. . .Democrats have likely lost this round as, barring unforeseen circumstances, the Senate will likely confirm Barrett to a lifetime appointment on the High Court.

Sure. Democrats could go to the mat like they did in the brawl two years ago with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But Democrats are playing the short game. Fate may have intervened and helped Republicans play the long game with Barrett. But Democrats look at the polls and like what they see. They suspect they’ll pick up north of ten House seats. Democrats have better than even odds to flip the Senate. And they like Joe Biden’s performance in the Upper Midwest, Pennsylvania, Florida – and even give him an opportunity in Texas and Georgia.

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So, Democrats don’t want to do anything to rattle voters at the last minute or present an opening to their political adversaries. So they’ll let the Barrett confirmation play out – and then meet the GOP at the polls. . . .

It’s customary for the Judiciary Committee to hold over the nomination of a Supreme Court nominee for a week. So after concluding hearings last week, the Judiciary Committee will again huddle to consider Barrett’s nomination at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 22.

This meeting is to jettison the nomination from committee to the floor, or, from a technical perspective, the Senate “calendar.”

This involves a vote from the committee – usually with some sort of guidance for the rest of the Senate.

A nominee does not have to have a “favorable” recommendation from the committee to go to the floor. Robert Bork received an “unfavorable” recommendation from the committee in 1987 (and was defeated on the floor). Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was sent to the floor with “no recommendation” in 1991 before the Senate confirmed him.

The committee will need a simple majority vote to advance the nomination to the full Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced he would put the nomination on the floor on Friday, October 23. . . .

McConnell must move to shift the Senate into executive session (versus legislative session) to specifically consider the Barrett nomination. Such a process likely requires a vote – but is not debatable (subject to a filibuster).

That vote could be by roll call, a voice vote or by unanimous consent (so long as there is no objection by any senator). Democrats could create some mischief at this stage by not having a quorum present or demanding a quorum be present. . . .

Once the Senate advances to executive session for Barrett, the Clerk “reports” (reads aloud) the nomination to the chamber.

There is no “motion to proceed” to this type of nomination. That’s based on a precedent set in the late 1970s by the late Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Thus, there is no way Democrats could filibuster by just starting a debate on the nomination. However, Democrats could try to filibuster on the back end. But they won’t get very far. . . .

You really can’t filibuster a Supreme Court nominee. In fact, there’s never been a filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee in U.S. history. That said, senators did filibuster an effort to elevate Abe Fortas from Associate Justice to Chief Justice in 1968. But Fortas was already on the High Court.

(Excerpt from Fox News. Article by Chad Pergram.)

The Latest on Amy Coney Barrett: 

A new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans support the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by a slim margin.

The poll, released Tuesday morning, revealed that 51% of participants said they are in favor of President Trump‘s latest nominee joining the high court, compared to 46% who are opposed. Just 3% said they do not have an opinion on the matter, the lowest number since Gallup started taking polls on Supreme Court nominees. . . .

Barrett’s 51% approval is higher than both of Trump’s previous nominees. Justice Neil Gorsuch received support from 45% of those polled when he was nominated, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh garnered 41%. In both of those situations, far more people stated they had no opinion. For Gorsuch, 23% had no opinion and 32% were opposed, and for Kavanaugh 22% had no opinion and 37% were opposed.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Barrett’s nomination on Thursday. The full Senate will then hold a vote on whether to confirm her to the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted Monday that he will make sure the process moves forward swiftly. . . .

A New York Times poll taken from Oct. 15-18 also touched on Supreme Court issues. Of those polled, more supported Barrett than opposed, with 44% in favor, 42% opposed, and 14% undecided. On the issue of whether the Senate should vote on Barrett’s confirmation before the election, 47% said yes compared to 39% who said they should wait and see if Trump wins in November.

(Excerpt from Fox News. Article by Ronn Blitzer. Photo Credit: Getty Images.)

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