even if Ds can't stop a single one of these nominations from getting confirmed, it would be a great sign of solidarity and support to the D base if they were (near) unanimous in blocking them as much as possible. as chris hayes tweeted last night:

@chrislhayes 16h16 hours ago
If there's one thing D's learned (first hand) in the Obama years is that there is *no* political cost for obstruction.

Warszawa wrote:All toomey's offices either busy signals, full voice mail boxes or disconnects

Did get through to pat meehans office no problem. They were very nice

Aubrey huff does not approve of protestors

Trump dropped the idea of negotiating for cheaper drug prices; instead, he's going to try to make foreign countries pay more so the drug companies can have bigger profits.

what a dealmaker

JFLNYC wrote:

Warszawa wrote:

JFLNYC wrote:According to the CATO Institute you have a 0.000003% chance of being killed by a foreign-born terrorist.

You actually have a greater chance of being killed by a cow

EO banning all milk products forthcoming.

Americans not even willing to take this chance for the defense of their freedoms. I wonder what Israel would do?

DeVos sort of confirmed in committee but Chris Murphy says the vote wasn't according to procedure and they're figuring out what to do now

Chris Murphy ‏@ChrisMurphyCT 5m5 minutes ago
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Chris Murphy
Nope. Not yet. Vote was contrary to committee rules. Dems objected and now we are debating how to proceed.

pacino wrote:Trump dropped the idea of negotiating for cheaper drug prices; instead, he's going to try to make foreign countries pay more so the drug companies can have bigger profits.

what a dealmaker

I just want to get those fucking Cialis commercials off the air

a rebuttal to that coup piece that was floating around:

One of the many things that studying authoritarian politics has taught me is that from the perspective of the outsider, weak leaders often act like strong leaders, and strong leaders often act like they are indifferent. Weak leaders have every incentive to portray themselves as stronger than they are in order to get their way. They gamble on splashy policies. They escalate crises. This is just as true for democrats as for dictators. (Note the parallels with Jessica Weeks on constraints on authoritarian rulers and their foreign policy behavior.)

JUburton wrote:DeVos sort of confirmed in committee but Chris Murphy says the vote wasn't according to procedure and they're figuring out what to do now

Chris Murphy ‏@ChrisMurphyCT 5m5 minutes ago
More
Chris Murphy
Nope. Not yet. Vote was contrary to committee rules. Dems objected and now we are debating how to proceed.

Yes, this is going on right now. Very interesting. What happened was that Hatch voted Yes by proxy and the Ds are claiming that, per committee rules, his vote, therefore, does not count. Alexander ruled that the vote was legit but said he would allow a follow-up vote as Hatch had since arrived (perhaps during the recess that Alexander called right after the Ds objected to the vote). Ds argued that a follow-up vote (which would include Hatch in-person) could not proceed as it was not properly advertised. They lost and DeVos is moved out of committee. Alexander splits hairs as to when the objection was raised in defending his ruling; committee rules say the objection must be raised "during the action" and it was instead raised immediately after the vote was completed.

Sorry to continue focusing on this particular nominee but DeVos is being reported as potentially plagiarizing some of her answers in written responses to D questions (emphasis added):

The questions - which totaled over 1,000 - were answered in DeVos' name, but it's unclear what role aides and staffers played in answering the queries. "Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow," DeVos writes. Gupta was credited with nearly the same quotes in a May 2016 press release on ensuring the civil rights of transgender students. "Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment that allows them to thrive and grow," Gupta wrote.

In another instance, DeVos' appears to have lifted language from the Department of Education website. "Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has made a determination about the merits of the complaint," DeVos wrote in response to a question about publishing the list of schools under Title IX investigations. The Department of Education guidance reads, "Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that OCR has made a determination with regard to the merits of the complaint."


http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/31/politics/ ... index.html

Murkowski (R, AK) may not support DeVos on the floor, quoted as saying "I would not advice yet that she can count on my vote"

slugsrbad wrote:Murkowski (R, AK) may not support DeVos on the floor, quoted as saying "I would not advice yet that she can count on my vote"

Yeah, like I said before, I think she and Collins could be stolen. Those two, at least, are probably worth a phone call.

Well, DeVos is know to be generous with campaign contributions, as long as she gets something in return.

So all the finalists for the SC are going to Washington tonight for the selection...apparently the WH is building as much suspense as possible before a "winner" is picked LOL we are living in a reality show

Chao confirmed 93-6 to be Transportation Secretary. She's the wife of known-Turtleman/Senator Mitch McConnel

Roger Dorn wrote:So all the finalists for the SC are going to Washington tonight for the selection...apparently the WH is building as much suspense as possible before a "winner" is picked LOL we are living in a reality show

I saw that only Gorsuch and Hardiman were invited to DC, which removes Judge Pryor from consideration. Who the fuck knows though.

No votes for Chao:
Gillibrand (D, NY)
Merkley (D, OR)
Sanders (I, VT)
Schumer (D, NY)
Warren (D, MA)
Booker (D, NJ)

Would be pretty funny if Trump pulls a Bush-Souter here

slugsrbad wrote:Murkowski (R, AK) may not support DeVos on the floor, quoted as saying "I would not advice yet that she can count on my vote"

Just means she needs a bigger "campaign contribution".

my mother and Chao have the same haircut