Today in #Campaign2016
March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb - and so, too, did today’s political news. Beginning with the aftermath analysis of 2 Super 2 Tuesday, fallout from the suspension of Florida senator Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign and Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the current vacancy on the supreme court, Wednesday started as a banner day in this tempestuous campaign season.
Now that things have settled down a bit, let’s look back at some of the biggest political news of the day:
- Barack Obama nominated DC circuit judge Merrick Garland to the US supreme court, sketching the biography of a man who graduated first in his class at Harvard and paid his way through law school by selling his comic books. (To pay for college that way nowadays, you’d better own a near-mint edition of Action Comics #1.) Obama called on senate Republicans to “just be fair” in considering the nomination, which leadership in Congress from Mitch McConnell on down has vowed to ignore until a new president is sworn in.
- If no candidate is elected in the first round of voting at the national convention in July, presumably after having crossed the 1,237 delegate barrier, former speaker of the house John Boehner said he’s planning on supporting current speaker Paul Ryan for the Republican nomination: “They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I’m for none of the above. I’m for Paul Ryan to be our nominee.” Ryan, for his part, is not having it.
- After Donald Trump declared that he would not be participating in the scheduled 21 March debate in Salt Lake City, a recent add to the debate calendar, Fox News cancelled the debate entirely. Trump will instead be speaking to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “I’m doing a major speech in front of a very important group of people that night,” Trump said.
- Florida governor Rick Scott endorsed Trump for president, a day after Trump beat home-state senator Marco Rubio by 19 points. “With his victories yesterday, I believe it is now time for Republicans to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump,” a Scott statement says. “The voters are speaking clearly – they want a businessman outsider who will dramatically shake up the status quo in Washington.”
- Pundits aren’t the only ones foreseeing chaos in Cleveland this summer at the Republican national convention - the candidates are too. Trump, asked in a telephone interview with CNN this morning about the possibility of a brokered national Republican convention if no one candidate hits 1,237 delegates, declared that if such an event arises, there will be rioting in the street. “If we’re 20 votes short or if we’re you know 100 votes, and we’re at 1,100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400, cause we’re way ahead – I don’t think you can say we don’t get it automatically, I think you’d have riots,” Trump said.
That’s it for today in politics - check in again tomorrow, the day after that and every day from now until election day for minute-by-minute coverage of democracy in action.
The fourth season of House of Cards is still fun, but the grim, satisfying resonance with the present is gone in the age of Donald Trump. Did the show’s cynical view of politics contribute to making its own commentary obsolete?
Netflix’s House of Cards made its name by shocking and thrilling viewers with its political chiaroscuro and seductive cynicism. The show’s gorgeous cinematography emphasized Washington’s clean lines and sharp edges. The only dirtiness was Frank Underwood’s, and his filth was philosophical. He’s a pseudo-Shakespearean devil, a cunning exploiter of defects. The only character more compelling than Frank is his wife – Robin Wright’s magnificent turn as Claire Underwood exposed the metastasizing ambitions of a political partnership, and her riveting trajectory resonated with real events. Through Claire, the show implicitly theorized the bitter and intoxicating vertigo of being – and becoming – Hillary Clinton, the brilliant ally and eventual political equal of a sweet-talkin’, power-hungry southern man.
That’s all to say that House of Cards was fun and dark, but also – and this is the key term – it was relevant. It no longer is.
So far, the road to the 2016 presidential election has been more like a terrifying parade of insults, fights and even featured the occasional white supremacist. It’s been an unpredictable campaign season; Donald Trump is looking increasingly more likely to be the Republican nominee, establishment candidates like Jeb Bush dropped out early and despite her best efforts, Hillary Clinton still hasn’t locked in her place on the ballot. It’s no surprise we’re gripped with election anxiety.
Maybe you’re fearful of a president who flip-flops or one who’ll take away your healthcare. Maybe you’re passionate about Bernie Sanders’ political revolution and worried it won’t happen. Perhaps you had been gripped by #Rubiomentum only to see his strong head of hair bow out last night. There are still seven and a half months to go.
We asked a psychoanalyst, a cultural theorist and a meditation expert for their tips on how to navigate your election anxiety (things we haven’t included but go without saying: go for a walk, cuddle a baby, sip some whiskey).
An editorial written under Donald Trump’s name appears to have heavily plagiarized a similar editorial written under the name of former presidential candidate Ben Carson, according to the Daily Caller.
Carson’s editorial was published in the Marianas Variety, a newspaper in the Northern Mariana Islands, on February 26. Trump’s editorial was published in the Pacific Daily News, a newspaper in Guam, 12 days later.
