One thing I learned today is that the Senate does not really employ a whip operation like the House. For example, rather than have deputies go around telling senators how they are expected to vote on a certain issue, Harry Reid merely sends out an email to everyone in the caucus letting them know how he plans to vote.
Of course they have strategy sessions. But the Senate operates with independence on most things. There are good reasons for this. On the whole, it probably makes the Senate a better institution than the House. But it is also less disciplined and more prone to getting blindsided by opposition antics.
This week the Senate was debating the Department of Defense appropriations bill under a consent agreement. The two sides agreed to allow five amendments from each side. Once they agreed to the number of amendments, the Democrats lost control over what the content of the Republican amendments would be.
And that is why they were virtually powerless to prevent the Republicans from using one of those amendments to condemn MoveOn.org. Actually, it was technically possible for the Dems to block an amendment, but it would have required 41 Democrats. In the end, we only had 25. And I think it would have messed up the the consent agreement.
I don’t bring this up to rehash the MoveOn controversy. I bring it up because it seems like we sometimes suffer from a lack of preparation.
I’m really tired of getting rolled by Republicans that are much more willing to bend the rules and play dirty.
What’s your bellyache?
