Saturday, June 8, 2013

Go Ahead Harry, Wag The Dog

I'm beginning to think that all of the media talk about Harry Reid revisiting Senate rules about filibusters for Presidential appointments may be more than talk.  By far, this article is the biggest reason why.  There's no way Senate Republicans would make threats this extravagant in nature unless they sensed that Reid, who seems to have been dithering on this subject for months, was really ready to do something.  The irony in this is that, by going "nuclear" with their own rhetoric, they've completely undermined any "comity" argument that might be made in favor of Reid maintaining the status quo.

From my perspective, the only argument against Reid going "nuclear" is the prospect of what a Republican-controlled Senate could do for the appointments of a Republican President without the ability of Democrats to mount a filibuster.  That's a concern, and has been one of my concerns for a while.  But there is a counter-argument.  Changing the filibuster rules would change the calculation of voters in making choices for the Senate--and make them less likely to cast a vote for the rubber-stamping of nominees those voters would oppose.

An elected leader has a right to appointees of his or her choosing.  When the opposition reaches a point at which the executive branch can't function, it amounts to an unconstitutional coup d'etat by the legislative branch.  It's within Reid's power to end the coup.  He should, at this point and having unsuccessfully explored compromise, have no hesitation about doing so.

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