Both pieces, written on the topic of territories and commonwealths of the United States, feature extensive passages that are identical word-for-word:
From Carson’s piece:
“Medical care in the American territories and commonwealths has historically lagged far behind the continental states, and Obamacare has only made the situation worse. Good health is an essential part of a thriving society and economy, and citizens of the territories and commonwealths deserve policies that work. More must be done to fix the broken healthcare systems.”
From Trump’s piece:
“Medical care in the American territories and commonwealths has historically lagged far behind the continental states, and Obamacare has only made the situation worse. Good health is an essential part of a thriving society and economy, and citizens of the territories and commonwealths deserve policies that work.”
The relationship between Trump and Carson, who endorsed the billionaire Republican frontrunner on March 11, has been increasingly complicated following the suspension of Carson’s campaign. The retired pediatric neurosurgeon has admitted in interviews that he preferred other candidates but had been promised a position in Trump’s administration in exchange for his support.
Chicago was just the beginning. Millions of Americans are ready to form a grassroots movement against Donald Trump, activists say, determined to challenge the politics of prejudice and show there is now more at stake than the White House.
“There was a deer in the headlights quality in the country at the rise of Donald Trump over the past year,” said Ben Wikler, Washington director of the civil society group MoveOn.org. “That’s now over.”
An election campaign that has transgressed the normal boundaries of party politics demands a commensurate response in the eyes of many. Even as the Republican party flounders and the media remains transfixed, there are signs that activists, students and ordinary citizens are ready to mobilise against Trump, whowon another series of states in the Republican primaries on Tuesday.
Wikler continued: “It’s rapidly coalescing. The conversations are starting within movements and between movements across the country. People are having conversations about how they can connect. What’s clear is that there is an incredible hunger to push back against hate.”
Oklahoma senator Jim Inhofe has announced his support for Ohio governor John Kasich’s presidential campaign this evening, calling the governor “my guy.”
I served with John in Congress when he successfully spearheaded the effort to balance the federal budget and, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, helped President Reagan enact his national security agenda,” Inhofe said.
“During this time, I also attended a weekly Bible study with him for eight years. You learn a lot about a person when you attend a Bible study together, so I can tell you personally that he is a man of his word. When he talked, people listened. Now the country is listening to his message of optimism and results. That’s refreshing. I’m proud to stand by his side as we spread this message to voters in the weeks ahead.”
“It is an incredible honor to receive the support of my friend and former colleague, Senator Jim Inhofe,” said Kasich in the release. “Jim is a role model to several generations of conservatives, and I trust his expertise and judgment implicitly. He knows Oklahoma voters better than just about anyone, so it’s a major win to have him in our corner going forward.”
Barack Obama’s pick for the supreme court is unlikely to be approved, writes Scott Lemieux. But the political beating he’ll receive will make Republicans look bad – and that’s the point.
In ordinary times, you would expect a president like Barack Obama to nominate a young, liberal judge for the US supreme court. But these aren’t ordinary times. On Wednesday, Obama announced his pick: Merrick Garland. The 63-year-old Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is older than many expected the nominee to be – and more moderate. In other political circumstances, the choice of Garland would be unusual. But these are not ordinary times.
The pick would be unusual in that Garland is more moderate than Obama’s two previous supreme court nominees, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. While not a conservative, he does have a conservative streak on some issues, most notably the civil liberties of criminal defendants. As Obama observed more than once when announcing Garland’s nomination, the judge’s moderation earned him significant bipartisan support for his confirmation in the US Senate. Had Garland been nominated in 2007, liberal groups would be up in arms.
But it’s not 2007. Senate Republicans have made it clear that they will not hold hearings, let alone a vote, on any Obama replacement for Scalia. Given the stakes – even if he is more moderate than Kagan or Sotomayor, Garland would still be the first Democratic nominee to be the median vote on the court since early in the Nixon administration and would move the court to the left – they have no reason to back off before the election.
Five deputies with the Cumberland County sheriff’s office in Fayetteville, North Carolina, have been disciplined after they witnessed an assault against an anti-Donald Trump protestor and restrained the protestor, rather than his assailant.
In a statement to local news station WRAL, Sheriff Earl Butler said that the deputies in question faced disciplinary measures for “unsatisfactory performance and failing to discharge the duties and policies of the office of the sheriff.”
“The actions of the deputies and their failures to act in situations such as that which occurred during the Trump rally at the Crown Coliseum have never been and will never be tolerated under the policies of this office,” Butler said.
Two deputies were suspended without pay for three days, while three more were demoted and suspended without pay for five days. All five of the deputies were placed on a one-year probation.
At the rally on March 9, Rakeem Jones was punched in the face by a Trump supporter – after which uniformed sheriff’s deputies tackled and detained Jones. Charges have since been filed against his assailant.
Obama's address to Cuban people will highlight historic visit
Barack Obama will make an historic address to the Cuban people, calling for more freedom but stressing that the US is no longer seeking regime change on the island, according to the White House.
