CSI: American Carnage (Nov. 16, 2020)
“We’re going to clean the plate, clean all the district judges off as well.”
NEW YORK — The Times guy stares at the Zoom screen. The Post guy stares back. He says, Mitch is happy for Donald to whine and jump up and down about the election results. He doesn’t care. The Times guy, sipping his BrewDog, says, Why not? The Post guy says, Mitch cares about nothing but judges. He sees his destiny in the motley crew he’s appointing. He knows Donald has no case for election fraud. But there is the power of distraction. Donald as loser is a great distraction. The Times guy says, That’s funny. Donald himself becomes his own distraction. It’s too true. You’ve got over 11 million with COVID. You’ve got nearly 250,000 dead. The Post guy says, Mitch sees that as the ultimate distraction. The Ds can shout all they want about their relief bill. They can label Mitch the grim reaper. But every time they say Mitch is focused on confirming more anti-choice, anti-healthcare Trump judges, Mitch inches closer to his goal. His people want him to do exactly what he’s doing. First thing after the election, what does the Senate do? They approve this character Knepp for the Northern District of Ohio. First thing! Don’t forget Mitch said, “We’re going to run through the tape. We go through the end of the year. We’re going to clean the plate, clean all the district judges off as well.” He’s going to fill all the circuits and light us up for Christmas. The Senate has already confirmed 221 judges nominated by Trump – three to the Supremes, 163 to district courts, and 53 to appeals courts. Remember Mitch cackled about it a few weeks ago. He said, “They won’t be able to do much about this for a long time to come.”Mitch has got 11 district court nominees waiting for a Senate votes: Fernando Aenlle-Rocha, Stephen Vaden, Jennifer Togliatti, Barbara Bailey Jongbloed, Shireen Matthews, Aileen Cannon, Toby Crouse, Philip Calabrese, Kristi Johnson, Taylor McNeel, Benjamin Beaton and Kathryn Kimball Mizelle. The Times guy says, Mizelle is winner. She’s 33. Never tried a case. Not recommended by the bar association. She’s gonna be a district judge in Florida? She was 14 on 9/11. She wasn’t even born during the Mariel Boatlift. Does she know who Elián Gonzalez might be? The Post guy says, What does Mitch care? She’s a kid herself, easily manipulated. A perfect judge. The Times guy takes a deep drink from his beer. So, what are the D chances in Georgia? The Post guy says, Beats me. I’m not a betting man, but I wouldn’t bet against Stacey Abrams. The Times guy cocks his head and looks quizzically at his friend, so far away, yet there, in his apartment late at night.