losing force it down their throats when not is at work

Going out on a limb here, our nation’s “Free Press” will not be bringing up these politicians then positions when talking to them about the radical and disastrous change the Republicans are going to inflict on the culture of the Senate. I’ll also hazard they won’t mention that this would be the first time an associate justice appointment has been filibustered. It’s arguable that this is the first time an appointment had ever been filibustered, but why point out Democrats forcing the issue, when you can cry about the new justice.

Quote of the Day

“From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia…could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.

—Abraham Lincoln”

Drink up That’s it for the Watercooler today. As always it’s an open thread