McConnell just explained that this a "project"

[underpants]

“This project ... is the most important thing that the Senate and an administration of like mind — which we ended up having — could do for the country,” McConnell said. “Putting strict constructionists, relatively young, on the courts for lifetime appointments is the best way to have a long-term positive impact on America. And today is a seminal moment in that effort.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/06/kavanaugh-confirmation-mcconnell-877474

[eleny]

1. .

[Baitball Blogger]

2. The old man just admitted that he intentionally created a conservative partisan

Supreme Court.

Let's see, where was Scalia at in his reasoning before he died? Oh, yes, that it was okay to discriminate against people of color.

[unitedwethrive]

25. Of course they did...we know they have been having secret meetings since at least the '80s

with this very goal in mind. All of it, the gerrymandering, the stacking the courts, the voter restrictions, and the outright cheating...all part of their plan since there was no honest way for a small minority of people to gain control of the government given the old rules (so they are making new ones).

[mitch96]

3. That was his/their plan all along I thing..

Even to the point of loosing the house and senate, they wanted a conservative court for a long time. Congress swings right and left but the court stays the same for a long time...
Now my question is WHY..... what are those guys cooking up??
m

[dalton99a]

4. Bush v. Gore, Citizens United - strict constructionists, my ass

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

9. "Strict constructionists" are activist judges. They just make decisions the Repukes agree with.

"Activist judges" are those who decide in a way contrary to the way the Right Wing wants.

[TNLib]

29. Strict constitutionalist

I've always thought of that as a bunch of bunk and nonsense.

[GoCubsGo]

5. Expect them to try to replace Clarence Thomas with a younger model next.

Although, it might be tough to get him to hand over his power.

[roamer65]

6. Stack this sucker when we get power.

Also completely nuke the filibuster.

[dalton99a]

7. Absolutely.

[underpants]

17. They did everything they could to obstruct. No McConnell breaks every rule he can.

Prior to November 21, 2013, in the entire history of the nation there had been only 168 cloture motions filed (or reconsidered) with regard to nominations. Nearly half of them (82) had been during the Obama Administration,[36] but those cloture motions were often filed merely to speed things along, rather than in response to any filibuster.[37] In contrast, there were just 38 cloture motions on nominations during the preceding eight years under President George W. Bush.[38] Most of those cloture votes successfully ended debate, and therefore most of those nominees cleared the hurdle. Obama won Senate confirmation for 30 out of 42 federal appeals court nominations, compared with Bush's 35 out of 52.[38][39]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option

[Horse with no Name]

8. I hope that old fuckwad dies off soon

A massive and painful heart attack would be wonderful.

[JudyM]

10. He is a disgrace to democracy.

[Horse with no Name]

11. He is a disgrace to humanity

i despise him.

[JudyM]

13. Yes. As with Scalia, I will celebrate the day he dies.

[Horse with no Name]

15. you and I should make a date for that day! My bladder will be full! n/t

[JudyM]

16. Right there with ya, Horse!

[LovingA2andMI]

33. #YouToo?

Yes, Indeed.

[bdamomma]

37. well we know

he hates women. I think he would be very happy to curtail/end women's voting or am I just overly paranoid.

[Ace Rothstein]

14. I'm going to piss on his grave.

[dalton99a]

21. A nice painful disease or illness for which there is neither cure nor remedy

[CrispyQ]

28. I hate McConnell most of all. -nt

[woodsprite]

38. Don't count on it. I'm still waiting for Darth Cheney to kick off.

Maybe these guys drink the blood of the young whose futures they screw over.

[IluvPitties]

12. We will be back, Mitch. Enjoy it while you can.

[Snake Plissken]

18. let me put it this way... If Mitch McConnell was dying in a fire and I just drank a six pack of beer

I would piss my pants before I pissed on him to put out the fire.

[roamer65]

20. If I accidentally hit him in a car accident...oh the temptation for "R" gear.

[andym]

19. The project

Block Obama's lower court appointments
Annoy Reid into using the nuclear option to remove 60-vote threshold for lower courts (mistake by Reid?)
Stonewall Merrick Garland for almost a year.
With Trump in hand, use nuclear option to remove 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court Justices (using Reid as excuse)
Appoint Gorsuch with 54 votes
Get Kennedy to retire.
Appoint Kavanaugh with 50 (51 potential votes).

The goal: overturn Roe V Wade, civil rights expansions

[underpants]

22. They also ignored the "blue slip" courtesy on Kavanaugh too

If I'm not mistaken.

[leftieNanner]

26. Mitch has ignored the blue slip courtesy

for federal judgeships all over the country.

[CrispyQ]

30. Trump's goal is to have the court expand the scope of his get-out-of-jail-free cards,

so he & his putrid offspring never have to go to jail for the crimes they've committed. If the rest of the GOP agenda is enacted as well, so be it, but Trump is after expanded pardon power.

[anarch]

34. essentially, to entrench white male privilege in the judiciary, since the legislative is likely lost

And (unless term limits are done away with--certainly a possibility, since that wasn't in the original constitution) probably also the executive branch, and demographics are not looking good for the odds of the straight white Christian Male maintaining hegemony amongst the voting population going forward...packing the judicial branch with ideologues of their stripe is their last chance to hold on to real power in the future.

As I've seen pointed out, one of the main attractions of the "constructionist" interpretation is that the Constitution was written by white male landowners, and meant to protect their interests as such, and during a period when slavery was a major factor in their economy. Before any amendments, the document doesn't really explicitly address civil rights. Obviously what it turns into is simply picking the parts of the original document that suit your interests.

Anyway, I think that's "the project." Entrenching white male privilege and perpetuating our current wealth structure, at the bottom of it.

[Johonny]

23. McConnell has spent his life doing nothing positive for the American people

he'll die without ever doing anything positive for the American people and he knows it. He gives not a shit for any of us. Never has, never will.

[In It to Win It]

24. WHAT A LOAD OF BULLSHIT!

How exactly did we let them claim these ridiculous loaded terms like "constructionist", "patriot", and "constitutionalist"?

[YessirAtsaFact]

31. Those are just RW marketing terms

They have no bearing on reality.

Maintaining the white male dominance is the real goal, but it’s not a good selling slogan.

[CrispyQ]

32. The dems conceded the narrative to the right almost 4 decades ago.

One pundit put it this way: The dems are good at policy but suck at politics.

[ck4829]

27. Since there's no mention of "air force" in the Constitution, constructionists will soon defund it

Right?

[0rganism]

35. we should damn well pay attention to this

sure would be nice to see some Democratic leaders and strategists emerge from this inferno.

[Fla Dem]

36. If and when we get back the White House. The President must increase the size of the Supreme Court.

But we have to also have the House and Senate. The President can request an increase in the number of SC Justices, but that would then have to be approved by Congress.

Article III of the United States Constitution does not specify the number of justices. The Judiciary Act of 1789 called for the appointment of six "judges." ... As the nation's boundaries grew, Congress added justices to correspond with the growing number of judicial circuits: seven in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States