This first speech on Cuban soil by a US president in almost 90 years will be the highlight of a three-day trip that also includes a bilateral summit with Raúl Castro, a joint news conference, a private meeting with dissidents, a baseball game and a moment to pay homage to the Catholic church for helping broker talks that led to the opening of relations in September.
Obama, who will travel with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, will be the first US president to visit Havana since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
Scandal is about to get even more dramatic - with the addition of a character inspired by Donald Trump.
During a panel on Tuesday night at PaleyFest at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the cast revealed the existence of the character in this week’s episode, which they screened for an audience. The character will be entering the show’s ongoing presidential race.
“There will be a candidate who will emerge who has many qualities that Mr Trump has. How could we resist that?” Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitz Grant, said during an interview with Variety. “Except I guarantee you there’s no way he will be as outrageous as Trump is.”
Kerry Washington, who plays crisis manager Olivia Pope, joked: “You think the debates you’ve seen in the real world are fun!”
Video: Michelle Obama says that there’s no way she’d run for president
With its eyes on the upcoming winner-take-all Republican primary in Arizona, the campaign of Texas senator Ted Cruz has announced a high-profile endorsement in the Grand Canyon State: Congressman David Schweikert, a Tea Party darling who represents parts of Phoenix and Scottsdale.
“My top priority in Congress has always been to do what the Washington insiders simply refuse to do, and that is to reduce the size and cost of government and save our nation from the crushing debt that the Washington politicians have placed on the backs of each and every citizen of our nation,” Schweikert said in a statement released by the campaign.
“Throughout the never ending battles to do this, Ted Cruz has always been a principled leader fighting to do the very same thing,” Schweikert said. “With a federal debt that is quickly approaching an unfathomable $20 trillion, our country’s future economic growth and prosperity are in grave danger unless we elect a principled conservative who is truly committed to stopping the out of control spending and borrowing that has led us to where we are today.”
“It’s clear that Ted is the conservative leader that we need as our next president, and my wife Joyce and I are proud to give him our strongest endorsement. In the upcoming Arizona presidential preference primary, Ted is the clear choice for voters who want a conservative president who is truly committed to fixing the mess in Washington,” Schweikert concluded.
“I am thrilled to have such a passionate fighter for liberty on our team,” Cruz said in the same statement. “David has spent his time in Congress fighting against the Washington Cartel and protecting the interests of the American people. He has worked to rein in Obama’s lawlessness, repeal Obamacare, and stop the President’s illegal executive amnesty. David is a strong addition to our team and I am thankful for his leadership fighting on issues that are most important to conservatives.”
Donald Trump, whose strong rhetoric on immigration will likely strike a cord in the border state, has won the endorsements of Jan Brewer, the popular former governor who bore the brunt of nationwide criticism after she signed a controversial bill requiring immigrants to carry documents proving their legal status, as well as that of Joe Arpaio, “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” whose stances on undocumented immigrants have made him a celebrity in the state.
Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson may be softening towards Donald Trump’s contentious run for president.
Video obtained by Israeli political blogger Tal Schneider reportedly shows Adelson at a gala event in Las Vegas on 27 February stating: “Trump is a businessman. I am a businessman. He employs a lot of people. I employed 50,000 people. Why not?”
Although far from a gushing endorsement, the remarks suggest that Adelson, a Republican superdonor, may decline to fund a #NeverTrump movement to stop the GOP frontrunner from becoming the party’s nominee. Some establishment Republicans had held out hope that he would.
“It reminds me of [a joke],” Adelson said at the event, according to an article inthe Jewish Journal, which translated the quotes that Schneider posted in Hebrew. “One Jewish man said to another Jewish man, ‘Do you know why Jews always answer a question with a question?’ So the guy said, ‘Why not?’”
Then he reportedly joked: “If I were running I would have endorsed myself.”
The election of Donald Trump to the presidency poses an existential risk to the global economy and the security of the United States, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“In the event of a Trump victory, his hostile attitude to free trade, and alienation of Mexico and China in particular, could escalate rapidly into a trade war - and at the least scupper the Trans-Pacific Partnership between the US and 11 other American and Asian states signed in February 2016,” the respected economic analytical and risk-management firm declared in its list of top-10 global risks. “His militaristic tendencies towards the Middle East (and ban on all Muslim travel to the US) would be a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups, increasing their threat both within the region and beyond.”
Alongside a sharp economic downturn in China and the breakup of the eurozone, Trump’s candidacy is described as a “high-impact” risk to global security. In particular, his “exceptional” hostility to free trade and “exceptionally right-wing stance on the Middle East and jiadhi terrorism, including, among other things, advocating the killing of families of terrorists and launching a land incursion into Syria” are seen as having the potential to destabilize global markets and encourage Islamist terrorism.
