Confirmation hearing of Blair for Lincoln Associate SC Justice

[Lachi]

I agree.

All in favor of confirming Blair as Lincoln Associate SC Justice say AYE.
Any of the contrary say NAY
--------------------

AYE

[Blair]

To get a small closing statement in I'd like to thank Governor Wells for nominating me to the Supreme Court; and as I've said before I very much hope that the Assembly will accept my nomination. I've served the region of Lincoln in virtually every position; as Assembly member, as Speaker, as Senator, as Governor and I was proud to serve all Atlasians when I was President. I've sat on the committees that helped build our legal system in Atlasia, and Lincoln.

To again blow my own trumpet, my experience in Atlasia across all branches of government, my history for standing up and putting the interests of the game first (such as impeaching members of my own party) demonstrates that I would be able to serve effectively and independently on the court.

My approach to the court will be simple; it will be non-partisan; and I would sit as an independent.  I know that I'd be the newest member of the court so I'd reach out to my fellow Justices for advice; I've already reached out to several figures across ideological lines to ask them about the Supreme Court, and to build on my knowledge. I'm delighted that I've managed to get support from across party lines; and I very much hope that you accept my nomination.

I'll leave with the words of the late Labour leader John Smith; 'an opportunity to serve is all we ask'

[RC (a la Frémont)]

With all due respect to Blair, I'm going to Abstain my vote.

[kyc0705]

With all due respect to Blair, I'm going to Abstain my vote.

I'm afraid I must do the same, and abstain from casting a vote.

[Wells]

Well that was a fun confirmation hearing. I'd like to thank Mr. Reactionary and nobody else for asking good questions. Now I've decided to start another hearing, but Blair isn't the main subject of this one. Instead it is the Assemblymen. I have a few questions for you.

To Lok: Can you explain why you have a staggering 0 posts on the first page of this thread? And could you also explain what motivated you to vote yes, because I have no idea since you didn't participate in debate or questioning and haven't explained your vote.

To ReaganClinton: What is your reasoning for your abstention? And what sorts of questions would you have bothered to ask Blair if you figured out the point of a confirmation hearing is to ask questions?

To Kyc: What part of this thread, which I'm sure you did closely monitor, made you decide that you weren't going to vote Aye? And which part convinced you to not vote Nay?

I have a few reasons for doing this. The first is that none of you asked any questions or really posted anything very insightful or shared a real opinion in this thread. Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices are a big deal, so I thought you guys would at least do something substantial, which would have showed that you realize or care about this fact. Second, are you guys really abstaining on this? Either you think Blair would make a good justice or you don't, and if you really don't know, then you could have thought about why you weren't sure and asked him a question about it. Like you were supposed to do.

Maybe because it is Halloween time you think you'll be all mysterious and vote one way or another without any explanation, but that is not going to happen in something that is arguably more important than anything you've ever done in Atlasia.

I just imagine if a real confirmations hearing went like this: the appointee walks in for questioning and after he thoroughly and reasonably answers questions from some unrelated person, everyone just sits around for six days while the appointee comes up with thorough and well-thought out statements without the legislature doing what they would be paid in real life to do.

[kyc0705]

To Kyc: What part of this thread, which I'm sure you did closely monitor, made you decide that you weren't going to vote Aye? And which part convinced you to not vote Nay?

The hearing ended and I was not moved, to put it simply. I have great respect for Blair, but what I saw in this thread were ad hoc decisions—to sit as an independent, to suspend the Assembly campaign on the condition of confirmation—which demonstrated a lack of forethought at the gravity of the nomination. I must be compelled to vote strictly for or strictly against a measure or motion. 

I will not make a decision dishonestly; to confuse that with inaction, or a supposed desire to be "mysterious," as you have, is something that is patently untrue. I'm sorry this did not end in the way you or others may have preferred, but my commitment to the voters of Lincoln and my desire to be as unbiased, nonpartisan, and pragmatic as possible overrides manufactured generosity, or manufactured rejection.

