Watch: Dick Durbin gives Tom Cotton a history lesson -- and a smackdown -- on judges

[turbinetree]

Last edited Sat Feb 6, 2021, 04:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Written by Joan McCarter and Daily Kos February 06, 2021

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The toxic amendments Mitch McConnell promised in the "vote-a-rama" for the Senate's COVID-19 budget resolution were delivered, but few succeeded in the end. Even though they were all non-binding and by no means have to end up in the final package, the worst of them were dispatched by the time the final vote came around.

That included an obnoxious amendment from Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas to try to jam Democrats into committing to rule out expanding the Supreme Court. He failed to win over even one Democrat after his amendment was challenged, because it had nothing to do with coronavirus. Sen. Dick Durbin handled the matter with aplomb, and handed Cotton his hat. "The Constitution does not stipulate the number of Supreme Court justices. That's up to Congress," he started out. Then he proceeded with a little history lesson for Cotton.

"Congress has a long history of altering the make up of the court," he said. "The number of justices changed six times before we arrived at the number nine. This amendment chooses to ignore the history." He just happened to have his pocket Constitution in hand during the tutorial to Cotton. "But," he said, continuing his lesson, "for the record, there is exactly one living senator who has effectively changed the size of the Supreme Court, he said. "That's Sen. McConnell, who shrank the court to eight seats for nearly a year in the last year of the Obama presidency by refusing to fill the Scalia vacancy."

Link to tweet

https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/tom-cotton/

Durbin just literally shoved it right back into Cotton's back side, you wanna talk about packing courts..............and he was being nice, I wouldn't be nice............asshole............

[SWBTATTReg]

1. I love this senator, with his pocket copy of the US Constitution. And I hate Cotton, who is

literally a scumbag...

[leftieNanner]

7. Yes. A scumbag who lied about his military service.

He has claimed that he was an Army Ranger, which is false. Apparently, many who serve in the Army go through some Ranger training, but not all of them become Army Rangers.

Too bad the Democrats couldn't recruit a good candidate to run against him last year.

[Yeehah]

44. Cotton completed Ranger School which means he's an Army Ranger

The article that was floating around recently was embarrassingly uninformed.

Cotton is a total scumbag and I hate him with the heat of 1,000 suns, but he is entitled to call himself an Army Ranger if he completed Ranger School. However - it is misleading for him to claim "service as an Army Ranger" if he did not serve in the Ranger Regiment.

Not a lie, but claiming "service as an Army Ranger" implies service in the Ranger Regiment.

[niyad]

26. He is also a traitor. One of the 47 senators who signed the Iran letter.

[SWBTATTReg]

30. FYI to those who don't know what Congressman Cotton did, on his own, authored a letter to Iran...

Here's the scope...thanks niyad for the reminder of cotton's traitorous actions...somehow I didn't think cotton became president somehow...

The open letter to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed by 47 senators and instigated by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was a stunning breach of protocol. ... Wash. Post.

More...

Monday’s open letter from 47 GOP senators marked an unusually public and aggressive attempt to undermine Obama and five world powers as negotiators try to strike an initial deal by the end of March to limit Iran’s nuclear programs.

Republicans say a deal would be insufficient and unenforceable, and they have made a series of proposals to undercut or block it — from requiring Senate say-so on any agreement to ordering new penalty sanctions against Iran or even making a pre-emptive declaration of war.

Exec. Branch is resp. for foreign relations. Tom Cotton on his own, wrote the letter to Iran, warning of of dire consequences etc., ignoring Barak Obama's authority as president at the time...

[niyad]

31. I remind him regularly that some of us have not forgotten.

[PatSeg]

2. Wow, well played Senator Durbin!

[MyOwnPeace]

3. Oh, yeah..............

Really nice to know that the Democratic Leadership is NOT going to let that disgusting move by Moscow Mitch be forgotten. He needs to have it thrown up in his face (as well as the rest of the RepubliCons) EVERY SINGLE TIME they even try to ram something through or delay a significant policy or vote.

NEVER FORGET!!!!!!

[AwakeAtLast]

4. That's my Senator!

[perfessor]

8. Mine too. Love him (oh and Duckworth too).

[AwakeAtLast]

10. Oh yes!

I made the best choice when I decided to move back to Illinois after living in Indiana for 25 years!

[ancianita]

21. Mine, too. He can really give a punch when he needs to, and with class.

[NoMoreRepugs]

5. Isn't cotton one of the RePutinican smartest guys in the room?

Just another ASSHAT.

[niyad]

27. Traitor.

[malaise]

6. schooled him

Rec

[leftieNanner]

9. Well done, Senator Durbin!!

The skeezy little guys need to learn their place.

