The Donald crawled out of his chaotic rat warren last night to make his first Supreme Court pick. As predicted, it was a conservative extremist albeit straight out of central casting. The guy named? Neil Gorsuch whose trail of judicial terror was revealed last night in the course of several Dem Senatorial comments.
Before I get to them, let's go through a few of Gorsuch's recent cases to show what a pathetic loser he is and why he needs to be "Borked" - the term derived from when Robert Bork was advanced in 1987 as a Reagan nominee and he had to be jettisoned by the Gipper.
1) Ryan Wilson excessive force and wrongful death case:
In maybe the most infamous, young Ryan Wilson, 22, was tasered in the head and side by aggressive cops in Lafayette, CO after an MJ grow was discovered near Hecla Lake and Wilson ran from the scene. The death came as a result of the kid having a heart condition and his parents subsequently filed a lawsuit asking for a trial based on excessive force in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Neil Gorsuch tossed the case out on the basis of "holofied immunity" which protects all law enforcement from civil liability for damages. So even if the cops crashed into your home in a patrol car while on a chase, and accidentally killed grammy sitting in her rocker, they'd get off. This is the putz the Reepos put up.
2) Hobby Lobby case:
Gorsuch was the guy who put forward the initial whacko argument for the Hobby Lobby case, in which the company's owners were entitled to exemption from the ACA's contraception provision based on their individual religious beliefs. The outrage at the time was upper decibel level, with one Philly-based federal appeals court pithily objecting that:
“Businesses do not pray, worship, observe sacraments or take other religiously motivated actions.”
This was important, given historically the Court has never recognized a for profit corporation's "religious rights" under federal law or the Constitution. But Gorsuch's ruling took no account of that at all, apart from the nonsense of referring to corporations as "people"- which only a madman would do.
3) Little Sisters of the Poor case:
This howler of a case was also ruled on by Gorsuch. To quickly summarize: the Little Sisters yelped about being "forced" to provide artificial contraception to public employees of theirs against their conscience. This was via the Affordable Care Act. They were then offered a way out where all they had to do is simply sign a form to be granted an exception and they pitched a fit about that too. They claimed the very act of signing the exemption form would also detract from their "religious freedom" - and in his ruling in their favor Gorsuch concurred.
Apart from these cases which clearly show Gorsuch has a background we don't want and can't afford (especially as he's only 49 years of age, and could be on the Court decades) there is the other matter of that Supreme Court seat having been "stolen" by the Repukes. They sat on their asses for nearly a year after Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland and didn't even have the grace or courtesy to allow a hearing. Not even a hearing. Some Reepo Senators went so far at the time to insist that even IF Hillary won they'd hold off any Supreme Court hearings for her picks - whether 4 years, 8 years, whatever. In other words, the unspoken new rule was that Democrats didn't get to make SC picks.
Hence, liberals now are enraged and not prepared to see the Senate Dems allow anyone to get through a Supreme Court nomination. Gorsuch, nice guy though he may be - and even relatively "mainstream" as extremists go, is simply caught in the crossfire of political polarization. Which is too bad, but then Merrick Garland was too, and at least Gorsuch will get his hearing.
Anyway, Sen. Elizabeth Warren had this to say about Gorsuch last night, with which I totally concur:
"President Trump had a chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court but to the surprise of absolutely nobody he failed that test. Instead he kept a promise to select a nominee from a list drawn up by far right activists and groups that were financed by big Business interests.
Judge Gorsuch has been on this list for four months. His public record, which I have viewed in detail, paints a clear picture of his record. Before even joining the (federal) bench he advocated for making it even easier for public companies to defraud investors.
As a judge he twisted himself into a pretzel to make sure rules favored giant companies over workers and individual Americans. He sided with employers who denied wages for improperly fired workers and retaliated against whistle blowers for 'misconduct'. He's ruled against workers in all manner of discrimination cases.
He's demonstrated hostility toward women's access to basic health care. For years, powerful interests have executed a full scale assault on our federal judiciary, trying to turn the Supreme Court into one more rigged game that works only for the rich and powerful.
They spent millions to keep this seat open and Judge Gorsuch is their reward."
Anyway, Sen. Elizabeth Warren had this to say about Gorsuch last night, with which I totally concur:
"President Trump had a chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court but to the surprise of absolutely nobody he failed that test. Instead he kept a promise to select a nominee from a list drawn up by far right activists and groups that were financed by big Business interests.
Judge Gorsuch has been on this list for four months. His public record, which I have viewed in detail, paints a clear picture of his record. Before even joining the (federal) bench he advocated for making it even easier for public companies to defraud investors.
As a judge he twisted himself into a pretzel to make sure rules favored giant companies over workers and individual Americans. He sided with employers who denied wages for improperly fired workers and retaliated against whistle blowers for 'misconduct'. He's ruled against workers in all manner of discrimination cases.
He's demonstrated hostility toward women's access to basic health care. For years, powerful interests have executed a full scale assault on our federal judiciary, trying to turn the Supreme Court into one more rigged game that works only for the rich and powerful.
They spent millions to keep this seat open and Judge Gorsuch is their reward."
This is why the Democrats must now put aside all memes or fantasies that they are engaged in a "debate" with Marquis of Queensberry rules. No, this is now full throttle political combat and requires them to go all out, not only denying this nominee but the next as well. And if the Repukes are stupid and brazen enough to remove the filibuster - which they might be, knowing "Bitch" McConnell -then all out blockage, and procedural sabotage must be used - as well as huge protests from the base -including in front of Republican Senators' homes.
See also:
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/marjorie-cohn/70999/trumps-choice-of-gorsuch-endangers-civil-human-and-environmental-rights
And:
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/richard-eskow/70973/trump-s-supreme-court-pageant-a-silly-show-to-fill-a-stolen-seat
Update:
Now that we've learned Gorsuch helped found "Fascists Forever" at his Catholic High School, we have much additional fodder for the Dems to do some "brain" surgery probes into his background. One thing we know, they must not be deterred by media editorials taking them to task.
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/marjorie-cohn/70999/trumps-choice-of-gorsuch-endangers-civil-human-and-environmental-rights
And:
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/richard-eskow/70973/trump-s-supreme-court-pageant-a-silly-show-to-fill-a-stolen-seat
Update:
Now that we've learned Gorsuch helped found "Fascists Forever" at his Catholic High School, we have much additional fodder for the Dems to do some "brain" surgery probes into his background. One thing we know, they must not be deterred by media editorials taking them to task.
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