Finally, I will not ask questions which have already been asked, nor will I clutter the discussion with irrelevant comments. I had nothing to add, so I remained silent and observed the flow of discussion. I don't see how that puts me at a disadvantage. The ability to carefully listen is sorely underrated in this day and age.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Unless the Assembly has adopted some bizarre new standard for voting since I left the region, these abstentions did not "kill" the nomination, because the Ayes (1) outnumber the Nays (0).

The members of my own region's legislature know how I feel about "silent nays," and while I'm happy to let Mike fight the good fight here, the etiquette of the unexplained abstention is right up there with breaking up by text in my book. When a nominee invests evident time and effort in crafting a thoughtful argument for their confirmation (as Blair did here), should the legislature elect to withhold support, they owe it to them to explain – in their own words – why they are doing so. Anything else is disrespectful of the nominee's time and service, and adding "with all due respect" to one's post doesn't really cut it.

I don't mean any personal animosity towards KYC or Reagan Clinton (the former of whom I have endorsed for reelection), but as someone who has been a legislator, nominator, and nominee on multiple occasions before, I felt personally obliged to say something here.

[RC (a la Frémont)]

To ReaganClinton: What is your reasoning for your abstention? And what sorts of questions would you have bothered to ask Blair if you figured out the point of a confirmation hearing is to ask questions?  

Governor, I must say that my abstention from voting was due to a few things. First of all, I'd like to say I respect former President Blair, but I believe he just has "too many fingers in the Atlasian government pie," and on a personal level, would like a more conservative Associate Justice in the court, a politician akin to Fmr. Lt. Gov. ClarkKent, if you will.

Secondly, I'll address your statement. My vote wasn't an easy choice, by far one of my hardest decisions in my short career as an assemblyman. As a former Laborite, I looked up to Blair as a good example of leadership, and I still do, but I came into this Assembly hoping to reform Lincoln, and sticking a run-of-the-mill, laborite politician that has done everything in the book is not doing that, regardless of if they would've sat as an Independent mind.

Now, what sort of questions would I've asked Blair? Well, how would he have made Lincoln a better place? An ambiguous question, for sure, but hear me out. Hitting on some of my points from earlier, he's been in every office imaginable, Governor, Representative, Senator, Vice President, President. A solid career, yes, my point is what would he bring to Lincoln what hasn't worked or not already? My line of thought is that he would be aligned with the Labor politicians beforehand, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and bring the region down a bit with old ideas that may not work in modern atlas politics.

what sorts of questions would you have bothered to ask Blair if you figured out the point of a confirmation hearing is to ask questions?

Finally, Mike, I'm not an idiot. I know a confirmation hearing is meant for asking questions to the nominee. I don't appreciate the way you phrased this, In my opinion, it was very unprofessional.

Unless the Assembly has adopted some bizarre new standard for voting since I left the region, these abstentions did not "kill" the nomination, because the Ayes (1) outnumber the Nays (0).

The members of my own region's legislature know how I feel about "silent nays," and while I'm happy to let Mike fight the good fight here, the etiquette of the unexplained abstention is right up there with breaking up by text in my book. When a nominee invests evident time and effort in crafting a thoughtful argument for their confirmation (as Blair did here), should the legislature elect to withhold support, they owe it to them to explain – in their own words – why they are doing so...

With all due respects, Prime Minister, there still isn't a majority of votes for the nominee to be confirmed. Now, I'm not the one who decides the rules on voting, but in time, I'm sure the Speaker will decide what is and isn't right. Addressing your other claims, by the time you responded, K.Y.C. already responded to why he abstained, and I was drafting mine. Now that the responses are out there, your claim holds no weight. Finally, I'd like to say that I don't think you have a place in being here. You govern Fremont, we govern Lincoln. This is official Lincoln government affairs that I don't think should be tampered with by other officials.

Good day to my assembly colleagues, Governor Wells, former President Blair, and PM Truman.

[Wells]

To Kyc: What part of this thread, which I'm sure you did closely monitor, made you decide that you weren't going to vote Aye? And which part convinced you to not vote Nay?