Obama’s nominee for the empty ninth seat on the US supreme court now finds himself in the middle of one of the most intense political and constitutional spats of modern times, writes the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington.
He is being fought over like a woollen toy torn between the teeth of Rottweilers – the president seeking to secure his legacy and the Republican majority in the US Senate seeking to preserve the conservative domination of America’s highest court.
The US 2016 election cycle is proving to be a stressful time for citizens across the states. The Guardian sat down with a psychoanalyst, a meditation instructor, a cultural theorist and a massage therapist to find some respite from the vitriol and uncertainty that continues to plague the election cycle.
Retired pediatric neurosurgeon and onetime presidential candidate Ben Carson told Yahoo News today that billionaire Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s decision to compare him to a child molester was part of the “politics of personal destruction,” - but a canny move nonetheless.
“If someone like Mr. Trump can call you, an acclaimed and noted neurosurgeon, someone who lacks intellect or is a child molester, doesn’t that alarm as you as to how he can portray other people in this country as well?” asked anchor Bianna Golodryga.
“Well, he said it was political,” Carson responded. “He was concerned about the fact that he couldn’t shake me. I understand politics, and particularly the politics of personal destruction, and you have to admit to some degree that it did work. A lot of people believed him... unfortunately, we live in a society where that kind of thing works.”
Carson has endorsed Trump’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination, in part because Trump has promised him a position in a potential administration.
Michelle Obama: "I will not run for president"
Michelle Obama spoke about finding the courage to overcome doubters on the South Side of Chicago, her love of Stevie Wonder and why she won’t run for president, during an engaging and wide-ranging Q&A session at SXSW.
The biggest cheer from the crowd, who had to wait three hours and go through airport-style security checks, came when Latifah asked if Michelle Obama would ever consider a presidential run.
“I’m going to continue to work with young people all over the world,” she said before pausing. “Not as president. I will not run for president.” After a chorus of playful jeers from the crowd she explained that one of the reasons was that so her children – Malia and Sasha – would no longer be in the spotlight.
“No, no not going to do it. One of the reasons why is that I’ve got these two young people at home. Being the kids, the daughters of a president, just think about it. Come on young people, not so easy. They’ve handled it with grace and with poise, but there are so many ways to impact the world and you don’t have to be president of the United States to do them.”
She said she was planning to continue her advocacy work, with a special focus on working with young people, after her time at the White House and that she wanted a new generation of engaged young people to get into politics.
“I just know that if I can do this and be here and have gone to great colleges and have all these wonderful experiences, you can do it too,” she said.
“Experiencing this journey with our young people of all ages, I’ll miss that, but I’m going to keep doing it for the rest of my life.”
Cruz backs Senate inaction on Garland
Ted Cruz responds to the Garland nomination:
Merrick Garland is exactly the type of #SCOTUS nominee you get when you make deals in Washington D.C. https://t.co/Y8xrwMKpFx
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 16, 2016
Merrick Garland is exactly the type of Supreme Court nominee you get when you make deals in Washington D.C. A so-called ‘moderate’ Democrat nominee is precisely the kind of deal that Donald Trump has told us he would make – someone who would rule along with other liberals on the bench like Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. ...
I proudly stand with my Republican colleagues in our shared belief – our advice and consent – that we should not vote on any nominee until the next president is sworn into office. The People will decide.
Sanders: Clinton has hit 'high water mark'
The Bernie Sanders camp says in a fundraising email that Clinton has hit “the high water mark” and Sanders will win a string of upcoming states.
The demographics bear him out on the “upcoming states” part, with favorable conditions for Sanders in seven of the next eight states, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis... followed by gentle winds for Clinton in six of the last seven.
Of note: Sanders does not appear to have a path to overtake Clinton in the delegates race, barring an earthquake twist.
From the Sanders fundraising statement:
What you will not hear from the political and media establishment is that, based on the primary and caucus schedule for the rest of the race, this is the high water mark for the Clinton campaign. Starting today, the map now shifts dramatically in our favor. [...]
That means we have an extremely good chance to win nearly every state that votes in the next month. If we continue to stand together, we’re just getting started for our political revolution.
Video: McConnell reaffirms opposition to supreme court nomination
Michelle Obama has appeared on a panel at the South by Southwest festival alongside Missy Elliott to promote a charity benefit song, This Is for My Girls, commissioned by the first lady, written by Dianne Warren and feat. Elliott, Kelly Clarkson, Lea Michele, Kelly Rowland, Zendaya, and Janelle Monáe.
The song is in support of the 62 Million Girls project to support education for girls around the world.
