Merrick Garland allowed us to be where we are today

[WaynetheDrain]

IMO the biggest mistake involving Garland is still the Obama admin not moving more aggressively to have him appointed and seated as a Supreme Court justice when the Senate refused to perform its advise and consent function with respect to his nomination to the Supreme Court. Obviously hindsight is 20/20 but a lot of people said Obama was making a mistake at the time (one probably aided by the misplaced confidence that Hillary was likely to win anyway) and I would expect that Obama would admit now (even if only privately) that they should have pursued a different strategy.

Obama’s unwillingness to fight for that Garland placement and RBG’s vanity in wanting to wait for Hillary before she retired has had disastrous consequences for this country.

 

[StrangePackage]

Obama’s unwillingness to fight for that Garland placement and RBG’s vanity in wanting to wait for Hillary before she retired has had disastrous consequences for this country.

Any discussion of Supreme Court picks which does not focus first and foremost on the unique level of obstruction created and executed by Mitch McConnell and the Republican senators under his sway is doing reality and history and enormous disservice.

We should not excuse their obstruction by blaming others for being unable to get around it. That is tantamount to blaming the fire department for not stopping the fire started by the arsonist rather than blaming the arsonist himself for setting the fire.

It is the same line of thinking that asks sexual assault survivors why they didn't fight back or what they were wearing. Not only does it miss the point entirely but it shifts the blame to the victimized party.

 

[rodoheel]

Any discussion of Supreme Court picks which does not focus first and foremost on the unique level of obstruction created and executed by Mitch McConnell and the Republican senators under his sway is doing reality and history and enormous disservice.

We should not excuse their obstruction by blaming others for being unable to get around it. That is tantamount to blaming the fire department for not stopping the fire started by the arsonist rather than blaming the arsonist himself for setting the fire.

It is the same line of thinking that asks sexual assault survivors why they didn't fight back or what they were wearing. Not only does it miss the point entirely but it shifts the blame to the victimized party.

I don’t think anyone was excusing or ignoring what McConnell did, which was absolutely shameless, craven, and disastrous for the country. This thread was simply focusing on what Dems could have done differently. You can accept that 90% of the blame goes on Pubs and still criticize how Dems handled it.

 

[Zoo_View]

I don’t think anyone was excusing or ignoring what McConnell did, which was absolutely shameless, craven, and disastrous for the country. This thread was simply focusing on what Dems could have done differently. You can accept that 90% of the blame goes on Pubs and still criticize how Dems handled it.

McConnell was the MAJORITY LEADER.

How the hell were Democrats supposed to make McConnell confirm Garland and any other judicial nominees?

McConnell is highly proud of his obstructionism regarding Democratic judicial appointments……as much as I despise the guy, he’s justified in his pride. He excelled at obstructing Democratic nominees.

 

[thebruinbleedstarheelblue]

I don’t think anyone was excusing or ignoring what McConnell did, which was absolutely shameless, craven, and disastrous for the country. This thread was simply focusing on what Dems could have done differently. You can accept that 90% of the blame goes on Pubs and still criticize how Dems handled it.

100% on the Dems, they needed to pay attention.