Poisonous Atmosphere Keeping Obama From Appointing Judges

The New Yorker:

The Obama Administration wanted to send a message with the President's first nomination to a federal court. "There was a real conscious decision to use that first appointment to say, 'This is a new way of doing things. This is a post-partisan choice,' " one White House official involved in the process told me. "Our strategy was to show that our judges could get Republican support." So on March 17th President Obama nominated David Hamilton, the chief federal district-court judge in Indianapolis, to the Seventh Circuit court of appeals. Hamilton had been vetted with care. After fifteen years of service on the trial bench, he had won the highest rating from the American Bar Association; Richard Lugar, the senior senator from Indiana and a leading Republican, was supportive; and Hamilton's status as a nephew of Lee Hamilton, a well-respected former local congressman, gave him deep connections. The hope was that Hamilton's appointment would begin a profound and rapid change in the confirmation process and in the federal judiciary itself.

Read the whole story: The New Yorker

Comments

[SangZe]

With Obama in office, the republicans are still in charge. He bows down at their slightest tic. Change? A joke, right? The guy's a wimp, and if he actually appoints any judges, I suspect they'll be good right-wingers.

[funnyuasked]

Doesn't the President have the power to appoint people when congress is at recess.
I remember Bush doing things when congress was gone.

[Gidster]

Isn't that how several of the worst Bushies got their jobs?

[1dogs2]

Not judges. And those who receive interim appointments can only hold the position until the end of the next session of Congress.

[spacecreep]

i am totally lost why anyone in this country would be against health care reform..... if the government hadn't stepped in and provided insurance for the seniors(medicare) a large number would be dead for lack of treatment, many would be living with their children because they would be flat broke....
obama saked a great question... how would you like to have to tell a sick child or parent that medical care is available for them, but they can't get treated because you can't afford t... think of those new born babies with defects..think of your own parents.. imagine it's your spouse that sick....
americans are begining to show some true colors............................

[MacQ]

You're on the wrong thread. Or maybe just stuck in obsessing about healthcare.

[PlaceboStudman]

How would you like to tell a sick child that his parents can afford any treatment that exists, but that no treatment does exist to cure or even effectively treat said sick or dying child?

[MacQ]

Like I said, that has nothing to do with THIS article.

[hischagal]

The republicans are toxic and need to be removed, when positive negotiations begin and they choose to cause trouble. Like children, republicans need to be handled thusly.

[foxfan]

These are the statements that widen the chasm between the left and the right.

[Gidster]

True.

However, there are at least 25 hours a week of anti Liberal hate speech on AM radio alone, so there is plenty of blame.

Yet, the truth remains, the Republicans, and Blue Dog Democrats and their corporate sponsors, have hijacked this debate, are not acting in good faith and are pretty much fighting against the best interests of Americans, to maintain the status quo....

[PlaceboStudman]

THIS is a poisonous atmosphere for Obama? Sheesh, and here I thought I was an outsider looking into the Obama Appreciation Society.

The man can do no wrong in you folks' eyes.

Lord, people, the honeymoon is over. Can we please aknowledge that this whole so-called Health Care Debate will not do a darn thing to save lives or reduce suffering? The ONLY thing that this reform will accomplish is preventing people from going broke. But they're still gonna die from the same diseases and disabilities that many people have whether they have insurance or not

[CAHertzfe]

So you honestly don't believe that when people can get health care when they need it that it won't prevent diseases? Do you honestly believe that early diagnosis will not prevent someone from dying with the availability of health care? Nothing will prevent all death and disease, but access to health care will give people a fighting chance.

[PlaceboStudman]

Depends on the disease. How do you prevent MS, MD, CP, Spina Bifida, ALS, Parkinson's diseases? You can't, because they are genetically induced diseases, the causes of which are not yet known. And, no, I do not believe that early diagnosis will prevent someone from dying, when someone is born with Spina Bifida, as I was, and 30+ years of medications, treatments, and procedures have obliterated my immune system and killed my kidneys and liver to the point that I, at 36, have, at most 5-10 years to live. Where is the American Utopian fantasy of living til I'm 90 and dying peacefully in my sleep that everyone else lives under that gives us commercials for Rogaine and Viagra but completely ignores last weekend's MDA telethon?