The hearing ended and I was not moved, to put it simply. I have great respect for Blair, but what I saw in this thread were ad hoc decisions—to sit as an independent, to suspend the Assembly campaign on the condition of confirmation—which demonstrated a lack of forethought at the gravity of the nomination. I must be compelled to vote strictly for or strictly against a nomination. My abstention did have the effect of killing the nomination, but only because of the order in which I voted.

I will not make a decision dishonestly; to confuse that with inaction, or a supposed desire to be "mysterious," as you have, is something that is simply untrue. I'm sorry this did not end in the way you may have preferred, but my commitment to the voters of Lincoln and my desire to be as unbiased, nonpartisan, and pragmatic as possible overrides manufactured generosity, or manufactured rejection.

I typed out arguments against this because I find this highly unconvincing. But I've decided not to post it right now.

ReaganClinton had a good response to my post on the other hand. It was well-written and made good points for the most part. Anyway, I would like to apologize for the combative-ish wording of that post.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With all due respects, Prime Minister, there still isn't a majority of votes for the nominee to be confirmed.

Yes, actually, there is; of the delegates voting "yes" or "no", one hundred percent voted for confirmation. Any argument to the contrary rests upon the supposition that an abstention is the same as a no, which is never how this has worked — I can cite two years' personal experience as a legislator to the contrary. The Mideast Assembly, the Senate, the Constitutional Convention, the Northern Legislative Committee, the Fremont Legislative Assembly, the Fremont House of Commons, and the House of Representatives all operated upon the same principle during my service in those bodies — all matters (including votes to confirm supreme court justices) are decided by a majority of "ayes" and "nays." An abstention is no more than a fancy way of saying "I don't care what happens" while preserving your perfect voting record.

Now that the responses are out there, your claim holds no weight.

I'm pretty sure that if I handed in my midterm exam six days late, my professor would not be impressed by this argument, but OK. I'm glad you did finally state your reasons publicly.

Finally, I'd like to say that I don't think you have a place in being here. You govern Fremont, we govern Lincoln.

Good point! It's not like I wrote the Northern Constitution or anything.

[RC (a la Frémont)]

ReaganClinton had a good response to my post on the other hand. It was well-written and made good points for the most part. Anyway, I would like to apologize for the combative-ish wording of that post.

Governor, I appreciate and accept your apology.

As for you, Truman, I won't continue the argument, but I will say that I don't appreciate the snark. You do not belong here debating in Lincoln's regional government. Period.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Voting has now finished.

1 Aye
2 Abstentions

Am I to assume you consider the nominee to be confirmed

[Leinad]

Voting has now finished.

1 Aye
2 Abstentions

Am I to assume you consider the nominee to be confirmed

...why would that be assumed?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

(source)

It says "majority of the legislative power thereof" not "majority of the legislators voting" or whatever, so it seems to me that a majority of the chamber voting aye actually is a requirement. Am I wrong here?

[Lachi]

I realise that I have screwed up massively here.

I will be deleting that post.

[Blair]

To Kyc: What part of this thread, which I'm sure you did closely monitor, made you decide that you weren't going to vote Aye? And which part convinced you to not vote Nay?

The hearing ended and I was not moved, to put it simply. I have great respect for Blair, but what I saw in this thread were ad hoc decisions—to sit as an independent, to suspend the Assembly campaign on the condition of confirmation—which demonstrated a lack of forethought at the gravity of the nomination. I must be compelled to vote strictly for or strictly against a measure or motion. 

I will not make a decision dishonestly; to confuse that with inaction, or a supposed desire to be "mysterious," as you have, is something that is patently untrue. I'm sorry this did not end in the way you or others may have preferred, but my commitment to the voters of Lincoln and my desire to be as unbiased, nonpartisan, and pragmatic as possible overrides manufactured generosity, or manufactured rejection.

Finally, I will not ask questions which have already been asked, nor will I clutter the discussion with irrelevant comments. I had nothing to add, so I remained silent and observed the flow of discussion. I don't see how that puts me at a disadvantage. The ability to carefully listen is sorely underrated in this day and age.

