ConfirmThem

I wonder how Leahy and company will next attempt to thwart a vote on Boyle, Myers and Smith. I think he and the other Democrats will look to Graham on how to sink Haynes.

Alright, everybody, it's time to start settling. Let's lower our expectations and start talking ourselves into what's about to happen. Because this is what's about to happen.

Only Keisler and Jordan will get confirmed this month. Maybe all ten of the district judges too. That's it. The Senate will recess and we'll all have to live with that until after the election.

After the election, the lameduck Senate will return and work on some more judges. More district judges will be confirmed. Probably some more Circuit judges. It will be the last stand for Boyle and Co.

And that's the way it is, folks. We're not going to get everything we wanted in September. Maybe we'll get something better in November, but you can bet we still won't get everything. Those are just the realities of the situation.

Let's wait and see what happens. Curt's post said that "a committee vote on at least some of the contentious nominees [is] likely on Thursday." I will be surprised if there's no action on Boyle, Myers, Haynes, and Smith tomorrow.

My prediction is that Boyle, Smith, and Myers get out of committee but Haynes doesn't. Then Boyle and Smith get confirmed (along with Keisler and Jordan), but Myers is filibustered and gets another failed cloture vote.

Anyway, I called up the Judiciary Committee at about 5:30 PM to ask that they vote on Boyle, Haynes, Smith, and Myers. If they do, I get full credit. :-)

Pretty optimistic, Andrew! I sure hope you're right.

Andrew, we should make a bet or something! Make it interesting. I say Keisler and Jordan. You add Boyle and Smith. We both lose if only Jordan is confirmed.

That's a bet I could make and not mind losing.

I think Andrew is being overly optimistic. Even if Boyle, Myers and Smith are voted out of committee, the Democrats would demand at least two days of debate on each one before a cloture vote. With Keisler also probably requiring a two day debate, where is the time? The answer is simple: there is no extra time for them. With Frist using floor time for military tribunals, NSA surveillance and immigration, the calendar is full. I see just barely enough time for Keisler and Jordan to be confirmed.

Swap Myers for Smith. Otherwises, wait til the lame duck. Boyle and Myers are going nowhere.

...is that no circuit court will come out of committee tomorrow.

The democrats have used their right to hold over Keisler and Jordan for a week. That week finishes next tuesday.

For the others:
First: the democrats have not yet used the right to hold the nominations for a week. I'm sure they will use that right. Second: There is no time to get them confirmed anyhow this month (I fully agree with BoBo) and third: they will be returned to the president after next week, because congress will again take a recess longer than 30 days.

"Votes could come Thursday on Boyle’s and Haynes’ nominations because they have already been held over once."

Well, okay. Didn't know that. I'm still not very optimistic, but maybe you are right...

Are the Dems willing to filibuster anyone who's otherwise made it through the minefield? My guess is yes for most of them.

Are the Reps willing to go nuclear? My guess is no - Frist doesn't even seem to want to hold any cloture votes.

My guess would be something close to zero make it through, though probably a couple are allowed to pass. The Dems have nothing to gain by cooperating, as their obstruction hasn't really been challenged except when it came to Alito and Roberts.

I say Kiesler, Jordan and Boyle will be voted out tomorrow

I could live with Myers and Haynes getting the axe in return for Boyle, Smith (and Wallace), as well as Jordan and Keisler (and Livingston, though I guess she's not as urgent since I don't think her seat is even vacant yet)

Frist has been a major disappointment on the whole judicial issue -- really. It's amazing what a turn for the worst this has taken.

I will give him credit for getting the SCOTUS nominees through.

***************
On a seperate note, is there anything preventing McConnell from changing the rules on Judicial Fillibusters at the start of the next Senate session (other than the gang of 7) with a simple majority vote?

If I ever get rich enough to retire, I'm moving to DC just so I can attend these kinds of meetings.

I went to CapitolHearings.com at 10:00 AM to listen in on the SJC business meeting and the microphone was dead. That does not seem to be a good sign.

Not so bad after all. According to Bench Memos, Randy Smith got a vote (10-8) and moves to the Senate floor. So at least the dems showed up for the meeting this time.

http://bench.nationalreview.com/

Randy Smith had been on the Senate's Executive Calendar before. So were Boyle and Myers. Benchmemos reports that consideration of Boyle has been deferred, and that the Committee was discussing the nomination of Myers. All three of these had previously been on the Senate's Executive Calendar.

At least Smith is a start. Let's hope we can get a few more by the end of this.

Oz, you don't want to move to DC to go to these hearings - they'll make you want to gouge your eyes out when you see the Senators grandstanding with the camera on, then leaving the room while someone else is on.

You'll also see Ralph Neas, Nan Aron, and the entire left-wing anti-confirmation crowd sitting in the meetings writing checks to the DNC each time they cause more delays.

DiFi voted against him because of this "he's from the wrong state" nonsense, and I bet the Dems will decide this is an extraodinary circumstance where Bush has broken 230 years of Senate tradition blah blah blah. They'll each take it as a personal insult that they can't let fly.