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The Center for American Progress reports
After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) decision to prevent a president of the opposite party from nominating anyone to the Supreme Court, it's doubtful that any justice will ever be confirmed again when the presidency is controlled by a different party than the Senate. That means America will lurch back and forth between extended periods with a understaffed Supreme Court, followed by massive shifts in the law as one party fills a backlog of vacancies.
[...] Several states have shown that there is a better way [than what, it appears, will happen at the federal level from now on].
The Missouri plan
As America struggled through the Great Depression, Missouri's courts were a den of partisanship and corruption. As former Chief Justice of Missouri Michael Wolff explains, judges were "selected in elections in which nominees were chosen by political parties under a patronage system." In much of the state, judges were selected by a single machine party leader, "Boss" Tom Pendergast. Throughout Missouri, "judges were plagued by outside political influences, and dockets were congested due to the time the judges spent making political appearances and campaigning."
Frustrated with their politicized judiciary, the people of Missouri passed a ballot initiative replacing the state's corrupt process with a non-partisan coalition--at least for the state's top judges.
When a vacancy arises on the state's supreme court, a seven person commission consisting of "three lawyers elected by the lawyers of The Missouri Bar . . . three citizens selected by the governor, and the chief justice" submits three candidates to fill that vacancy to the state's governor. The governor then has 60 days to choose among those three names. If the governor fails to meet this deadline, the commission selects one of the three.
Finally, after a year of service, the newly appointed judge must survive a retention election, where a majority of the electorate can cast them out of office--though this only happens rarely.
This method of judicial selection, as well as variants upon it, was adopted by many states since its inception in Missouri.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:21PM (10 children)
The house and senate openly display that they no longer care what the people think. They don't even try to hide it any more.
The Republicans have shown that they no longer have even a pretense of fair play. (Not that I think the Democrats are angels.)
So expect this to go exactly nowhere.
Our government no longer functions. It is broken. IMO it is beyond the point where it can be fixed. It will spiral out of control. Count on it.
It is because (most) people celebrate and embrace ignorance. Reject science. Embrace conspiracy theories and reality TV. Will vote for whoever tells them the best lies. The biggest lies. I promise. Trust me. Using the language of a con man. Believe me.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:28PM (9 children)
The word you want to use is 'whomever'.
(Score: 1) by DannyB on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:35PM
Thank you.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:38PM (1 child)
The word you want to use is 'whomever'.
Whatever.
(Score: 1) by DannyB on Thursday April 13 2017, @02:44PM
Yes, "whatever" would work in that sentence. :-)
> Will vote for whoever tells them the best lies.
Will vote for whomever tells them the best lies.
Will vote for whatever tells them the best lies.
Please vote for your favorite corporate controlled robot candidate today! (And I'm talking present day, not some future technology.)
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @03:18PM (5 children)
Actually whoever is correct. It is the subject of the verb "tells" and that entire clause is then the object of the preposition.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @06:37PM
The preceding comments are owned by whoever posted them.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday April 13 2017, @08:04PM (3 children)
Yep.
Simple rule of thumb: If the answer is He, use Who. If the answer is Him, use Whom.
Q: Who tells the best lies?
A: He tells the best lies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @09:41PM (2 children)
The word 'whoever' is being used as the indirect object of the encompassing clause, which is incorrect.
It should be 'whomever'.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 14 2017, @02:33AM (1 child)
Nope, the indirect object of the clause "whoever tells them the biggest lies" is them as they are the recipients of the direct object (the biggest) lies.
Action: tells
Subject (aka noun that performs the action): whoever
Direct object (aka what is being ed): lies are what are being told
Indirect object (aka recipient of the action): them
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 14 2017, @12:50PM
That 'whoever' should be 'whomever': Most people will vote for whomever tells them the best lies.