Obama's Judicial Nominees Blocked On All Sides By Senate Republicans

[Tx4obama]

Obama's Judicial Nominees Blocked On All Sides By Senate Republicans

WASHINGTON -- It's bad enough that there are 82 vacant federal judge slots around the country, a level so high that many observers have deemed it a crisis situation.

But perhaps even more startling is the fact that of those 82 vacant slots, 61 of them don't even have a nominee.

On its face, the absence of nominees would appear to be a sign that President Barack Obama is slacking. After all, he is responsible for nominating judges, and he did put forward fewer nominees at the end of his first term than his two predecessors. But a closer look at data on judicial nominees, and conversations with people involved in the nomination process, reveals the bigger problem is Republican senators quietly refusing to recommend potential judges in the first place.

The process for moving judicial nominees is simple enough. A president takes the lead on circuit court nominees, while, per longstanding tradition, a senator kickstarts the process for district court nominees, which make up the bulk of the federal court system. Senators make recommendations from their home states, and the president works with them to get at least some of the nominees confirmed -- the idea being that senators, regardless of party, are motivated to advocate for nominees from their states. The White House may look at other nominees on its own, but typically won't move forward without input from the corresponding senators. Once a nominee is submitted to the Senate, he or she receives a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If approved, the nomination heads to the Senate floor for a full vote.

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Full article here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/obama-judicial-nominees_n_3156050.html

A Good Read

[midnight]

1. He should of bargained with these people who are blocking him on all sides with that insider trading

loophole. He should of tried for at least three judges to get approved if not all of them in my opinion.... But these people can be so unreasonable...

[msongs]

2. quit doing what his republican bosses tell him, then tell harry to block the filibusters nt

[markpkessinger]

5. The Senate rule that allows senators to place holds on nominees is actually separate . . .

. . . from the filibuster.

[blkmusclmachine]

3. Meh.

I don't see much fight in the Democrats. The DEMS have been totally punked by a lunatic minority, and also by Obama's never-ending, hopelessly futile quest for "post-partisanship." Oh, and "Thx, Harry!"

[DetlefK]

4. Why not nominate 82 judges at the same time, all in one declaration?

Let's see how republicans try to explain that NONE of those 82 is suitable for their post.

And if they don't move forward, democrats can hammer them as obstructionists, laying groundwork for 2014.
Obama could get about half of the seats covered that way.

[Doctor_J]

6. Their way of saying thanks for rolling over for 5 years

and the Kasparov of Politics still doesn't have a clue