Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Last Call For Flipping The Script On SCOTUS

On Monday Senate Republicans and GOP presidential candidates were united on refusing to allow President Obama a Senate vote or even a hearing on a successor to fill the late Justice Scalia's vacancy on the Supreme Court.

A few days later, some cracks are showing in the wall of opposition.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, who said Saturday it "only makes sense" to let the next president pick the justice, wouldn't rule out holding hearings for Obama's eventual pick.

I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decisions,” Grassley told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday, according to Radio Iowa. “In other words, take it a step at a time.”

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, also sounded skeptical of simply rejecting any nominee at the outset.

"I think we fall into the trap if we just simply say, sight unseen—we fall into the trap of being obstructionists," Tillis said on The Tyler Cralle Show.

"All we're trying to say is that based on the president's actions, it is highly unlikely" he'll nominate someone in the mold of Scalia, he added. "And if he puts forth someone that we think is in the mold of President Obama's vision for America then we'll use every device available to block that nomination."

The slight cracks in what has been a rallying cry among the party's base of "no hearings, no votes" doesn't mean a confirmation is particularly likely, at least before the November elections.

It's almost like some Senate Republicans realize that they only have a four-seat majority in the Senate, something that Democrats could easily overturn if motivated enough in November, and that President Obama has outmaneuvered them before or something.

Two Republican senators from liberal states, in separate statements, did not call for blocking an Obama nominee.

"The political debate erupting about prospective nominees to fill the vacancy is unseemly," said Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois, who is facing a tough re-election fight this year. "Let us take the time to honor his life before the inevitable debate erupts."

Senator Susan Collins of Maine said it's "premature" to speculate on a successor so soon after Scalia's death. But the centrist Republican indicated that the Senate has a duty to consider nominees on their merits.

"More than any other appointment upon which the Senate is called to pass judgment, nominees to the Supreme Court warrant in-depth consideration given the importance of their constitutional role and their lifetime tenure," Collins said. "Our role in the Senate is to evaluate the nominee's temperament, intellect, experience, integrity, and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law.”

Why, I'd almost say that some Republicans realize the potential danger of refusing to even hold a hearing, much less a full Senate vote on something like a Supreme Court nominee, and knowing that would be something even our terrible media couldn't spin as anything other than blanket hatred of this President, especially if he nominated somebody already confirmed by Senate Republicans as say, the current Attorney General or unanimously as a DC Circuit Court judge.

Senate Republicans are a lot of awful things, but even they see that the light at the end of this particular 11-month tunnel is an incoming train.

“Justice Scalia’s passing means the court hangs in the balance,” Clinton said. “Now the Republicans say they’ll reject anyone President Obama nominates, no matter how qualified. Some are even saying he doesn’t have the right to nominate anyone! As if somehow he’s not the real president.

“That’s in keeping with what we’ve heard all along, isn’t it? Many Republicans talk in coded, racial language about takers and losers. They demonize President Obama and encourage the ugliest impulses of the paranoid fringe. This kind of hatred and bigotry has no place in our politics or our country.”

This is gonna hurt, boys.

Dispatches From Bevinstan, Con't

Matt Bevin Old and Brokedown: "Kynect is unsustainable and is gone."

Matt Bevin New Hottness: "Meet your new state medicaid benefits exchange, Benefind!"

Kentucky Medicaid beneficiaries and other welfare recipients will apply for services using a new website called Benefind starting Feb. 29.

Medicaid recipients previously applied for benefits using Kynect, the state health exchange that Gov. Matt Bevin has promised to dismantle by the end of the year.

Health and Human Services Cabinet Vickie Yates Glisson said the plan does away with the paper-version of the application — the program will be entirely online.

“Whether you live in any of our 120 counties, there should be access to a computer system that you will be able to come in and access these programs,” Glisson said.

The new program will also serve as an application hub for other state health, food and cash assistance programs, replacing the Kentucky Automated Management Eligibility System.

So, totally not Kynect.  Nope.  Meanwhile, Bevin's proposed tax cuts are running into reality.

Meanwhile the state’s new Medicaid commissioner said that the cost of the Medicaid program — one of the largest expenditures in the budget —will cost about 20 percent more over the next two years, rising to over $3.7 billion

Rep. Jim Wayne, another Louisville Democrat, said that the state could afford these programs and more if it revised its tax system.

“If people who are as wealthy as the governor would pay their fair share in state and local taxes, we know that these type of programs could easily be sustainable,” Wayne said.

So either Bevin gets his tax cuts, or he'll throw 20% of state Medicaid people off the rolls.  Guess which one this sudden change of state benefits in two weeks to an all online site does in a state with one of the lowest percentages of home internet use in America?

