But we gotta win the Senate in 18 to block any further potential SCOTUS erosion ... and then the WH in 2020!

they have zero say in it because they were the ones that made this decision that 60 votes was not needed.

You want someone in their 40's/50's to get a couple of decades worth of time on the court.

that would erupt from the Repugnants if it would happen?

Gorsuch would have more legitimacy if Judge Garland had been confirmed
and Gorsuch were the next nominee

This is against everything out civics classes taught about filibuster, and about
the rights of the minority, and Federalist No. 10

We now have a dictatorship

since Nov. 8 last year, I have had a silly hope that there are a few Republicans in Congress who love this country and our democracy more than their party. that hope is fading away. Yes, we have a lot of Democratic heroes, and we have a truly mobilized and impassioned citizenry, but the combination of a Putin wannabe in the White House, and a party that is determined to erase the legacies of most Democrats back to FDR, we are in a terrifying place.

This is not democracy.

This is the rule of wealth.

It's going to be a long long long time before we have 67 votes in the Senate and those 67 all agree on something as goofy as impeaching a Justice for plagiarism. Under the circumstances, there is virtually no chance that the House, even if the Democrats regain a majority, would bother with an impeachment trial over something as inconsequential as plagiarism, particularly where the person whose work was plagiarized doesn't see it as an issue.

I hope McConnell suffers some serious karma some day. I'm so sick of Republicans cheating, stealing, and being over all evil pieces of crap and always getting away with it.

only being able to change the rules of the Senate during the first initial meeting,

and that those rules were operative for the remainder of the Congress until the next election

What happened to those rules?

This is like going the posted speed limit in a 45 MPH zone, only to be stopped for a ticket
and given a summons for being 20 miles over because the rules were changed while you
were driving

Reid and the Democrats claimed those circumstances existed and thus were able to go nuclear on a limited basis (executive branch appointments and judicial nominations other than Supreme Court). Now the repubs have turned the tables and claimed that the circumstances warrant a mid-session change in the rules. And just as there was no way for the repubs to stop Reid's move, there was no way for the Democrats to stop McConnell's.

regarding the republicans killing democracy.

No holds barred going forward. Screw civic discourse and accommodation for the good of all! In my mind, any elected federal democrat who doesn't take this view isn't a democrat.

Gorsuch's now inevitable appointment is illegitimate!

the Bastard of the Court.

ANARCHISM!

Will grumbling result in action?

I vote in every election.
(OK - I missed this year's school board one)

So many people I meet did not vote last year.

Republicans will come out to vote in the middle of firestorm tornado while a tsunami is also happening and possibly an earthquake. And they'll vote for whomever has the R next to their name.

Our side? We complain about imperfect candidates and whine and then wonder what happened.

It had previously been invoked on a limited basis by Harry Reid to prevent repub obstruction of Obama's judicial and executive branch appointments (with a carve out allowing filibusters of Supreme Court nominees). Many people here wanted Reid to go further and kill the filibuster altogether so it couldn't be used to block legislation or SCOTUS nominees. Of course, when Trump became president and began nominating all sorts of numbnuts to executive branch positions, there was a modicum of regret for Reid's move, since it meant we couldn't block those awful nominations via the filibuster route. What goes around comes around, as they say.

Now the repubs are in power and the filibuster is being used by our side to block Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court. And the repubs have "gone nuclear" by eliminating the carve out for Supreme Court nominees. The filibuster still remains alive (but on life support) for ordinary legislation. I wouldn't bet the ranch on the filibuster for ordinary legislation surviving.

The Senate is in a cycle of self-destruction. Where and how it stops is anyone's guess.

to pave the way for someone 45 years old

They've planned for 50 years

since someone is alerting on damn near everything I say, so all I'll say is it's a shame...