Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud Veterans Affairs Sec. David Shulkin for demanding broader authority to fire personnel, such as the one recently discovered to be viewing pornography while with a patient. They also discuss the latest round of sexual harassment allegations aimed at Fox News. And they get a kick out of powerless Senate Democrats trying to make demands in exchange for allowing Neil Gorsuch to get confirmed.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America point out that even the liberal editorial board at USA Today is telling Democrats that filibustering Neil Gorsuch is a bad idea against an obviously qualified jurist. They also shudder as apparent terrorist attacks kill and injure metro passengers in St. Petersburg, Russia. And they react to former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice reportedly being the one to request the “unmasking” of Trump officials incidentally caught up in government surveillance.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for doing his best to limit civilian casualties while explaining that are often unavoidable in wartime as the U.S. dramatically ramps up the military action against ISIS. They also discuss how Democrats are boxing themselves into a corner by trying to filibuster Neil Gorsuch – a move that could lead to rule changes that make the Democrats powerless to stop anything. And they react to Pres. Trump telling senators a deal on health care legislation will be “easy.”
One of the Senate’s most conservative members says Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch showed lawmakers and the nation this week why he is a tremendous choice for the high court, while also rejecting the attempts of Democrats to discredit Gorsuch and promising President Trump’s choice will be confirmed.
Thursday was the third marathon day of questions for Gorsuch before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was already impressed with Gorsuch but says this week is further evidence Gorsuch belongs on the high court.
Lee says his biggest takeaway from the hearings is the consistency of Gorsuch.
“This judge is the same in every setting in which I’ve interacted with him, whether it’s in a courtroom when I was a lawyer, or whether it’s been in my office as he’s come by in anticipation of his confirmation process, or whether he’s on the hot seat in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he’s been this week,” said Lee, who is a former federal prosecutor and argued cases before Gorsuch at the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“He provides the same answers, the same thoughtful approach. He doesn’t change from one moment to the next. He’s considerate of the law. He has great respect for the Constitution. That’s exactly the kind of person we need on the Supreme Court,” said Lee.
Democrats spent three days prodding Gorsuch on everything from his own record to how Republicans treated Merrick Garland last year to his political opinions on issues that could come before the court.
Lee says Gorsuch handled the fire well.
“I think he handled every question that was thrown at him with grace and with a great deal of composure, even when things got heated,” said Lee.
Democrats are pursuing a number of strategies to slow down or stall Gorsuch. That includes a call for a delay on final confirmation until the investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign concludes.
Lee is having none of that.
“I don’t see any reason, as much as some would like to delay this particular vote on him, this is something that doesn’t need to be affected by circumstances,” said Lee.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would vote to filibuster Gorsuch and would urge other Democrats to do the same.
Despite that effort, Lee thinks Gorsuch will sail past any filibuster.
“I think he’s going to get through. I think he’s going to get through with, perhaps, a whole lot of Democratic support. By the end of the hearing process, it felt like a love-fest, certainly on the Republican side of the aisle. And I sensed a tone of resignation on the part of some of my Democratic colleagues on the committee,” said Lee.
Democrats changed Senate rules in recent years to kill the filibuster for all nominees except for those tapped for the Supreme Court. Will Republicans change that rule if Democrats can muster a filibuster?
“Without engaging in hypothetical speculation about exactly what mechanism will be deployed here, I will say this very confidently, we’re going to get Judge Gorsuch confirmed. One way or another, he will be confirmed,” vowed Lee.
During the hearings, Democrats deployed a number of strategies, starting with the complaint that the Supreme Court seat should already be filled by Judge Merrick Garland. Garland was nominated by President Obama but Senate Republicans did not hold hearings or votes, contending the next president should get to make the choice.
Lee says it’s time for Democrats to move past the Garland controversy.
“Some of them can choose to be upset if they want to, but I think it would be best for everyone if we focused on what’s before us, what’s happening now rather than what happened a year ago. If they look at this judge on the basis of his record, I think what they’re going to find is a sincere judge who just wants to find the right answer under the law,” said Lee.
Democrats also tried to get Gorsuch to speak out about his personal opinions on political issues that could wind up before the Supreme Court, including campaign financing and same-sex marriage.
While Gorsuch’s deflections frustrated Democrats, Lee says every nominee has taken the same approach in confirmation in recent years in order to maintain their impartiality.
“The fact that something like that comes up in a judicial confirmation hearing can itself be a cause for recusal if the judge engages in a significant discussion of the issue at hand. If we’re not careful, this can end up undermining the ability of our Supreme Court justices to do their jobs,” said Lee,
“The fact that Democrats pushed Judge Gorsuch as often as they did, as many times as they did, to wade into as many hot-button controversies as they chose to do doesn’t change the fact this is the standard. This is the rule and this has been the historical practice,”
In addition to seeking ammunition against Gorsuch, Lee says the political questions expose how Democrats seem to view the courts.
