On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Wolf,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) stated that Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court is a “court-packing scheme.” And that if Gorsuch was principled, “he would have turned down this nomination, on the basis that the person who should be nominated is Merrick Garland.” Merkley said he would vote against Gorsuch because “I’m not going to be part of a court-packing scheme. This seat, for the first time in US history, was stolen from one president and delivered to the next, with the hope of packing the court to the far right. And with Gorsuch, we’re talking to the very far right.” Merkley further said that if Gorsuch was principled, “he would have turned down this nomination, on the basis that the person who should be nominated is Merrick Garland.” He later added, “[I]f one doesn’t care about the integrity of the court, and you just want to look at this nominee from a judicial perspective, we have two other significant problems with him. The first is that the president’s team is under investigation for having potentially interfered in the US presidential election. If that turns out to be true, that is traitorous conduct. And that means
Author: Ian Hanchett
NYT’s Peters: ‘Lot of Frustration’ Among Democratic Sens Who Think It’s ‘Shortsighted’ to Filibuster Gorsuch
On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” New York Times Reporter and MSNBC Contributor Jeremy Peters stated, “there’s a lot of frustration privately among Democratic Senators, who will tell you, it’s incredibly shortsighted of the Democrats” to try to filibuster Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Peters said, “On the Gorsuch nomination, Joe, there’s a lot of frustration privately among Democratic Senators, who will tell you, it’s incredibly shortsighted of the Democrats to block this — or to try to block this, they can’t block it, of course, and lose their ability to filibuster whoever Trump nominates for the next open court seat. Because you don’t know what the political dynamics are going to look like. You don’t know how weak or strong Trump might be then. And if you take away the filibuster, and waste it on this fight, you basically give Trump carte blanche to nominate whomever he wants to the Supreme Court the next time around, and that one’s going to be possibly for the Kennedy seat, and that one determines the makeup of the court. So, it seems like a wasted bullet I think, at least this is what I’m hearing from some Democrats about it
Dem Rep Gutierrez: ‘Sanctuary Cities’ Are Actually ‘Fourth Amendment Cities’
On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) argued, “they call them sanctuary cities, what I would say…they’re Fourth Amendment cities.” Gutierrez said, “Here’s how I see it, they call them sanctuary cities, what I would say, Chris, they’re Fourth Amendment cities. Why do I say that? If you supply a warrant to the city of Chicago, right, we will absolutely honor that warrant. But you’ve got to get a warrant. So think about it a moment, the DEA, the FBI, the ATF, they get warrants, right? They go and pick people up. What ICE, which is another federal law enforcement agency, does, is it wants to have people detained, and wants the city of Chicago to go after people without any probable cause being submitted before the court, and without a warrant.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
GOP Sen Cotton: If Dems Filibuster, ‘Republicans Will Do What We Must’ to Confirm Gorsuch
On Tuesday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show,” Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) predicted that Judge Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed to the Supreme Court before the Senate breaks at the end of next week, and if there is a filibuster “Republicans will do what we must to put Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.” Cotton said, “Gorsuch will be confirmed to the Supreme Court. And I suspect he’ll be confirmed before we break at the end of next week to spend the Easter period in our states with our constituents.” He added that he hasn’t given up hope that at least eight Democrats will support Gorsuch’s nomination, but if the Democrats filibuster Gorsuch, “I believe the House — or the Senate Republicans will do what we must to put Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
Dem Rep Waters: By Fighting Against Trump, African-Americans Saying ‘You’re Not Nearly As Patriotic As We Are’
During a speech on the House floor on Monday, Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) stated that when African-Americans “fight against this president, and we point out how dangerous he is for this society and for this country, we’re fighting for the democracy. … We’re saying to those who say they’re patriotic but they’ve turned a blind eye to the destruction that he’s about to cause this country, ‘You’re not nearly as patriotic as we are.’” Waters said, “Mr. Speaker, my position against this president and his administration is clear. I oppose this president. I do not honor this president. I do not respect this president.” She later added, “African-Americans have struggled and fought historically, many African-Americans have paid a huge price, fighting for justice and equality in this country, have died for it. I don’t have to call the names of Martin Luther King and all the others. We have paid a price, we have fought. But guess what? Despite the fact that America has not always been there for us, we’ve always been there for America. We have fought in America’s wars. We have suffered discrimination, we have suffered isolation and undermining, but we stand up for America, oftentimes when
