Mediaboss Marketing

Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer indicated his party could revisit the option of changing the process to confirm a Supreme Court justice.

Following the controversy which has surrounded the nomination process of Brett Kavanaugh, Schumer said if Democrats retake majorities in November, then they could restore the 60-vote threshold to confirm a justice to the nations highest court.

This would require an additional 9 votes from the rules today which require a simple majority (51 votes) of the legislative body.

From Washington Examiner:

When asked by a reporter Tuesday if Democrats might make that change, the New York Democrat said his conference would have to look at that.

The bottom line is that the Republican leader moved it down and the bottom line is that well have to look at that should we get back into the majority, Schumer said during his weekly press conference.

The decision to lower the vote-requirement to 51 votes was made by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell during the confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

McConnell exercised what is called the nuclear option to bypass Democrat efforts to delay, obstruct, and resist the nominee.

From the report:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., changed the rules in 2017 to allow Justice Neil Gorsuch and future Supreme Court nominees to advance to a final vote with a 51-vote majority, instead of the 60-vote supermajority that had been in place.

McConnells move came four years after then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lowered the same cloture threshold for lower court nominees to 51 votes, known as the nuclear option, in order to bypass a GOP blockade on nominees.

As Washington Examiner also reports, some people could interpret the comment as Schumers belief that no Democrats will support Kavanaughs confirmation, limiting his vote tally to 51 votes.

It is believed that the decision will largely fall along partisan lines with some red-state Democrats jumping sides to vote in favor of the former D.C. appellatecourt judge.

Lets not forget where so many of us objected to Judge Kavanaugh, what many of the Democrats are looking at, Schumer added. 1.) Will he protect womens health? 2.) Will he make sure that pre-existings in healthcare is preserved, and 3.) will he serve as a check and balance to a president who often overreaches. If people are convinced on any of those three, I believe that we will have a bipartisan majority to defeat Judge Kavanaugh.

Schumer also called for the release of the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh a full 24 hours before the Senate is scheduled to vote on him.

Link:
After November, Democrats Might Change The Rules Entirely For ...

Senate Democrats gave Mick Mulvaney until Oct. 22 to answer a handful of pointed questions about his vetting process and when he was made aware of the provocative posts.

Senate Democrats blasted Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for giving a top job to a political appointee who has admitted to writing racially incendiary blog posts in the past.

In a letter to Mulvaney today, 13 Democrats, led by Senate Banking ranking member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), described Eric Blankenstein, the associate director overseeing supervision, enforcement and fair lending, as one of your hand-selected political appointees.

Story Continued Below

Blankenstein wrote in the 2004 posts that the use of racial slurs isnt necessarily racist and suggested that many hate crimes are hoaxes. The issue has roiled the consumer bureau since it was uncovered by The Washington Post last week, with the head of the employees' union calling for him to be fired.

The Democratic lawmakers demanded to know why he was hired in the first place.

It is unclear whether his appointment is due to a failure to investigate Mr. Blankensteins background prior to his appointment, Mr. Blankenstein withholding information from you and the CFPB, or an informed decision on your part to ignore his public comments, they wrote.

Sign up for our tax policy newsletter and stay informed weekday mornings, in your inbox.

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

In a floor speech on Tuesday, Brown decried the disgusting, bigoted language, adding that placing Blankenstein in charge of fair lending was a serious moral and managerial failure, and he needs to be fired immediately.

In a Tuesday email to staff that was obtained by POLITICO, Mulvaney wrote, I hope everyone understands that this a unique circumstance from a management perspective and that this matter needs to be handled with the utmost professionalism."

Acknowledging the internal uproar over the matter, Mulvaney said two sharply critical emails from officials to other employees raised various issues that I have already started to explore. Those efforts are continuing. I plan on proceeding with the utmost respect for all of those involved.

Mulvaney added that he would not reverse his decision to reorganize the agencys fair lending office.

It is outrageous that Mr. Mulvaney would stand by Mr. Blankensteins appointment when in any other administration someone who defends the use of racial slurs or calls hate crimes hoaxes would immediately be terminated, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who signed todays letter, said in an emailed statement to POLITICO.

Senate Democrats gave Mulvaney until Oct. 22 to answer a handful of pointed questions about his vetting process and when he was made aware of the provocative posts.

Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

See the original post:
Democrats slam Mulvaney over appointee's racially charged ...

Democrats are increasing their number of registered voters at more than double the rate of Republicans in Iowa, according to the latest registration numbers released by the Secretary of States office today.

In the 3rd Congressional District, Democrats have overtaken Republicans registration advantage for the first time ever since the districts current lines were first redrawn in 2012. Its also the first time that Democrats outnumber Republicans in three of the states four congressional districts.

Statewide, theres 1,724 newly-registered Democrats since the September report. Republicans only gained 786 new registered voters for their party. But the No Party crowd grew by far the most, increasing by 5,646 in the last month.

A jump in No Party registrations is often seen during the first full month of college classes around the state. Youth vote organizations fan out across campuses to register new students and re-register returning ones at their new addresses. Younger voters are far more likely to register as an independent, so this time of the year sees large increases for that group of voters.

Heres the current breakdown by congressional district as of October 1:

There’s Now More Democrats Than Republicans In IA-03

Originally posted here:
There's Now More Democrats Than Republicans In IA-03 ...

