Commentary: It may be a drumphy year but I've seen few public articles addressing the apparent packing of Federal courts by an administration using just those mostly vetted by the Federalist Society. Such is more or less silently watched by folks who know better. Much too quiet for America’s health.
Trump has more than 136 judicial vacancies to fill. He’s already nominated 60 judges in the first 200+ days (Business Insider) -- three times more than Obama and more than double W, Clinton and Reagan combined. Lawyers qualifications are not the issue here . Its their orientation. Generally, the nominations to date are young, conservative, right of center. I do not impugne the motives of tradition conservative lawyers or judges but have a real problem with extremists - of any kind. The current crop of nominations has problem lawyers. Some of these people clearly put the bible before the Constitution. That’s unAmerncan.
Thanks to inaction on Obama nominations due to "unprecedented obstruction by the Republican majority in the Senate in the latter years…” (Senator Coons, DE) a remake of the Federal judiciary is under way. We remember Justice Gorsuch’s shoeing in also - against all precedent. As Dan Goldberg, said ”It seems that they're putting speed in front of carefulness, thoughtfulness, and ensuring that the individuals who serve lifetime appointments… that I question whether they're doing a thorough job on vetting these individuals.” (Business Insider).
Here’s just an egregious sample of the presidential nominees:
• Damien Schiff - Nominated to the US Court of Federal Claims for a 15 year term,
labeled Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy “a judicial prostitute," criticized
efforts to stop anti-LGBTQ bullying in schools, and opposes affirmative action. A bigot.
• Kevin Newsom - Nominated to the US Court of Appeals for the eleventh circuit for a lifetime
appointment. Mr. Newsom compared Roe v. Wade with the Dred Scott decision upholding slavery
and stated his regret that the Supreme Court made it unconstitutional to execute juveniles. Not a well-schooled lawyer.
• Jeff Mateer - Nominated to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for a lifetime appointment believes children of gays are Satanic and will not accept LBGTQ folks. Wants them banned. The Bible must come before secular law. So 16th century.
• Matthew J. Kacsmaryk - Nominated for a lifetime appointment to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas . He is a partisan member of a christian legal advocacy group and has little love for the LGBTQ community. He also puts the Bible over secular law.
• John K. Bush was nominated for the US sixth circuit and approved along party lines last July. He
calls abortion a "national tragedy” and favors and repeats the racist lie that President Obama
was not born in the United States. He is another homophobe who supports sodomy law. He
remains not what the Federal judiciary needs. We will watch him closely.
Simply, Where do we go from here? If the administration’s court packing program succeeds three easy near future possibilities emerge for people whose understanding of the Constitution and its history is limited at best. We can envision: Theocracy - ask Reverend Falwell; Fascism - ask Steve Bannon; and, “Popular” Dictatorship - ask e.g, Putin or Mugabe.
None of these possible ‘futures’ has anything in common with our founding principles and values. Even as possibilities they are a danger to the future of all Americans who love and support our secular Constitution. Please advise our Senators of the problems and consider “no” votes.
"A nation that asks nothing of government but the maintenance of order is already a slave in the depths of its heart; it is a slave of its well-being, ready for the man who will put it in chains.” Alexis de Touqeville