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Sowell: Supreme Hypocrisy
Creators Syndicate ^ | March 29, 2016 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 03/28/2016 11:08:09 AM PDT by jazusamo

If there is one thing that is bipartisan in Washington, it is brazen hypocrisy.

Currently there is much indignation being expressed by Democrats because the Republican-controlled Senate refuses to hold confirmation hearings on President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Democrats complain, and the media echo their complaint, that it is the Senate's duty to provide "advice and consent" on the President's appointment of various federal officials. Therefore, according to this claim, the Senate is neglecting its Constitutional duty by refusing even to hold hearings to determine whether the nominee is qualified, and then vote accordingly.

First of all, the "advice and consent" provision of the Constitution is a restriction on the President's power, not an imposition of a duty on the Senate. It says nothing about the Senate's having a duty to hold hearings, or vote, on any Presidential nominee, whether for the Supreme Court or for any other federal institution. The power to consent is the power to refuse to consent, and for many years no hearings were held, whether the Senate consented or did not consent.

Nor have Democrats hesitated, when they controlled the Senate, to refuse to hold hearings or to vote when a lame-duck President nominated someone for some position requiring Senate confirmation during a Presidential election year.

When the shoe was on the other foot, the Republicans made the same arguments as the Democrats are making today, and the Democrats made the same arguments as the Republicans are now making.

The obvious reason, in both cases, is that the party controlling the Senate wants to save the appointment for their own candidate for the Presidency to make after winning the upcoming election. The rest is political hypocrisy on both sides.

(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 114th; adviceandconsent; bhoscotus; confirmation; justiceroberts; politics; scotus; sowell; thomassowell; ussenate
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To: xzins

Bump to term limiting judges. Lower court judges, six years, SCOTUS, 10 years.

And let’s term limit Congress while we’re at it.


21 posted on 03/28/2016 2:45:43 PM PDT by upchuck (MAGA!!)
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To: upchuck

I’ve got no problem with it. 8 years president, house, or senate.


22 posted on 03/28/2016 2:47:55 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Prayer for Victory is the ONLY way to support the troops!)
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To: xzins

Too short.

The reason for some unlimited terms was to lend the possibility of stability.

That is wise.

Some terms probably should be limited, but not that short. We’d be bouncing all over the place.


23 posted on 03/28/2016 3:19:25 PM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
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To: xzins
Our Founders weren’t prescient enough to envision this two-party system we have ...

18th century England had a two-party system with many of the failings of our own.

24 posted on 03/28/2016 4:08:08 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("The world is full of wonder, but you see it only if you look." ~NicknamedBob)
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To: Agnes Heep

You’re right. The Senate should confirm Judge Garland because Trump.

(;-)


25 posted on 03/28/2016 4:09:03 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("The world is full of wonder, but you see it only if you look." ~NicknamedBob)
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To: Tax-chick

Then they weren’t as prescient as they should have been


26 posted on 03/28/2016 4:11:33 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Prayer for Victory is the ONLY way to support the troops!)
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To: xzins

They knew their classics. They knew that, even with their best efforts, the chance of ultimate failure of the system approached 100%.


27 posted on 03/28/2016 4:12:49 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("The world is full of wonder, but you see it only if you look." ~NicknamedBob)
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To: Verginius Rufus

“I read somewhere that “nunnery” in this case meant “brothel.””

I don’t think so. That sounds like the kind of thing despicable leftard scoundrels invent.


28 posted on 03/28/2016 4:31:11 PM PDT by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
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To: SFConservative
So now all his opinions on topics unrelated to Republican candidate preference are to be ignored, opposed and/or censored? Just because of his audacity in disagreeing with you on who is the best Republican candidate? Let me know when I should take all the Sowell books I own to your official book burning event.

All sarcasm on my part. I love Sowell, and I don't think I've ever seen an opinion of his that I didn't agree with. He's the most consistent conservative going.

I was mocking so-called "conservatives" who thought highly of Sowell and praised him to the skies until he said something against their demigod, at which point he became a worthless piece of trash.

29 posted on 03/28/2016 4:33:05 PM PDT by Agnes Heep (Trump 2016: Statism that WORKS for US!!!)
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To: Tax-chick

Do you ever wonder if they’d be pleased if they saw what we are now?


30 posted on 03/28/2016 4:33:56 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Prayer for Victory is the ONLY way to support the troops!)
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To: SFConservative

“Just because of his audacity in disagreeing with you on who is the best Republican candidate?”

