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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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Tuesday's program began with President Trump's live announcement from the White House that he is nominating 49-year-old Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Judge Gorsuch, a conservative jurist, is a Colorado native who sits on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. President Trump laid out the magnitude of his decision and effusively praised Gorsuch's scholarship, judicial record, clarity, and commitment to helping poor defendants. "He could have had any job at any law firm for any amount of money," President Trump said, "but what he wanted to do with his career was to be a judge, to write decisions, and to make an impact by upholding our laws and the Constitutions." The president also urged Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to come together and confirm Neil Gorsuch.
After thanking the president, Judge Gorsuch said this: "Acutely aware of my own imperfections, I pledge that if I am confirmed I will do all that my powers permit to be a faithful servant to the Constitution and laws of this great country." He also described the Constitution as "the greatest charter of human liberty the world has ever known" and added that he looks forward to speaking with Senators of both parties.
After the ceremony and Judge Gorsuch's remarks, The Factor said this: "I don't know the judge, but I did have dinner with Justice Scalia. From what I understand, Judge Gorsuch is very much in the same mindset as Antonin Scalia. He believes he is not in the business of making laws, while the progressive wing of the court believes that the Constitution evolves and is applied to society at that time. For example, the Founding Fathers never put abortion into the Constitution but the Supreme Court legalized abortion." The Factor also laid out the dilemma now facing Senate Democrats. "Donald Trump did a very shrewd thing and he put the Democratic Party in a tough spot. He said this is a man who is beyond reproach and a man who loves his country and really deserves respect. The Democrats who will attack Judge Gorsuch will have to be careful not to disrespect him in their opposition, and there will be opposition. If you are a betting person, it's 10 - 1 in favor of him being confirmed." |
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Fox News anchor Bret Baier joined The Factor with more on the upcoming confirmation process. "Democrats changed the rules," he began, "so that it only requires 51 votes instead of 60 to get cabinet nominees through, but they did not do that 'nuclear option' for Supreme Court nominees. There will be an effort by Democrats to filibuster this nominee because he is only 49 years old and in the mold of Justice Scalia. There are some huge cases on pause and another conservative judge will almost make these rulings go in the conservative direction. But if it reaches the point where Democrats are filibustering Judge Gorsuch, Republicans can invoke the nuclear option and confirmation would only require 51 votes. The Democrats will have a problem because they have ten Senators up for reelection where Donald Trump won more than 60% of the counties, and those Senators will feel a lot of pressure in those states." Baier looked ahead to a bruising and hugely expensive campaign both for and against Judge Gorsuch. "There will be a massive social media and email campaign, there will be television ads, there will be canvassing in the states where these Democrats are facing reelection. Both sides will spend hundreds of millions of dollars! Many nominees get attacked in unbelievable ways, and there will be outside groups that definitely try to go after him."
For more on the nomination and Judge Gorsuch, The Factor turned to Fox News Supreme Court correspondent Shannon Bream. "If my inbox is any indication," she said, "I have already received dozens of emails from groups. People on the left say they are very concerned and most of them are pro-choice groups. Judge Gorsuch has been very critical of the left, and they are already saying he is unqualified and calling on Democrats in the Senate to vote against him. " The Factor was amazed, asking, "How can they say he's possibly unqualified when this guy is sitting on the Federal Appeals Court, has a sterling record, and has the best education on the planet?" |
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| The Factor asked FNC's Martha MacCallum to outline the divide in the Supreme Court. There are 'originalists' who believe the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution as a basis for making laws through history. Liberal judges believe there is room for interpretation based on the changing mores of the country. Judge Gorsuch falls into the 'originalist' category, which is why he does so well on the 'Scalia-ness' test. He appears to be a true originalist and very much like Antonin Scalia." MacCallum added that 80-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy may retire now that there is a Republican president who would name his replacement. But The Factor predicted, "Justice Kennedy will stay on the court to mentor Justice Gorsuch, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83 and she may retire before Kennedy." |
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Charles Krauthammer entered the No Spin Zone with his analysis of the nomination. "The way that you smear a candidate for the Supreme Court," Dr. K said, "is not by saying he is a secret wife abuser. You do it by taking the outcome of his rulings and pretending that was willed by the judge. For example, you take the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who do not want to give contraceptives as part of their health care plan. In your 30-second ad, you say Judge Gorsuch is a theocrat, a man who wants to see people denied contraceptives and who wants to be able to see religious extremists impose their views on their employees." The Factor lamented, "I expect the bomb-throwers to come out right away saying he's a misogynist and doesn't like gay people, they'll try to besmirch him as bad and evil." Nevertheless, Krauthammer called Judge Gorsuch's nomination a "slam dunk."
Juan Williams and Lisa Boothe also analyzed the coming fight over Justice Gorsuch's nomination. "The base of the Democratic Party," Williams said, "wants to see some fight out of the Democrats. The Republicans recently sat on the nomination of Merrick Garland, which led one Democratic Senator to say today that this seat has been 'stolen' by the Republicans." Boothe suggested that a few Democratic Senators may well vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch. "The Democratic Party as a whole is irrelevant here, what really matters is getting the eight Democratic Senators that the Republicans need to break a filibuster. The Republicans will go after Democratic Senators running in states where Donald Trump won by double-digits." |
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Peter Aliferis, Ottawa, Canada: "I feel better with the order Trump made, and I'm in Canada."
Don Parkins, Tyler, TX: "Charles Krauthammer is not gaining any support when he criticizes our new president. Kick him off the show, I say."
Nancy Berlet, Glastonbury, CT: "Protecting Americans is priority number one, but the nobility of our nation demands we help suffering people if we can. Bill, you summed up the situation perfectly." |
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| The United Kingdom's government-run National Health Service will no longer call pregnant women "expectant mothers" because some biological women who identify as men may be offended by the term "mother." Insane, but true! |
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