1830

Why weren’t they able to do the same to DeVos?

1831

And it doesn’t matter

ah, nevermind, it’s still in committee

1832

The Senate hasn’t voted on her yet. She merely passed the sub-committee vote.

1833

Weren’t the Price and Munchkin [sic?] votes committee as well?

1834

Plus, let’s be fair, it’s the Department of Education. If you’re going to spend your political bullets, DoE isn’t your target.

1835

It’s actually the subcommittees that are boycotting the Price and Mnuchin votes. I guess they had their reasons for not doing the same for DeVos. Fucking Republicans.

1836

Ya, she’s hillariously unqualified, but ultimately the Dept of Education isn’t really the most important position.

To put things in perspective, the federal government only covers about 8% of the overall education budget in the US.

1837

From that article:

“This is one of the most alarming things I’ve seen in my 40 years in the U.S. Senate,” Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in the hearing Tuesday. “There isn’t a fellow on the other side I do not care for. Normally they’re very honorable and decent people. That’s why it’s so shocking to me that they’re not here when we’ve given them every opportunity to be here. … That’s not only ridiculous, it’s offensive.”

In 2013, Republicans boycotted the committee vote on Gina McCarthy to be head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s pick for attorney general, was a member of the committee and part of that boycott.

LOL. Because Republicans weren’t obstructionist at all during Obama’s two terms.

1838

I think Senate Democrats should answer such comments with two words:

Merrick. Garland.

1839

They can’t (or won’t) boycott the committee forever.

Price and Mnuchin have been stonewalling the committee, so Democrats have essentially paused the nomination until they get the answers they want. Presumably, DeVos already told them everything they need to know.

Similar tactics were used by the GOP on at least one Obama nominee, but eventually she was confirmed.

1840

I figured they’d want answers about the latest plagiarism allegations.

1841

How are teachers supposed to fight plagiarism when the head of Education is a proponent of it?

1842

Any time Democrats bring up plagiarism, Republicans can just say ‘Biden’.

1843
1844

It’s why you should never excuse unethical actions just because “your guy” is doing it. Judge everyone based on principles, and then you don’t get caught in hypocrisy.

1845

This.

1846

Gorsuch is a proponent of originalism, the idea that the Constitution should be interpreted as the Founding Fathers would have interpreted it, and of textualism, the idea that statutes should be interpreted literally, without considering the legislative history and underlying purpose of the law.

So he’s basically whatever the equivalent of a salafist would be within the christian/law domain?

This should be interesting. He will replace Scalia, was it?

1847

He’ll replace Scalia and is basically Scalia, so… I’m mostly okay with it.

Hopefully he’ll be more internally consistent than Scalia was near the end.

1848

So, that means that he’d interpret the “right to bear arms” as justification for legalizing military-grade weapons?

1849

Does the asterisk go before or after Gorsuch if he’s confirmed?