Dem Rep Schiff: Congress Should Establish Independent Commission to Investigate Trump-Russia Ties
During Saturday’s Democratic Weekly Address, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) called for an independent commission to investigated whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians. Transcript as Follows: Last summer, a foreign power intervened in our presidential election in an effort to influence the outcome on behalf of one of the candidates. That power was Russia, and the candidate was Donald J. Trump, now President of the United States. This is not a story made up to discredit Mr. Trump, but the consensus conclusion of the entire U.S. intelligence community. More ominously, the intelligence community has concluded Vladimir Putin ordered this meddling and will do it again. Congress launched an investigation into how the Russians intervened, how we must protect our democracy in the future, and whether persons affiliated with the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in this effort to undermine our democracy. During this week’s hearing, FBI Director Comey revealed for the first time that he is conducting an investigation into whether Trump campaign personnel coordinated their efforts with the Russians, or acted as agents of a foreign power. The FBI investigation began in July of last year, based on credible information or evidence to warrant that extraordinary step. That
Louise Mensch: ‘America First’ Is ‘A Nazi Slogan Being Pushed by Russia’
On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” journalist and former Conservative member of the UK Parliament Louise Mensch stated that the slogan “America First” is “a Nazi slogan being pushed by Russia, who are quite literally attacking, not only America, but the whole of the West.” Mensch said, “‘America First’ is a Russian slogan. It’s a Nazi slogan being pushed by Russia, who are quite literally attacking, not only America, but the whole of the West. Every country in Europe is undergoing these bots, the troll army. And what are we doing about it? Nothing.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
Krauthammer: AHCA Defeat A Philosophical Victory for Obama
On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that the American Health Care Act’s defeat was a philosophical victory for President Obama, and “The country has changed. There is now the generalized expectation that there is an entitlement to universal healthcare.” Krauthammer said, “The big picture, I think, is that it’s a victory for — philosophically, for Obama. He — this is now seven years since the act was put into place. The country has changed. There is now the generalized expectation that there is an entitlement to universal healthcare. That was always around to some extent, but I think if you listen to the terms of the debate, the main argument was who’s going to lose, how many are going to lose? Which implies that nobody ought to lose, everybody ought to have healthcare. And I think, philosophically, what did the Republicans have to offer? The Obamacare bill said universal healthcare. The bill that [House Speaker Representative Paul] Ryan (R-WI) was offering was, what — how could you, other than we made a promise, we want to keep it, what was the essence of it? There wasn’t.” Krauthammer continued that Republicans should have
Ryan: ‘Tomorrow, We’re Proceeding’ on American Health Care Act
While speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill about the American Health Care Act after the GOP’s meeting on the bill on Thursday, Speaker of the House Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) stated, “tomorrow, we’re proceeding.” Ryan said, “We have been promising the American people that we will repeal and replace this broken law [the Affordable Care Act], because it’s collapsing, and it’s failing families, and tomorrow, we’re proceeding.” After he concluded with his statement, Ryan left, and did not answer a shouted question on whether the bill has enough members who are willing to vote for it to pass. Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
Spicer: ‘Tomorrow, It’s Time to Vote’ on AHCA, ‘This Is the Only Train Leaving the Station’
On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “O’Reilly Factor,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated of the American Health Care Act, “tomorrow, it’s time to vote.” And that “this is the only train leaving the station that’s going to be repealing Obamacare, and giving us an alternative to replace it. This is the train that’s leaving the station.” Spicer said, “My understanding, he’s going to get it. The president’s been working the phones. He’s had in-person meetings throughout the day. His team’s been up and down Capitol Hill, here at the White House. … And tomorrow, it’s time to vote.” He further stated the AHCA is “finally going to be the repeal and replace that they’ve waited for for a long time.” Spicer added that Trump is “not at all” disappointed with the AHCA, and the president “continues to make tremendous progress” on getting votes for the bill. Spicer later said, “I think, at the end of the day, this is the only train leaving the station that’s going to be repealing Obamacare, and giving us an alternative to replace it. This is the train that’s leaving the station.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett