As most Americans turned their attention towards last night’s Democratic debates in hopes that someone, anyone, would prove that they have what it takes to defeat the tyrant that is Donald Trump, the President’s Republican-controlled Senate, under the direction of Senate Majority Leader and Russian crony Mitch McConnell, pulled some shady shit — advancing over a dozen different Trump-appointed judges into lifetime positions.
Common Dreams reported earlier this week that McConnell has been on the warpath to confirm the staggering 19 total judges, all hand-picked by Trump himself, before the end of this week when they break for recess.
And last night, as Americans searched for some much-needed hope in a panel of Democratic presidential candidates, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump managed to get their way — with the Senate voting to end debate on 11 of the Trump-appointees, their confirmation hearings scheduled for as early as Wednesday morning. And all without a single word to the American public.
In addition to the 11 Trump-appointed judges who received an advancement last night, the Senate also confirmed Sean Jordan for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and James Wesley Hendrix for the Northern District of Texas.
Unfortunately, as 2020 Democratic hopefuls duked it out on stage last night, while McConnell connived under all our noses, not a mention of the third branch of democracy was brought up during the debate — despite the fact that Donald Trump and his minions are dead set in moving the federal judiciary as far right as they possibly can.
While the Dems debated, this was happening.
(And the debate didn’t even mention the future of the courts, btw) https://t.co/xEOmB4jnEj— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) July 31, 2019
A union of several different progressive advocacy groups penned a letter ahead of yesterday’s debate in which they encouraged CNN to question the Democratic candidates in regards to their plans for the federal judiciary.
“Confronting this generational shift in our courts will be one of the most pressing issues for the next president—in fact, the viability of his or her entire agenda depends on it,” the letter, signed by Demand Justice, the American Constitution Society, Committee for a Fair Judiciary, and Take Back the Court, read.
“The next Democratic president’s success will be determined by whether he or she is able to counter the extreme right takeover of our third branch of government,” the letter continued. “Democratic voters—and all Americans—deserve to know which candidates are prepared to meet this challenge and how they will do so. We cannot afford another debate where this critical issue is ignored.”
This cannot be ignored. While Trump’s Twitter fits and blatant immaturity is enough to make your eyes roll out of your head — we must not forget that these are often distraction techniques — so that Trump and his administration can get away with atrocities like this in the shadows.
Featured image via DC Tribune Gallery
Like what you see here? Join the discussion on Facebook over at Americans For Sanity!