"This is For My Girls" available now 👉🏾https://t.co/EQ8RAp583F I am grateful to be apart of this movement with @FLOTUS🙏🏾#62millionsgirls
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) March 16, 2016
(h/t: @holpuch)
Updated
Clinton: 'unaceptable' for Senate not to consider Garland
“It’s up to members of the Senate to meet their [responsibility], and perform the Constitutional duty they swore to undertake” by holding “a full and fair hearing” on the president’s Supreme Court pick “followed by a vote,” Hillary Clinton says in a statement.
“That is what the American people deserve, it is what our Constitution demands, and with millions of people’s lives in the balance, anything less is entirely unacceptable.”
Statement on President Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court: pic.twitter.com/GTcLMLyS6I
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 16, 2016
Updated
Republican debate canceled
There used to be enough Republicans in the presidential race that one or two could rotate out of the debate schedule and you’d barely even notice.
That was then. With both Trump and Kasich saying they would not attend a debate penciled in for this coming Monday in Salt Lake City, the debate has been canceled, AP reports:
Karen Boe, a spokeswoman for the Salt Palace Convention Center, said they were informed Wednesday morning that the event was being scrapped.
Cruz taunts Trump as “ducking Donald”:
#DuckingDonald strikes again. Tell @realDonaldTrump to debate --> https://t.co/4VjAOsIyqj pic.twitter.com/CspRHDV8oF
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 16, 2016
Updated
Not only did Hillary Clinton outrun Bernie Sanders last night – she outran her 2008 performances in, it appears, all five states to vote.
Not all precincts have reported in Illinois, but Clinton, who won the state, clearly did much better, mutatis mutandis, than in 2008, when she was running against home-state senator Barack Obama. Missouri is still too close to call, but again Clinton appears to be out-performing her previous primary run there, in terms of her share of what was admittedly a much different race.
Here are the 2008-2016 comparisons for Ohio and Florida:
Updated
Kasich puts debate plan on hold
John Kasich aide John Weaver says the Ohio governor’s campaign will not be appearing at an event recently announced for next week unless Trump reverses his back-out.
No debate in SLC Monday due to Trump backing out. No surprise Trump avoiding contrast. Utah: @JohnKasich headed your way Fri.
— John Weaver (@JWGOP) March 16, 2016
If Trump changes his mind -- as Carson said there are 2 Trumps -- we will be there. Positive contrasts nicely with division. #Sybil
— John Weaver (@JWGOP) March 16, 2016
Trump has released a video spot with a lot of creative editing to make it look like Russian president Vladimir Putin is laughing at Hillary Clinton barking like a dog after he does judo.
A few Republican senators – New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte, Arizona’s Jeff Flake, Maines’ Susan Collins – say they are willing to meet with Garland. Ayotte’s in a re-election fight.
The ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee calls on colleagues to “do your job” and give the nominee a hearing:
I look forwarding to meeting with Chief Judge Garland soon and expect other senators will do the same #DoYourJob #SCOTUS
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) March 16, 2016
Updated
Now that the Garland news has settled a bit, let’s quick revisit a slice of the results from last night, in North Carolina, where Hillary Clinton came in 14 points ahead of Bernie Sanders. (In a race where margins matter, she won Ohio by a similar margin and Florida by blink-blink 31 points. Visit our county-by-county results page here.)
It was a much better showing for Clinton than in the 2008 Democratic primary, which she lost to Barack Obama:
Updated
Trump foresees 'riots' in contested convention scenario
Trump was asked in a telephone interview with CNN this morning about the possibility of a brokered national Republican convention if no one candidate hits 1,237 delegates.
“If we’re 20 votes short or if we’re you know 100 votes, and we’re at 1,100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400, cause we’re way ahead – I don’t think you can say we don’t get it automatically, I think you’d have riots,” Trump said.
“I’m representing a tremendous, many many millions of people... If you disenfranchise those people, I think you would have problems like you’ve never seen before. I think bad things would happen. I wouldn’t lead it – but I think bad things would happen.”
Nice country you got there. Be a shame if something happened to it.
Get to know Merrick Garland, in this official White House video:
Meet Chief Judge Merrick Garland, the President's nominee to the Supreme Court. #SCOTUSnominee https://t.co/ACujysyyDJ
— SCOTUS Nomination (@SCOTUSnom) March 16, 2016
Obama called McConnell today to discuss the Garland nomination and the pair spoke, NBC News reports. And apparently did not budge in their stances of total opposition on the Supreme Court nominee question.
Ryan 'will not accept a nomination'
Paul Ryan has just taken 50% of the fun out of talk of a brokered national Republican convention by saying through a spokesperson that he’s not into the idea of swooping in as a last-minute presidential nominee.
“The speaker is grateful for the support, but he is not interested. He will not accept a nomination and believes our nominee should be someone who ran this year,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said.
