Today, the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) honors its 2019 Betty Murphy Award Recipient: Mike Davis. In the RNLA's Press Release today:

This is the first in a series of posts summarizing 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' views on judges and the courts.  All posts in this series can be viewed here.

Senator Kamala Harris on Judges

A litmus test for 2020 Democratic Presidential candidates has become the issue of court packing.  As 2016 Republican Presidential candidate and Florida Senator Marco Rubio pointed out in a recent op-ed:

Court packing is quickly becoming a litmus test for 2020 Democratic candidates as this ugly, winner-take-all rhetoric gains prominence in progressive circles.

Our nation may not be on the brink of civil war or dissolution, but we are suffering a crisis of confidence and we cannot withstand further erosion of trust in one another and our institutions.  The rhetoric used by some of my Democratic colleagues that suggests our institutions are increasingly unable to resolve modern society’s conflicts is dangerous.

Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republican Senators have had enough of the obstruction by Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer.  Here are a few of the numbers:

• Until 1968, cloture had never been required for any nomination. By 1978, it had been required for two (2).
• During the first two years of the last six (6) presidential administrations before President Trump (dating to 1977), 24 total cloture votes had to be held on nominations.  The first two years of President Trump’s administration: 128 cloture votes had to be held on nominations.
• These cloture votes are not for “controversial nominees.” The list includes 42 different executive branch positions that were forced to endure cloture votes for the first time ever, including:  Assistant Secretaries and Agency General Counsels.

Now that the Mueller report has confirmed that there is no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, what will change and what will remain the same in the political landscape?  First, as RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen pointed out yesterday, Democrats will continue to cast doubt on the 2016 election because they still cannot accept that Hillary Clinton lost to President Trump.  The collusion narrative was one way how they justified this inconceivable loss, and being a "sore loser" has become a feature of the modern Democratic Party establishment:

Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Rucho v. Common Cause, a partisan gerrymandering claim against North Carolina's congressional map, and Lamone v. Benisek, a First Amendment retaliation partisan gerrymandering claim against one Maryland state legislative district.  Both cases were before the Court last term and were sent back to the district courts for further proceedings.  As in the past, today the justices continued to search for a justiciably manageable standard for considering partisan gerrymandering claims:

After a long wait, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion is finally complete and a summary by Attorney General Bill Barr has been released.  RNLA's Vice President for Communications Harmeet Dhillon appeared on Fox News over the weekend to analyze the Mueller report and how the Democrats' "hysterical" claims have been shown to be false:

Today, President Trump struck back against the efforts of Democrats and liberals to limit free speech and debate.  President Trump issued an order to protect free speech on college campuses.  As RNLA Vice President for Communications Harmeet Dhillon tweeted:

⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ announcing historic executive order holding colleges and universities accountable for suppressing free speech and for ripping off students and burdening them with debt for degrees of low value. Time for transparency and accountability in higher education! pic.twitter.com/Fkw2sZPTFX

— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) March 21, 2019

Currently, New York attorney Michael Park is pending on the Senate floor in queue for an upcoming final confirmation vote. Mr. Park was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in November 2018 and re-nominated at the start of this new session of Congress, after Senate Democrats delayed his confirmation process as part of their overall unprecedented nomination obstruction tactics.

Due to the leadership of Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins, new light is being shone on the partisan and biased Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI under President Obama.  Rep. Collins released the transcripts of testimony of former FBI lawyer Lisa Page.  During questioning by Rep. John Radcliffe, she stated:

Lisa Page confirmed to me under oath that the FBI was ordered by the Obama DOJ not to consider charging Hillary Clinton for gross negligence in the handling of classified information. pic.twitter.com/KPQKINBtrB

— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) March 13, 2019