["Its not for ordinary Americans, its for the rich and powerful,
and we have to find a way to stop them. And thats going to be the
elections next year," said Sen. Jeff Merkley.] [[link removed]]


MCCONNELL BRAGS HE AND TRUMP ARE 'CHANGING THE FEDERAL COURTS
FOREVER' WITH EXTREME RIGHT-WING JUDGES  
[[link removed]]


 

Jake Johnson
November 5, 2019
Common Dreams
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ "It's not for ordinary Americans, it's for the rich and powerful,
and we have to find a way to stop them. And that's going to be the
elections next year," said Sen. Jeff Merkley. _

President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell
speak to the supporters during a rally in Lexington, Kentucky.,
Preston Ehrler/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

 

During a rally in Kentucky Monday night ahead of the state's
gubernatorial election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell boasted
that he and President Donald Trump are "changing the federal courts
forever" by rapidly confirming right-wing judges to lifetime seats.

"Nobody has done more to change the court system in the history of our
country than Donald Trump," McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky,
said while flanked by Trump. "And Mr. President, we're going to keep
on doing it. My motto is: Leave no vacancy behind."

Civil rights groups and lawmakers acknowledged—with horror—the
truth of McConnell's remarks, which come as Senate Republicans are
working to rush through another batch
[[link removed]] of
Trump's extreme right-wing judicial picks.

The president, in partnership with McConnell, has successfully
appointed 150 federal judges
[[link removed]]
and, as the _New York Times_ reported
[[link removed]],
"a quarter of the nation's 179 appeals court judges" will soon be
Trump appointees.

"It's not for ordinary Americans, it's for the rich and powerful, and
we have to find a way to stop them. And that's going to be the
elections next year."
—Sen. Jeff Merkley

"The Trump-McConnell attempt to take over our judiciary has been an
astonishing attack on civil rights," the Leadership Conference on
Civil and Human Rights tweeted
[[link removed]] in
response to McConnell's comments. "But remember: Every single
nomination counts. If we stop one anti-civil rights judge, thousands
of people could be treated more fairly—for decades."

In an interview with _MSNBC_'s Chris Hayes Monday night, Sen. Jeff
Merkley (D-Ore.) agreed that Trump and McConnell are "reshaping the
judiciary."

"They're doing it for the rich and powerful," Merkley said. "This is
the exact evisceration of the 'We the People' vision of our
Constitution. That's what Mitch McConnell is doing, that's what Trump
is doing. It's not for ordinary Americans, it's for the rich and
powerful, and we have to find a way to stop them. And that's going to
be the elections next year."

McConnell's rapid confirmation of Trump's often unqualified
[[link removed]]
judicial picks has frequently flown under the radar of national news
coverage, but advocacy groups have warned that the ongoing takeover of
the nation's federal courts poses a dire threat
[[link removed]]
to decades of progress on civil rights, LGBTQ protections,
reproductive rights, and much more.

"Every network should be covering this," the Leadership Conference
said [[link removed]]
in September after McConnell rammed through four more lifetime judges.
"Trump's dangerous takeover of our courts will last a generation. All
who care about our civil rights being protected must speak out and
demand better."

This week, Senate Republicans are working to confirm several more
[[link removed]]
right-wing judges, including White House lawyer Steven Menashi
[[link removed]]
to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York and Halil Suleyman
Ozerden to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

"In case you're wondering what Senate Majority Leader McConnell is
doing while he buries civil rights bills in his legislative graveyard,
this is it," said
[[link removed]]
Leadership Conference president Vanita Gupta.

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web [[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions [[link removed]]
Manage subscription [[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org [[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]