Fox News host Tucker Carlson accused Democrats of forcing their radical views on the American people and said theyve created a theocracy run by atheists.

Im old enough to remember when the left sincerely worried, or said they did, about the right turning this into some kind of theocracy and imposing its puritanical values on the rest of the country,Carlsonsaid on Fox Newss The Daily Briefing Wednesday.

The irony, of course, is that theyre doing it right now. Its a kind of theocracy run by atheists, where the minor, smallest peccadillos from your teen years are now disqualifying. Is this really the standard we want?

Carlsonwas discussing the confirmation fight over Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and blamed the press for being complicit in a Democratic smear campaign.(RELATED: Tucker Carlson Slams Nike For Using Colin Kaepernick As A Pawn In Its Decadent Scheme)

I understand this is a political tactic. Thats what political parties do, he added. But the fact that the press is playing along with it and adding no perspective to this at all reporting on a guy whos written over 300 opinions as a federal judge, all of which ought to be open to debate, as far as Im concerned.

WATCH:

There is stuff to debate if you wanted to. And instead were really arguing about his yearbook and some dumb phrase he and his friends used and his behavior in a fraternity. Like, who cares? Honestly.

Carlson also cited Kavanaughs temperament and demeanor during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and said it was a normal reaction from someone being accused of a crime.

By the way, speaking for myself, I would have judged him if he hadnt [reacted]. Having been accused falsely of a crime, I know how frustrating and terrifying and lonely it is,Carlsonconcluded.

The net effect on the rest of us, leaving aside the Kavanaugh nomination, is its forcing everyone to lie. If you can be held accountable, if theres no forgiveness and you can be destroyed because of something you did when you were 18, then nobody can admit anything. And we all have to pretend to be blameless and it makes a society far more dishonest and fearful. It has a truly corrosive effect.

You can Follow Nick on Twitter

Read the original:
Tucker Carlson Charges Democrats With Creating A Theocracy ...

When the Brooklyn Democratic partys county committee holds its biennial meetings, the proceedings are usually mere formalities. This year seems to be different though as questions are being raised around the party heading into the meeting at the end of the week.

The questions arise out of a controversy coming after a fake letter went out from Assemblyman Bobby Carroll that was received by most of the committee members. The letter tried to influence them to take actions that would help party boss Frank Seddio receive more votes, City Limits reports.

Seddio is known for funny business when it comes to judicial ballots, and all eyes will be on those votes on Thursday, especially after the fake letter about giving away votes to Seddio.

Seddio started his work in his young years as a member of the Knights of Columbus, a charitable group. He worked in multiple offices and was even the youngest Grand Knight of the Brooklyn organization.

He founded the Canarsie Volunteer Ambulance Corps and also served as the first president. For over 25 years this organization has provided free ambulance service to the Canarsie community with over 100 volunteers who have given their time and talents, dedicating themselves to insuring life saving medical care to the people of Canarsie.

The Democratic partys judicial convention was able to put three civil court judges to the Kings County Supreme Court because those judges won their primaries earlier this month. It looks like Seddio and his pals will be able to pick three judges based on the circumstances which practically give them that power. There could be surprise challengers at the committee meeting this Thursday, but otherwise, the decision to name those three civil court judges to the court made three ballot spots available for civil court candidates in the upcoming general election.

City Limits explains the significance of this apparent power play and what it means moving forward, saying that such slippery ballot line maneuvering means that those judges wont face primary challengers who might raise questions about their track records. Yet the likely nominees merit scrutiny.

The paper also detailed the candidates themselves, like Anne Swern, slated for the Civil Court district one line (elected by voters in Downtown Brooklyn, greater Park Slope and Bay Ridge), is a familiar name given her campaign for Brooklyn DA last year. A former high-ranking executive in the DAs office under Joe Hynes, Swern was initially seen by many observers as a viable contender in the 2017 race. But neither Hynes nor the party machine supported her campaign, causing Swern to finish a distant second.

Swern wanted to make sure she used her experience as a criminal justice reformer to bolster support for her run at the district attorney job. She used the time she spent working for the Hynes administration by working in the drug treatment courts. Those courts were crucial for giving offenders an alternative path than prison, which is why she said she is a criminal justice reformer.

John Pfaff and Scott Hechinger are just a couple of the notable names throwing their support behind Swern to be the district attorney.

Because her campaign failed to take off, Swerns influential role in various Hynes era controversies never came to light. Swerns name, however, showed up several times in the citys Department of Investigations (DOI) 2014 report regarding misconduct in the Hynes administration.

As seen in the report, during Hynes bid for reelection, Swern and other members of the DAs inner circle used their office email to discuss campaign strategy. Although Hynes sent several thousand campaign-related emails from his official email with administration staffers including Amy Feinstein (his #2-ranking executive) and Swern (#3), nobody in the DAs inner circle appeared able to stop such illegal activity.

In response, Swern tells City Limits that the DOI report is five years old and the unlike many others named in it, she has not been charged by the Conflicts of Interest Board with misconduct. She notes that a judicial screening panel rated her as qualified (Seddio has close ties to that panel). Swern also says that the Brooklyn electorate vetted me last yearand 18 thousand voters supported my campaign for DA.

By: Alfredo Golden

Read the original here:
Democrats Playing Games with Brooklyn Judicial Ballot ...