Florida governor endorses Trump
Now here’s a profile in courage: Florida governor Rick Scott has endorsed Donald Trump for president, a day after Trump beat home-state senator Marco Rubio by 19 points.
“With his victories yesterday, I believe it is now time for Republicans to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump,” a Scott statement says.
“The voters are speaking clearly – they want a businessman outsider who will dramatically shake up the status quo in Washington.”
Senator Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, says he would be glad to consider the Garland nomination... next year:
Should Merrick Garland be nominated again by the next president, I would be happy to carefully consider his nomination... #SCOTUS
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) March 16, 2016
McConnell: senate will not consider Garland nomination
McConnell says the senate will consider the qualifications of the nominee “the next president nominates, whoever that might be.”
He tells the White House to “give the people a voice” – meaning wait a year for a new president.
Seems GOP want to allow voters to decide supreme court nomination but not their own presidential candidate
— Paul Owen (@PaulTOwen) March 16, 2016
Updated
McConnell: fight 'about a principle and not a person'
McConnell is speaking. He’s quoting Joe Biden on the senate floor in 1992 arguing against nominating supreme court justices in the thick of a presidential race. McConnell repeatedly calls it “the Biden rule.”
“Instead of spending more time to debate an issue where we can’t agree,” let’s work on things we can agree on, McConnell says. Like jobs.
Hatch is behind McConnell in the chamber.
Remember this? → The #BidenRule on a #SCOTUSnominee in an election year.https://t.co/CsC8JITmPu
— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) March 16, 2016
“President Obama and his allies may try to pretend this fight is about a person,” McConnell says. “But.. it remains about a principle and not a person.”
McConnell accuses the White House of politicizing the process. He says what the president has done “would be unfair to any nominee” and warns of “the great costs this action could carry for our nation.”
The Republican National Committee has send a fundraiser email asking people to contribute to “fight back” against the Garland nomination.
“Obama wants to ram a Clinton-appointed judge, Merrick Garland, down the American people’s throats,” the email says. “But our Party has launched the Supreme Court Task Force to fight back as the left attacks us for defending the American people.”
Clinton nominated Garland to the DC circuit in the mid-1990s. He was confirmed by a senate vote of 76-23.
It’s official: the White House announces a nomination sent to the Senate:
Intermission.
One can dream. pic.twitter.com/hyxhcXryKW
— James West (@jameswest2010) March 16, 2016
Majority leader McConnell says he is headed to the Senate floor to deliver remarks on the Garland nomination.
NOW → heading to the #Senate floor to give my full remarks on the #SCOTUSnominee. https://t.co/iUCcnCFyoB
— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) March 16, 2016
Garland skims through prosecutions from gang prosecutions to the Oklahoma City case. “We promised that we could find the perpetrators, that we would bring them to justice and that we would do that in a way that would honor the Constitution.”
“Trust in justice... is what in large part distinguishes this country from others,” Garland says.
He says judges must put aside personal views and preferences and “follow the law, not make it.”
“If the senate sees fit to confirm me... I promise to continue on that course.”
He turns to the president and says he is “grateful beyond words” for the honor.
The trio goes back inside.
Garland is heading to the hill tomorrow for meetings with lawmakers, Obama said.
Garland: 'this is the greatest honor of my life'
“This is the greatest honor of my life other than Lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago,” Garland says. And the greatest gift, apart from the birth of our daughters, he says.
He’s choking up. Touching start.
He talks about his parents leaving Europe, “fleeing anti-Semitism” to land in Chicago. He tells his father and mother’s story, his father instilling the importance of hard work and fairness, and his mother’s volunteer work teaching him the importance of service to the community.
He says his mother “is watching him on television and crying her eyes out.” He says he wishes his father could “see this day.”
He says his older daughter is hiking out of cell service range, and chuckles.
Updated
“He is the right man for the job. He deserves to be confirmed. I could not be prouder of the work he has already done on behalf of the American people. He deserves our thanks.” – Obama
Obama: 'I simply ask Republicans to give him a fair hearing'
“I said I would take this process seriously, and I did. I chose a serious man and an exemplary judge, Merrick Garland,” Obama says.
He says in all his conversations with lawmakers, “The one name that has come up repeatedly from Republicans and Democrats alike is Merrick Garland.”
“I recognize that we have entered the political season... a political season that is even noisier and more volatile than usual.
“I also know because of Justice Scalia’s outsized role on the court and American law... it is tempting to make this confirmation process simply an extension of our divided politics...
“But to go down that path would be wrong. It would be a betrayal of our best traditions. And a betrayal of... our founding doctrines.
“This is precisely the time when we should play it straight.
“The Supreme Court is unique. It’s supposed to be above politics. It has to be, and it should stay that way...