Guess what happens?

You tell me.

This Is Sparta(nburg), Con't

If the Public Policy Polling survey of SC voters ahead of Saturday's primary is any indication, America is in for a delicious treat of pecan pralines and racism.

PPP's new South Carolina poll continues to find Donald Trump with a wide lead in the state. He's at 35% to 18% each for Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, 10% for John Kasich, and 7% each for Jeb Bush and Ben Carson. 
What's striking about Trump's support is how consistent it is across different demographic groups- he's at 41% with 'somewhat conservative' voters, 40% with younger voters, 38% with men, 36% with self identified Republicans, 35% with Evangelicals, 35% with middle aged voters, 34% with non-Evangelicals, 31% with women, 30% with self identified independents, 30% with 'very conservative' voters, 30% with seniors, and 29% with moderates. He has a lead of some size within every single one of those groups, similar to what he was able to do in New Hampshire
The race is still pretty fluid in South Carolina- 29% of voters say they might change their minds between now and Election Day. Trump benefits from having supporters who are pretty resolute though- 77% of them say they will definitely vote for him, compared to 76% for Cruz and 62% for Rubio. Among voters who say their minds are completely made up, Trump's support goes up to 40% to 20% for Cruz and 16% for Rubio.

Clinton too has a big lead in the state,

On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 55/34. South Carolina exemplifies the way in which the Democratic race changes in places where there's a large African American electorate. Clinton and Sanders are tied with white voters at 46%, pretty similar to how the race played out in Iowa. But among African Americans Clinton continues to have a substantial advantage over Sanders at 63/23. Clinton is very popular among black voters with a 71/12 favorability, while feelings about Sanders continue to be pretty mixed with him coming in at 39/33. 
South Carolina's being an open primary works to Sanders' advantage. Clinton is up 31 with actual Democrats, 60/29, but Sanders cuts a lot into her advantage thanks to a 55/27 lead with the independents planning to vote in the Democratic primary. Some of the other customary big demographic splits we've seen in other places present themselves in South Carolina as well- Sanders is up 45/43 with men and 44/42 with younger voters, but that is more than drowned out by Clinton's 64/25 advantage with women and 70/20 one with seniors.

But the real fun is down in the crosstab swamps, and woo boy, is it a hog lagoon and a half down here (PDF) when we get to the GOP primary voters.

Q19 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of George W. Bush?
Favorable........................................................ 64%
Unfavorable .................................................... 25%
Not sure .......................................................... 11% 
Q20 Would you support or oppose banning Muslims
from entering the United States?
Support banning Muslims from entering the
United States ..................................................60%
Oppose banning Muslims from entering the
United States ..................................................23%
Not sure .......................................................... 17%

Nice.  It gets better.

Q22 Would you support or oppose shutting down
mosques in the United States?
Support shutting down mosques in the United
States .............................................................29%
Oppose shutting down mosques in the United
States .............................................................47%
Not sure .......................................................... 24% 
Q23 Would you support or oppose creating a
national database of Muslims in the United
States?
Support a national database of Muslims in
the United States ............................................47%
Oppose a national database of Muslims in
the United States ............................................36%
Not sure .......................................................... 17% 
Q24 Do you think the religion of Islam should be
legal or illegal in the United States?
Islam should be legal in the United States ...... 53%
Islam should be illegal in the United States .... 25%
Not sure .......................................................... 22%

And then it gets amazing.

Q26 Do you support or oppose the Confederate flag
hanging on the capital grounds?
Support the Confederate flag hanging on the
capital grounds ...............................................54%
Oppose the Confederate flag hanging on the
capital grounds ...............................................32%
Not sure .......................................................... 14% 
Q27 Are you glad that the North won the Civil War,
or do you wish that the South had won?
Glad the North won......................................... 36%
Wish the South had won................................. 29%
Not sure .......................................................... 35%
Q28 In general do you think that whites are a
superior race, or not?
Whites are a superior race.............................. 10%
Whites are not a superior race........................ 78%
Not sure .......................................................... 11% 
Q29 Do you prefer mustard, tomato, or vinegar
based barbecue sauce?
Mustard based ................................................ 26%
Tomato based ................................................. 31%
Vinegar based................................................. 26%
Not sure .......................................................... 17%

Racism and barbecue, baby!

When you're still angry or at least indifferent about the outcome of the damn Civil War and support the Confederate Flag O' Traitors on your state's capitol, you really do need to reassess your life in the year 2016.  Also, screw vinegar based barbecue sauce.  The Carolinas are famous for it and it's *awful*.

Never change, Palmetto State.  Never change.


StupidiNews!