I am baffled and saddened by his consistent support, election after election, for some drooling GOPe moron who wouldn’t make a hundredth as good a prez as Sowell would.


31 posted on 03/28/2016 4:34:52 PM PDT by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
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To: jazusamo

Can’t say they are all inclusive, just 1 party with different roles BUT

When the Florida chad thing was going on and ‘we’ were waiting the answer of whether algore or W would assume the head of the biparty, I had figured that if algore would have been declared the victor, both sides of the aisle would just switch notes and carry on without missing a beat.

I have a feeling in my gut that if Trump gets screwed and Bernie keeps getting screwed, THEY will run on an independent ticket.

Now that would be a ‘mess’ and also a fun thing to observe.

Of course if Trump-Bernie would win it there would have to be a steel cage death match to determine who sits in the ‘seat’ But can just see the Liberal and GOPe heads im/exploding.....

Ahh..


32 posted on 03/28/2016 4:36:50 PM PDT by xrmusn ((6/98)"Pols headstone- Please bury me not so deep so I can continue to fleece the sheep")
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To: xrmusn

My son bought a TrumpSanders2016 bumper sticker for a lark.

Yikes!


33 posted on 03/28/2016 4:38:16 PM PDT by Califreak (Madeleine Albright says I'm going to hell. Cruz' dad called me an infidel. Long live the Uniparty!)
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To: Agnes Heep; SFConservative

That’s exactly the way I interpreted your post, Agnes.


34 posted on 03/28/2016 4:53:05 PM PDT by jazusamo (When judges act like whores, they can hardly expect to be treated like nuns: Thomas Sowell)
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To: Califreak

I take it your son is as cynical/sarcastic/sardonic as I.

It makes as much sense as the foolz that are saying Ksick (sic) can handily whip Mrs Clinton OR Bernie but he has trouble doing ANYTHING against Trump/Cruz and the cast of thousands that came before him.

Am afraid we are going to get stuck with Romney or worse - not that the ‘leaders’ are any better...

Look at the 5 people now engaged in the Run for President and one must scratch head/arse wondering where we have went wrong if these are the BEST we - out of 300million people have to offer

And you can see what happens when an ‘anointed’ one crashes their party.

We all understand that Trump really has them scared when both parties, ALL the press etc are out to sink him.

Hope it takes a while before the MSM realizes that every time they rag Trump, he picks up more votes from either side. Just afraid they won’t automatically transfer into ballot box votes..

Almost as bad as the W - Jf’nK race where the top two contenders were members of ‘Skull & Bones’.....

What are the odds?????


35 posted on 03/28/2016 4:57:15 PM PDT by xrmusn ((6/98)"Pols headstone- Please bury me not so deep so I can continue to fleece the sheep")
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To: xzins

Nope, I don’t wonder.


36 posted on 03/28/2016 5:01:34 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("The world is full of wonder, but you see it only if you look." ~NicknamedBob)
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To: dsc

I just looked up some online analyses of this passage. The longest and most serious one concluded that Shakespeare meant “nunnery” in its normal meaning here, but there is evidence of it being used in the other meaning in this time period (by Thomas Nashe, 1567-1601).


37 posted on 03/28/2016 5:02:10 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus

Thanks for the info.


38 posted on 03/28/2016 5:04:41 PM PDT by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
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To: jazusamo

Thanks. Perhaps I ought to have used the sarcasm tag, but that takes all the effect out of it!


39 posted on 03/28/2016 5:07:34 PM PDT by Agnes Heep (Trump 2016: Statism that WORKS for US!!!)
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To: dsc
I don’t think so. That sounds like the kind of thing despicable leftard scoundrels invent.

You would be incorrect, then. The backlash against Catholics (along with the nationalization of the church by Henry VIII) meant that all convents had been abolished in England by the time of Elizabeth I. So no one could have gotten to a nunnery, as they were officially banned. And before you respond with "But maybe Shakespeare was trying to be historically accurate for Denmark in Hamlet's time," it would be the first time for the Bard. He was notoriously anachronistic in his plays, emphasizing understandability for his contemporary audience. They had very different expectations than modern audiences do (or considering most "historical" movies nowadays... maybe not).

Because of the anti-Catholic sentiment of the time, "nunnery" was a well-known slang for brothels. It described a place where only women lived, plus got in a Papist slur in the bargain. It shows up used that way in dozens of Elizabethan plays and texts, by many different authors. So you are categorically wrong.

40 posted on 03/28/2016 5:09:14 PM PDT by Charles H. (The_r0nin) (Hwaet! Lar bith maest hord, sothlice!)
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