“I simply ask Republicans in the senate to give him a fair hearing, and then an up-or-down vote. If you don’t then it will not only be an abdication of the senate’s constitutional duty... it will mean everything is subject to the most partisan politics, everything.”
“The reputation of the Supreme Court will inevitably suffer. Faith in our justice system will inevitably suffer. And our democracy will ultimately suffer as well.
“I have fulfilled my constitutional duty. Now it’s time for the Senate to do theirs. Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their terms. Neither should the senate.”
Obama quotes current chief Justice John Roberts, Garland’s former colleague on the DC circuit. “Any time Judge Garland disagrees, you know you’re in a difficult area,” Roberts has said.
But Garland is not just a great legal mind, Obama says. He has “a dedication to protecting the basic rights of every American,” including “everyday Americans.”
“To find someone who has such a long career in public service... to find someone who just about everyone respects but likes, that is rare,” Obama says.
Now Obama is quoting senior Republican senator Hatch. “In all honesty I would like to see one person come to this floor and say one reason why Merrick Garland does not deserve this position.” Hatch has since called Garland an easy consensus nominee.
Obama points out that Republicans voted to confirm Garland. Then he was elevated to chief judge. He’s spent 19 years on the DC circuit.
Obama says Garland has a “track record on building consensus as a thoughtful, fair-minded justice who follows the law.”
Obama sketches Garland’s bio. Born in Chicago. Valedictorian of public high school. Summa cum laude from Harvard and graduate of Harvard Law. He sold his comic book collection to help pay for law school.
Yuk Yuk. “Stop. I’ve been there,” Obama says. He continues:
Garland clerked for two Eisenhower appointees, Friendly and Brennan. He entered private practice and rose to partner in four years. In 1989 he “walked away from a comfortable and lucrative law practice to return to public service.”
He was a prosecutor in George HW Bush’s administration. “He quickly made a name for himself going after corrupt politicians and violent criminals.” He oversaw “every aspect of the federal response to the Oklahoma City bombing.”
“Merrick had one evening to say goodbye to his young daughters before he went to Oklahoma City, where he would remain for weeks... he led the investigation and supervised the prosecution that brought Timothy McVeigh to justice. Perhaps what was most important was the way he did it.”
“Merrick would take no chances that someone who murdered innocent Americans would go free on a technical challenge,” Obama says. He reached out to the victims’ families.
Garland calls it “the most important thing I have ever done in my life,” Obama says. “It’s no surprise then, that soon after his work in Oklahoma City,” Garland was nominated to the DC Circuit court.
Obama is explaining and admiring the role of the court in US civil life. “This is nota a responsibility that I take lightly,” he says. It requires that he “set aside narrow politics.”
“I’ve done my best to set up a rigorous comprehensive process,” Obama says. The WHite House talked with all judiciary committee members, scholars and experts.
“I’ve selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America’s sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings ... integrity, even-handedness and excellence.”
Obama calls Garland “uniquely qualified” to join the court immediately.
“Today I am nominating chief Judge Merrick Brian Garland to join the Supreme Court.”
Applause.
Here’s the president. Vice president Joe Biden and Garland are with him.
Obama says few decisions are “more consequential” than nominating a court justice.
At least we’re all going into this looming nomination battle with the best of intentions:
[bellows downballot] https://t.co/c6S89Ueej4 pic.twitter.com/y59kHVkD8X
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) March 16, 2016
Here’s a live video feed of the Rose Garden, where the president is scheduled to speak momentarily:
Trump names top foreign policy adviser: himself
He has “a very good brain,” in his assessment.
Who is @realDonaldTrump consulting on foreign policy? Trump: I'm speaking with myself, I have a very good brain https://t.co/4YC15EqNgi
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) March 16, 2016
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Trump to boycott next debate
Donald Trump has made it official: he’s not participating in the scheduled 21 March debate in Salt Lake City, a recent add to the debate calendar.
Trump told Fox News that he would instead be speaking to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
“I’m doing a major speech in front of a very important group of people that night,” he said.
Boehner: 'I'm for Paul Ryan'
While we wait for Obama to pop up in the Rose Garden in about 15 minutes, let’s take a quick scan of politics news lines.
Former House speaker John Boehner has just kicked the conceptual door wide open on a brokered convention in which someone not currently running for president emerges as the Republican nominee. That someone would be Boehner’s successor, Paul Ryan, the Ohioan told the Futures Industry Association in comments first reported by Politico.
Update: Not happening, Ryan says.
If no candidate is elected in the first round of voting at the national convention in July, presumably after having crossed the 1,237 delegate barrier, Boehner said, “I’m for Paul Ryan”:
They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I’m for none of the above. I’m for Paul Ryan to be our nominee.
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The number seven is significant because under the current 54-46 makeup of the Senate, it only would take five Republican senators to vote in favor of a nominee to confirm by majority.