[mediamarv]

Since every thing you mentioned above is wrong, why do you bother posting here? You aren't going to change any opinions nor affect any behavior changes, because your reasoning is false. I can appreciate other people having separate realities but this idea of just letting people die doesn't fit in my world.

And how is it you are so wise as to know just what the reforms will do? If you have some relevant additional information to make the case for reform clearer, then why aren't you out doing something positive instead of whining here?

[PlaceboStudman]

you're actually saying that insurance reform is going to give the terminally ill child who was born with brain cancer a long normal healthy life? You're saying that a child who is born with MS, MD, CP, or Spina Bifida, all of which have expected life spans of "early adulthood" the fantasy utopia that everyone else lives in of living til we're 90 and dying peacefully in our sleep?

WRONG

Insurance reform will do nothing of the sort. Insurance reform will only make it cheaper for people to receive medications such as I had, such as a heart medication that caused kidney and liver damage, or an antidepressant that caused suicidal tendencies, or chemo and radiation that obliterates the immune system and causes one to be vulnerable to die from the common flu virus

[Ricardo01]

Were we not asked to pony up donations to ensure we have a 60 vote majority in the Senate? Did we not get a 60 vote majority???????

[smilodon1]

Not with Harry Reid in charge. Republicanderthals are still calling the shots.

[TParrish]

I agree. At what point did the will of the majority become meaningless?

[Deadgnome]

You should have donated for what you believed in and supported not just for a 60 seat majority. That, my friend, is a fallacy, not every one will vote party line.

[graceland9]

We don't have a 60 seat majority. I'm sorry, but Lieberman just does not count.

[Elbrando]

I understand that civility takes time. One does not condemn bad behaviour and then engage in it. I also see that Obama's strategy is a long term one, so we will have to wait and see if it works.
However, there is an area where people can be polite and persistant. Where a person can be assertive and not just the first three letters. Obama demonstrated that during the campaign. He made some missteps and he is learning from them. Hopefully, he can start putting more passion in his politics at the right time.
We will see.

[Osmona]

EXACTLY!!!! I would bet money that President Obama is waiting until his 2nd term to kick some Republican asses. He knows that he has to play it "real cool" his first term and then go for broke in the next term. I think he has taken some risks, and hopefully we can put him back in office to see him kick their blippen @#$@&.

[PlaceboStudman]

You want civility? Then how about start telling the truth. Namely the truth that we are NOT talking about Health Care, we are discussing Economic Recovery through Insurance reform. If and ONLY if we begin to talk about real improvements in medicine and technology, or reforming the FDA and BigPharma will we be talking about saving lives and reducing suffering, and THAT is real Health Care

[TParrish]

You are making this sound like some kind of secret, or a conspiracy. It has been out in the open for a log time that the out of control costs of health care are a primary contributor to our economic situation. That bringing it under control will help not only the people who currently cannot afford medical care, but the economy as a whole. It's been public knowledge from day one. Keep up.

[Deadgnome]

So, you support a face-less brand-name insurer.

Do you work for one? Are you a lobbyist? What do you stand to benefit for fighting for someone that sees you as a dollar sign in their accounting office and a number on their stat sheet? Really, think about what, but more importantly, whom you are supporting and how you are approaching it.

[Bronxdude]

Something is amiss. Bush and his evil puppet master – Dick Cheney – lie to manipulate American patriotism to justify invading Iraq, and conservatives are silent. Bush inherits, then squanders a $759 billion surplus, and conservatives are silent. Bush appoints a horse trader to head FEMA, hundreds die of thirst in the aftermath of Katrina, and conservatives are mute. Bush guts the Geneva Conventions, authorizes torture, and conservatives are silent. Bush condones risky subprime mortgage derivatives, America dances on the precipice of economic annihilation, and conservatives are silent. Bush razes the Fourth Amendment, authorizes warrantless eavesdropping, and conservatives are silent. Bush signs $1.2 trillion Prescription Drug Bill, a federally subsidized give-away which balloons the deficit, and conservatives are silent. Bush diverts $1 trillion from the counter-terrorism struggle in Afghanistan, making America significantly less safe, and conservatives are silent. Bush signs unfunded NCLB legislation, the most intrusive federal education law in history, and conservatives are quiet. Bush delays processing of disability claims for Iraqi war veterans, and conservatives are silent. Bush deregulation exposes 2.5 million children to toxic toys from China, and conservatives are silent. Birthers delegitimize the first black president, choosing instead to ignore 8 years of Bush inflicted plunder and ruination, and conservatives are silent. Obama talks to school children about being successful, conservatives slash their wrist. Bush rambles incoherently while addressing school children in Florida, and republicans anoint him God. Racism, bigotry and hypocrisy: cherished planks in the republican platform.

