Judicial Committee Blue Slips: Should They Be Eliminated?

[GeekWithGuns]

There's quite a process involved in nominating new judges to the US Federal District Courts or Apellate court benches:
http://judicialnominations.org/how-the-confirmation-process-works

Basically the President refers a candidate to the US Senate Judiciary committee. The committee chairman extends a blue slip to the senators from the candidate's home state. Based on their responses, the chairman may allow the candidate to go for a committee vote which clears the way for a vote on the full Senate floor. A simple majority vote on the floor now suffices to end cloture and place the candidate on the bench since the beloved Nevada Senator Harry Reid first employed the 'nuclear option' in 2013.

Here's some good background on the use of the judicial blue slip which allows US Senators from the home state of a prospective appointee to the federal district or appellate courts to approve or effectively block the candidate from proceeding past the Senate Judiciary Committee to a floor vote.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/what-is-the-blue-slip-and-should-it-be-reformed/article/2628031

There has been developing discussion to eliminate the use of the blue slip practice entirely seems there is ample data that it has been used primarily as a tool to obstruct nomination of judges based on purely ideological grounds.

What say you: arcane process that allows minority parties to needlessly obstruct a standing President or necessary safeguard to tyranny of the majority?

[jukk0u]

Didn't know there would be homework involved to read this thread.

Will get on that directly after the regular workday.