Not that Garland will get anywhere close to a confirmation vote, or that senators who previously voted in his favor would again do so in this political climate.
7 current GOP Senators voted to put Merrick Garland on DC Circuit back in 1997 pic.twitter.com/z4Ov0WSR0y
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) March 16, 2016
Barack Obama is expected to intensify his fight with the Republican majority in the US Senate by nominating an appeals court judge with a record of challenging the federal government to the US supreme court in the wake of the death of the conservative justice Antonin Scalia, write the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington and Dan Roberts:
Merrick Garland, the nominee according to a White House official, now faces an almost insurmountable task of overcoming the dogged resistance of the Republican wing of the Senate that has made clear its intention to boycott any Obama nominee to the nation’s highest court. His nomination puts him at the center of one of the most bitter disputes to erupt between the White House and conservatives in Congress.
At 63, Garland the oldest of the candidates that Obama shortlisted for the top judicial post. His age alone is likely to embolden Republican senators in their contentious opposition to confirming anyone, as it will arm them with ammunition against him based on his long previous record.
The nominee is chief judge of the federal appeals court of Washington DC, a panel that traditionally is seen as a training ground for future supreme court justices. He was nominated for the DC circuit by Bill Clinton in 1997.
It may not presage well that it took the US Senate of that day – which was also Republican-controlled – 18 months to complete the confirmation process. The eventual vote was 76 to 23, with 32 Republicans supporting him.
Read the full piece here:
Obama to nominate DC circuit judge Merrick Garland
The Guardian has independently confirmed that Judge Merrick Garland is president Obama’s pick to fill the court vacancy.
Democratic senator Chuck Schumer, a judiciary committee member, tells Reuters that Garland is indeed the president’s pick.
“It’s an excellent choice, a bipartisan choice. If the Republicans can’t support him, who could they support,” said Schumer.
Tom Goldstein of ScotusBlog has written a useful primer on Garland’s career and jurisprudence. He calls Garland “essentially the model, neutral judge”:
He is acknowledged by all to be brilliant. His opinions avoid unnecessary, sweeping pronouncements ...
He has broad support on both sides of the aisle, and he has few ideologically controversial rulings. Conservative commentators have expressed support for a potential Garland nomination ...
Judge Garland would also likely have the most immediate influence on the Court. He is well known to the Justices and is likely the most respected by them collectively, particularly the more conservative Justices. The fact that Judge Garland is not only extremely intelligent and respectful but exceptionally careful and quite centrist would mean that his views would have particular salience with, among others, Justices Kennedy and Alito.
Updated
The Republican vow not to consider court nominee
Republicans from Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on down have said that they will not consider an Obama nominee to fill the court vacancy. In ten months a new president will take office.
“I don’t know how many times we need to keep saying this: the judiciary committee has unanimously recommended to me that there be no hearing,” McConnell said last month. “I’ve said repeatedly and I’m now confident that my conference agrees that this decision ought to be made by the next president, whoever is elected.”
McConnell said he saw no reason even to meet with an Obama nominee. Judiciary committee chairman Chuck Grassley, who would be in charge of convening any hearings on the nominee, has said he will not. “We’re not going to drop any nominee into that election-year cauldron,” he said earlier this month. “I’m certainly not going to let it happen to the good people of Iowa.” (Grassley is senator for Iowa.)
Republicans have in the past said nice things in particular, however, about Garland, who led the prosecution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Senator Orrin Hatch, the body’s senior Republican, has said that Garland’s “intelligence and his scholarship cannot be questioned”.
Updated
Purported Supreme Court nominee emerges
President Barack Obama will announce Merrick Garland, the chief justice for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, as his nominee to replace late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, the Associated Press and various outlets are reporting.
We’re working to confirm.
Garland was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in 1997 with backing from a majority in both parties, including seven current Republican senators.
Updated
Hello, and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. President Barack Obama is about to announce, at 11am ET, a supreme court nominee – a move sure to make major waves in the nominating races.
But it will be hard to top the crests last night, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump exceeded expectations to rack up delegates in five states with mixed demographics in various regions, demonstrating again the national caliber of each candidacy.
In one state, Missouri, the races were too close to call on both the Democratic and Republican sides. That didn’t stop both the Clinton and Trump campaigns from claiming wins.
Senator Marco Rubio suspended his campaign after losing his home state of Florida badly to Trump, who swiped all 99 of the delegates at stake. Governor John Kasich enjoyed a home-state victory in Ohio and vowed to fight to the July convention, though he seemed out of the delegates race. Ted Cruz failed to notch a victory but said the race was between him and Trump.
Here’s a snapshot of the delegates races as they stand:
Who do you think gets the supreme court nod this morning? As always, thanks for reading and joining in!
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