[3catwoman3]

11. "Shrank the court to 8 seats."

BAM!!!

And would have kept it there if Hillary had been inaugurated as she should have been.

[Midnight Writer]

12. Men like Cotton and Hawley are undeniably smart, but they are not wise.

They have the arrogance to think they know it all, that they are the smartest person in the room, that they have nothing more to learn, that they are always right.

A wise man has the humility to recognize that there is always more to learn, that even the smartest are fallible, that there is always someone smarter than you, that there is no shame in acknowledging a mistake and changing course.

[machoneman]

32. Not wise, for sure. I found in my professional career that self-important weenies, thinking they...

...are the smartest men in the room, can always be easily maneuvered or literally out-smarted by those of us without those negative traits. Few women btw in my experience with government types and business executives show these stripes.

Oddly, their self-superiority complex is key to learning how to appeal to their over-weening personality while getting figuratively knifed in the back in Board rooms and key business meetings.

[murielm99]

13. I love my Senator!

Don't talk to me about term limits. Durbin has learned from experience, and brought all that experience to bear in the way he governs and legislates.

He is, in my experience, a very accessible Senator. He lives in Springfield. He is often surrounded by a group of young aides, all of whom he is mentoring. He was himself guided by the late, great Paul Simon. He mentored Cheri Bustos.

His wife runs a training group called IWIL. It helps women in all aspects of training in order to be future leaders.

https://iwiltrainingacademy.org/our-team/

[TomDaisy]

14. check out the resumes of some of the trump judges at Ratf*ckingTheCourts.com

Link to tweet

[turbinetree]

20. Wado................thank you

[nuxvomica]

15. LOL. Norman Bates gets schooled by The Velvet Fog

I love the way Durbin is so easy-mannered when he's skewering the bull-shitters.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

16. It was over a year. 2/13/16 - 4/10/17 with just 8 justices.

Just looked it up.

[cp]

17. Really enoying our Dems fighting back!

It's a very good look!
Thank you.

[dchill]

18. Smarty Pants!😁

[Marcuse]

19. He said he was an Airborne Ranger. He said he lived a life of danger.

[Cha]

22. KR!

[Dem2theMax]

23. Smackdown without actual blood.

So satisfying to watch that video clip.

[Blue Owl]

24. More of THIS!!!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

25. Thank you Senator Durbin! I think 15 is a nice number.

[turbinetree]

33. It has a nice ring to it 15........and that doesn't include the appeals courts or district courts

[BobTheSubgenius]

28. I am liking Mr. Durbin very much right now.

I promise to like anyone that happens to be tearing into Tom Cotton.

[Nitram]

29. "Sen. McConnell...shrank the court to eight seats for nearly a year in the last year of the Obama"

[turbinetree]

34. Just rubbing it in did he not ..........let's remind your party what your leader did

Thank you Senator Durbin..........

[Nitram]

36. I've been having a discussion with a Trump supporter online. This is the type of comeback I need.

[turbinetree]

37. Yeah they kinda forget that they have been just breaking the Constitution night and day

since their "guy" was leader, and to top it all off they had the backing of the Federalist Society, and one of their current members sitting on the bench let that lady go on vacation in Mexico, she tried to overthrow the government and he sends her off on her trip..........and then this classic from a former federal prosecutor..........no holds barred .......

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017638874

[Nitram]

38. Trump supporters "forget" a lot of stuff. Not surprising, I guess, if their sole source of "news" is

the right wing media.

[turbinetree]

39. And that's falling by the way side, sponsors are dropping them or the sponsors will be

boycotted............they made there bed and they need to be reminded that fascists are still fascist, its just that it's called the GOP/ drumpf

Did you send the clip to the right winger to see if he understood the how Kirshner explained the "justice" outline from the Federalist Society member.......he pretty much nailed it .............they don't follow the rule of law, they hide behind it...........

[Nitram]

41. The best thing that could happen to US democracy would be a dwindling of the influence of

right wing media.

[turbinetree]

42. And going back and taking another look at two things Fairness Doctrine and Citizens United

[Nitram]

45. Absolutely. Citizens United must be overturned/repealed/destroyed.

Money corrupt politics.

[turbinetree]

46. I truly believe that the Roberts Court and this Federalist Society bench

has put this country in the position that we now face, and yep money corrupts politics every time throughout the ages....everytime

[Bluethroughu]

35. Boom!

Love my Senators here in Illinois!

[spanone]

40. ⭐️K&R⭐️

[DFW]

43. Tom Cotton is rat poison

Actually, that is too abbreviated.

Tom Cotton is both a rat and poison.