[MAH999]

Good God. What is it going to take for this administration to understand that they are going to be blocked at every turn? There is absolutely nothing they can do to get cooperation from any Republicans. They can't seem to even get cooperation from the Democrats. But they have to make some kind of progress here or they are not going to maintain the power they currently have. This is the only chance they have to show some hutzpah. They need to whip those damned Blue Dogs into shape and get cracking. We've got a mess out here. We need real medical insurance reform. We need to get this mess with the banks under control (citizens, move your BofA accounts to smaller local banks). And make sure the president is uber protected. These people will stop at nothing to complete the work they started with Reagan and solidified with GWB, to bring the middle class to its knees.

[Rmath]

A top priority should be reforming the list of judges at the National Labor Relations Board. Bush father and son did their work well when it came to packing NLRB with anti-labor judges.

[StillweRise]

Mr. President,

At SOME point, the realization HAS to occur that republicans are not interested in anything but STOPPING you from governing. They know as long as you reach out to them, you give them power. (and as a believer in true democracy, rightfully so). But for them to take that power and use it AGAINST you is the most unAmerican, most democracy-undermining thing I have ever witnessed.

Yes, the atmosphere in Washington must change. But the republicans know that any success in this country while being led by a Democrat means they will be in the wilderness a looong time. So the political calculation has been made to STOP you from governing. PARTISANSHIP AT IT'S WORST. The challenges of our country mean nothing to he GOP. Only power does. And they will destroy this country to obtain it. So they are NOT going to look at you as 'reasonable'. They are NOT going to negotiate in good faith. They are NOT going to take the noble or high roads. They 'are' going to obstruct you on everyTHING, everyDAY. Period. AND YOU WILL 'NOT' CHANGE THEIR MINDS. You 'will' be forced to behave in a partisan fashion, and you wil be viciously, unmercifully attacked non-stop for it. But stand firm. Your base IS with you.

But your choices are either to govern without republicans, or not govern at all. Please decide soon.

[mediamarv]

Well said.

[FeloniusMonk]

It's time for the President to send nominations for each and every position he has need of people in and fight for them. The Rethugs seem to act like in the past their nominations have been more pure than the Lord himself, and that Democratic nominations are inherently wrong.

If there is one way to finally get the people to really start to understand the Republicans, it's to let them continue to be obstructionists and destructionists, and when things aren't accomplished because the people needed to do the job aren't in place, let everyone know why they aren't.

[babyboomerorig]

If the Republicans are looking for more Alitos, Roberts, Scalia and Thompson, it ain't gonna happen.

We've seen too much of what these people represent and far too many public comments concerning their views.

Time to move on, folks.

[Poboy]

Barrack Obama is leader of the Bipartisan Party.

He ran in the Bipartisan Party primary, beat the challengers in the Bipartisan Party and got the Bipartisan Party Nomination.

He ran against the Republican Party Nominee and won the general election as a Bipartisan.

Now, he is going to govern as a Bipartisan.

Welcome to the Bizarro World round two.

Brought to you by the Bipartisan President, Barrack Obama .

[MacQ]

Ironic, all that bipartisan talk. Never once as a senator did he participate in anything bipartisan. Once president, his definition seems to have been to invite republicans over to watch the super bowl, pose for a photo op, and then tell them to get lost when they wanted their ideas included in bills.
I won, he reminded them.
They should vote his way just because he posed for phtos with them?
Maybe he should have stayed in congress longer, and he'd know better.

[factotem]

How's that post-partisan thing working out for you Obama? ...cause the GOP doesn't believe in it.
Please grow a pair.