Harry Reid’s nuclear option has caused a lot of damage -- and the worst is yet to come.

In March, I wrote a piece entitled “Obama and the Democrats Plot to Control America,” detailing actions they have taken to cement a legacy of leftism that will impact America for years to come. One of those tactics was Senate Majority Leader’s use of the “nuclear option” to confirm federal judges by a simple majority of Senators, neutering the long-established role of the filibuster, enabling minorities to check the power of the majority to place nominees into positions of power.

Democrats have used the filibuster to check Republicans when they have been in power, and both Harry Reid and Barack Obama have publicly extolled the value of the filibuster as a key aspect of democracy.

But then they decided it was an impediment to their power grab and threw it into the dustbin of history. Once that occurred, Reid and the Democrats went into overdrive to populate the federal courts with left-wing judges (who have lifetime tenure).

Now the damage is becoming more visible.

Alexander Bolton of The Hill writes in “Reid Hits the Gas on Nominees”:

The federal judiciary has swung to the left as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has confirmed President Obama’s judicial nominees at a torrid pace in recent weeks.

Reid has put his foot on the gas to ensure that Obama will leave his imprint on the courts even if Democrats lose control of Senate in November, which some political handicappers say is probable.

If Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) becomes majority leader next year, Democrats fear he would slow the pace of judicial branch confirmations dramatically.

The Senate confirmed 22 of Obama’s court picks, including five appellate court nominees, in the work period that began on April 28 and ended Thursday.

At the start of Obama’s first term, 10 of the nation’s 13 circuit courts had a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents and only one, the 9^th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California, had a majority of Democratic appointees. The 2^nd and 3^rd circuits were evenly split.

Currently, nine circuit courts have a majority of Democratic-appointed judges while only four have a majority of Republican picks. The data was compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a group that tracks the third branch.

“There are now 67 vacancies. We haven’t been that low for five years. That tells us that the nuclear option’s detonation in November has allowed the Democrats to confirm many more nominees than they have been [doing],” said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond’s law school, who tracks judicial nominees.

Reid used a rare procedural tactic known as the nuclear option in November to strip Republicans of the ability to filibuster circuit and district court nominees.  Supreme Court nominees are still subject to a 60-vote threshold before moving to a final vote.

One can be confident that should the opportunity present itself -- perhaps through the retirement of Justice Ginsberg (some liberals have been advocating her retirement before the midterms that may flip the Senate to GOP-control) -- Reid will dispense with the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations.

As Professor Tobias notes, “It’s an important legacy the president has. Long after he’s left the White House, they’ll still be deciding cases.”


That fact alone (let alone a myriad of other worrisome power grabs) highlights how vitally important it is for the future of America for the Republicans to control the Senate after the midterms and demote Reid to merely being one more cranky, nutty Senator spouting off his paranoia from the peanut gallery.