LOVE reading this! ~ about time the Ds said "enough!" and meant it ~ best part for me is that the GOP/TPers have no one to blame except themselves ~ ~ Sooz

Senate starts moving after ‘nuclear option’
12/10/13 12:45 PM—Updated 12/10/13 04:07 PM
By Steve Benen

Something happened on the Senate floor today that, unfortunately, seemed pretty remarkable. In this instance, there was a vacancy on a key federal bench, so the president nominated a qualified jurist for the post. She was approved easily by the Judiciary Committee, and even Republicans couldn’t think of any substantive reasons to oppose her nomination.

The matter went to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, and a couple of hours ago, senators cast their votes. They were tallied, and since a majority supported her nomination, she was confirmed.


“I’m pleased that in a bipartisan vote, the Senate has confirmed Patricia Millett to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, filling a vacancy that has been open since 2005,” President Obama said in a statement. “Ms. Millett is a leading appellate lawyer who has made 32 arguments before the Supreme Court, the second-most by a female advocate. She has served in the Department of Justice for both Democratic and Republican Presidents. I’m confident she will serve with distinction on the federal bench.”

Of course, none of this should be considered remarkable at all. On the contrary, what happened with the Millett nomination was considered basic American governance for generations, right up until obstructionism became the norm. When the Senate Republican minority said it would impose a blockade on all nominees to the D.C. Circuit, regardless of merit or qualifications, it left the Democratic majority with no choice but to pursue the so-called “nuclear option,” which allowed the up-or-down vote on Millett.

On the all-important D.C. Circuit, there are still vacancies to be filled, but there are now five judges appointed by Democratic presidents and four judges appointed by Republican presidents. It’s exactly the scenario GOP senators fought so desperately to avoid.

The final roll call is online here. Expect action soon on Rep. Mel Watt’s (D-N.C.) nomination to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which also fell victim to a Republican filibuster that is no longer an option.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senate-starts-moving-after-nuclear-option

yaay!

By gawd, we're easy to impress....

Only because we've been conditioned to expect so little.

VERY big and excellent news!!! ~ ~ Sooz

Completing the DC Circuit
01/14/14 10:09 AM—Updated 01/14/14 10:54 AM
By Steve Benen

In June 2012, there were three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, generally considered the nation’s second-most important federal bench. Eight jurists sat on the D.C. Circuit at the time – four from Democratic presidents, four from Republican presidents – and President Obama decided it was time to complete the court by doing what his predecessors had done: send qualified nominees to the Senate to fill the vacancies.

Little did we know at the time how significant this would become.

Obama sent three jurists to the Senate for confirmation. Each one had excellent credentials; each one sailed through the Judiciary Committee without incident, and each one enjoyed the support of a majority of the U.S. Senate. Republicans couldn’t find anything wrong with these nominees at all.

But they filibustered the nominees anyway, not because of anything substantive, but because, for the first time in American history, a minority of the Senate decided to reject literally every nominee for the D.C. Circuit, regardless of his or her qualifications, because Americans had the audacity to re-elect a Democratic president. Once a Republican returns to the White House, Republican senators would lift the blockade.

The result was a constitutional crisis of sorts, which was finally resolved last night.

The last of the three nominees from June has finally been confirmed.


Note, without execution of the so-called “nuclear option,” Wilkins, Millett, and Pillard would not have been confirmed, regardless of their qualifications and their support from a Senate majority.

Left with no choice, Senate Democrats had to restore majority-rule on judicial nominees. Had Republicans permitted the chamber to vote on these three judges, the rule change likely wouldn’t have been necessary, at least not for a while.

A Senate source confirmed last night that this will be the first time in 23 years that the D.C. Circuit will have its full slate in place.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/completing-the-dc-circuit#break

wonderful news.

now, if they can just fill the remaining hundred or so seats before the 2014 elections.....;]