THIS IS WHAT IT'S ABOUT – AT 12:42 P.M. ET:  President Trump, working through a Republican Senate, is remaking the federal judiciary, in our direction.  From The Politico: 

Senate Democrats accepted an offer Thursday from Senate Republicans to confirm 15 lifetime federal judges in exchange for the ability to go into recess through the midterms, allowing endangered Democrats to campaign.

The calculation by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus was simple: That Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be able to confirm roughly 15 judges if he kept the Senate in session for the next few weeks anyway. So Democrats OK’d an offer to confirm three Circuit Court judges and 12 District Court judges as the price to pay to go home for election season.

Under Senate rules, even if Democrats fought the nominees tooth and nail and forced the Senate to burn 30 hours of debate between each one, McConnell would have gotten them all confirmed by Nov. 1. Democrats could have conceivably left a skeleton crew of senators in Washington to force the GOP to take roll call votes on the judges over the next few weeks, although that tactic is not typically employed by the minority.

Some liberal activists are urging Democrats to show more fight after Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court; Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos even said that Democrats “need a new Senate leader” after the agreement was struck. But senators had to weigh that dynamic along with the approaching midterms and the brutal Senate map. And with a half-dozen Democrats facing serious challenges in Senate races, it made more sense to make what Democrats said was a reasonable deal with McConnell so that they could make a serious run at saving endangered senators.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) deadpanned that he was “tickled” pink that he could go home and campaign in Montana, where his race against Matt Rosendale is tightening.

“If we stayed here for two or three weeks, we’d probably have done the same thing,” Tester said. “I think it’s good.”

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren told the caucus that she opposed the deal, the lone Democrat to voice displeasure, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

COMMENT:   Control of the Senate is absolutely vital to the conservative program, to reverse the liberal tilt of the judiciary.

Oh, by the way, please note the profoundly shallow Daily Kos call for a new Senate minority leader.  Frankly, this was expected, and the call will get louder.  Chuck Schumer, with all his faults, is a grown-up, not the kind of person the radicals want.  He is also ethnically and genderly out of touch with the party trend.  Expect a challenge to his leadership.  He still, though, commands much loyalty from the traditional Dems, and an attempt to dump him will mean a big, ugly fight.  If he loses, it might be to Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris, both of whom have presidential ambitions.

October 12,  2018