My actions were intended to demonstrate the gravity of a nomination; and in the case of my assembly run it was specifically because as ReaganClinton mentioned there would be an evident bias  if I served in the Assembly if I served in the court, and the Assembly; as I would be the only judicial officer if a citizen of Lincoln decided to sue the Assembly meaning that I'd have to recuse myself from the case... if it was an Associate Justice position at the Federal level it would be much easier for me to hold the Assembly position; but I think bluntly that it could cause a major crisis if I served in the Assembly, and the Supreme Court. In this case I think it was better me for me to end my run for the Assembly; rather than continue it to try and keep my pride up, or whatever, and then run into legal

I wanted to run for the Assembly; especially as when I announced we only had 1 other candidate, and the Assembly is going to need to get a lot of difficult things done. But when the court vacancy came up I thought it would give a good opportunity for me to continue my service to Lincoln. 

I must admit I'm slightly surprised to be surprised a 'run of the mill labor politician' by ReaganClinton, and also an an 'ineffective laborite' when frankly, to blow my own trumpet, I'm one of only two Labor Politicians in the last two years who's managed to win an election to the Presidency, and one who spend about 6 months of the game restoring the former Northeast and North to glory; back when we had an active Assembly with 5 members, a full cabinet, an economic stimulus, a budget, trade visits, tours and conferences to other regions, lobbying efforts in the House and Senate. When I was Governor of the old North it certainly wasn't a 'run of the mill' region because I put in a lot of hard work, and frankly a lot of time, in doing the preparation and getting things to work. I'd bring that attitude to the court; it worked in the past when I did it in Atlasia, and frankly I think it will work in the future.

But point aside this is a judicial position; and I was slightly surprised by the lack of judicial questions. I'm sure that you looked at the responses on the the answer I gave; which were I'd say largely within the mainstream of Atlasian Politics (recognizing the 2nd amendment as it was written, upholding freedom of speech, upholding privacy etc)

[Adam Griffin]

Boy, there's a whole lot of words in this thread that could've just as easily been expressed as "I did what the President and her online boyfriend told me to do"

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Yep, this is all dfwshadylover's fault, can't be another bout of labor incompetence or anything like that, impossible.

[Adam Griffin]

Yep, this is all dfwshadylover's fault, can't be another bout of labor incompetence or anything like that, impossible.

Wow, it only took somebody who's totally not involved a grand total of 89 seconds to respond and assert his innocence - truly amazing!

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Yep, this is all dfwshadylover's fault, can't be another bout of labor incompetence or anything like that, impossible.

Wow, it only took somebody who's totally not involved a grand total of 89 seconds to respond and assert his innocence - truly amazing!

lol we both know I stalk you on who's online like the total Atlasian I am

[Adam Griffin]

Yep, this is all dfwshadylover's fault, can't be another bout of labor incompetence or anything like that, impossible.

Wow, it only took somebody who's totally not involved a grand total of 89 seconds to respond and assert his innocence - truly amazing!

lol we both know I stalk you on who's online like the total Atlasian I am

(Creepy) excuses, excuses

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Yep, this is all dfwshadylover's fault, can't be another bout of labor incompetence or anything like that, impossible.

Wow, it only took somebody who's totally not involved a grand total of 89 seconds to respond and assert his innocence - truly amazing!

lol we both know I stalk you on who's online like the total Atlasian I am

(Creepy) excuses, excuses

[windjammer]

I have a bad feeling and no matter if he has been actually confirmed or not, I don't see the post? The Supreme Court is going to have a vacant seat for a long time.

[fhtagn]

Boy, there's a whole lot of words in this thread that could've just as easily been expressed as "I did what the President and her online boyfriend told me to do"

You really need to get over this unhealthy obsession with me.

[Lachi]

Griffin, that jab wasn't necessary.

[Blair]

With all due respect to Blair, I'm going to Abstain my vote.

sticking a run-of-the-mill, laborite politician

...keep another ineffective Laborite out of the courts.

Anyways, that's it for now. Thanks for reading, and more updates are soon to come!
-AM ReaganClinton

Don't say with all due respect and then insult me.