“They’re trying to make something where nothing really exists. They’re trying to convert the Supreme Court, perhaps, into an organ of public policy making,” said Lee.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to hear Senate Democrats have found no good reason to oppose Neil Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court. They also react to the Congressional Budget Office scoring of the GOP health care bill. And they shake their heads as the Middlebury College professor assaulted by students says she understands their anger and blames Trump for it.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America react to Howard Dean saying pro-life people have no home in the Democratic Party. They also wince as Republicans are divided about how to overhaul Obamacare and leaders suggest any opposition to the current bill is tantamount to supporting Obamacare. And they discuss how ESPN’s political agenda had led to a subscriptions free fall and the need to eliminate $100 million in on-air personnel.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America found a lot to like in Pres. Trump’s speech, from conservative principles to powerful moments to a calm but determined delivery. They also point areas where Trump is embracing big government: including infrastructure, family leave, and health reform. And they have fun with the very awkward Democratic response.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enthusiastically welcome a liberal threat to launch primary challenges to Democratic senators in 2018 for being too nice to Donald Trump. They also slam Republicans John McCain and Susan Collins for voting against very solid conservative nominees. And we react to the mainstream media temper tantrum after not getting to ask questions at some of Pres. Trump’s press conferences.
Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the confirmation of Jeff Sessions means we will once again have a Justice Department that follows the law and he says the way Democrats treated Sessions could mean fewer of them in the Senate after the 2018 elections.
After eight years of Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch running the Justice Department, Cuccinelli says Sessions will be a breath of fresh air.
“Simply making decisions based on what the law says would be a radical change at the Department of Justice, as would the appearance of justice,” said Cuccinelli, who served four years as the top law enforcement official in Virginia.
While hoping to see many changes compared to the Obama years, Cuccinelli says one of Sessions’ top goals should be to stop federal agencies from granting themselves power that the law does not grant them.
“They have to stop backing up executive agencies, including the department itself, in expanding the law. They need to focus on containing government within the law. That includes everything from silly stuff like transgender bathrooms being covered by gender discrimination all the way up to agencies attempting to create new regulatory arenas for themselves and this vastly increase their power,” said Cuccinelli.
President Trump has already talked about his desire to roll back the ability of the government to grab more power. But Cuccinelli says that effort really needs to be rooted at the Justice Department.
“The legal oompf for all of that comes from the Department of Justice and having Sessions there – someone who’s committed to the rule of law and to reining in the federal government and not using it to exercise power – is going to be a very welcome change,” said Cuccinelli.
One specific area Cuccinelli expects to see great improvement in is the Justice Department’s relationship with law enforcement.
“These are people going to bat to protect you and me who have not had the back of the government. Frankly, it’s been the opposite. They’ve had to worry about getting prosecuted just for doing their job. That day is over thanks to the ascension of Jeff Sessions as the attorney general,” said Cuccinelli.
However, Cuccinelli reminds Sessions and all Americans that attorney general is different than every other cabinet position.
“When it comes to matters of policy, the attorney general does what the president wants. When it comes to matters of law, the attorney general does what the law dictates regardless of what the president wants,” said Cuccinelli.
“As opposed to what we’ve seen for the past eight years, I am confident that Sessions is going to be an attorney general who is actually going to uphold both sides of that deal for the American people,” said Cuccinelli.
On Wednesday, Sessions was confirmed by the Senate on a 52-47 vote. Only Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, crossed the aisle to back Sessions.
The confirmation process featured heated debate, including Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that Sessions should be rejected for his record on race and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was booted from the debate for allegedly disparaging Sessions in her floor speech.
Cuccinelli says the vitriol coming from Democrats is telling.
“They’re playing to a rabid left-wing base that is wildly out of touch with just ordinary Americans,” said Cuccinelli, who says the Democrats never found substantive reasons to oppose Sessions.
“There’s just nothing that they can point to other than generating their own allegations for complaints. He is a nice guy. He is an intelligent individual. He believes what he believes and that is somewhat different than the lefties there. Nonetheless, the way he conducts himself even in those situations has never given any of them cause for complaint before,” said Cuccinelli.
He believes Booker and Warren lodged their fierce protests for the sake of their own self-promotion. He notes Booker recently lavished praise on Sessions in public after they worked together, but then turned and accused Sessions of being racially biased.
“I don’t care what the project is. If I think you’re a racist, I will never stand next to you and tell the world what a great guy you are,” said Cuccinelli.
Cuccinelli is also president of the Senate Conervatives Fund, which recruits and contributes to conservative U.S. Senate candidates. The group has frequently clashed with establishment Republicans and the national party, but right now Cuccinelli sees great opportunities as Democrats have to defend the vast majority of Senate seats in 2018.
“I fully expect Republicans to gain seats. The only question is how many. The biggest targets of them all are going to be Democrats in states that President Trump won,” said Cuccinelli.
Three years after narrowly losing the governor’s race in Virginia, Cuccinelli will not be a Senate candidate against Tim Kaine in 2018. However, he believes the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee is vulnerable too.
“This is an eminently winnable state and Sen. Kaine has really accomplished nothing and has become more radicalized, certainly much more so than the average voter in Virginia, than his time in the Senate,” said Cuccinelli.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are pleased to see nine Senate Democrats claim to want an up or down vote for Judge Gorsuch. They also applaud Missouri passing right to work legislation but wince as opponents may be able to stall the law from taking effect for almost two years. And they scold President Trump for tweeting about Ivanka’s battle with Nordstrom.
