From time to time, I find it necessary to write a new iteration of an old article about Senate procedure in order to explain why the Senate either cannot (or finds it very difficult to) do certain things. Ian Millhiser has written a very fine piece in this genre for Think Progress in an effort to explain why the Democrats have only been able to confirm one judge so far this year, despite the rules changes they made last fall. One of the reasons that Millhiser’s effort is so valuable is because he goes beyond the tangible obstacles (unanimous consent, cloture rules, time delays) to describe some of the practical and psychological reasons that Harry Reid feels hamstrung.
If Reid were determined to confirm judges at the expense of all other priorities, this byzantine procedure would not be enough to stop him. But he would do so at the expense of his colleagues’ ability to perform many of the basic functions of their jobs.
Most senators actually spend very little time on the Senate floor, where confirmation votes and similar business takes place. The rest of their time is spent speaking with colleagues and sitting on committees. It’s spent meeting with constituents and being briefed on policy by staffers. It’s spent in caucus meetings and in closed-door meetings with their allies. And, because senators are elected officials, much of it is also spent fundraising or talking to their campaign staff.
Each of these tasks is essential to a senator’s job. A lawmaker who is poorly informed will represent their constituents poorly. A lawmaker who neglects important relationships will find themselves impotent. A lawmaker who ignores their constituents or who pays too little attention to their reelection campaign probably won’t remain a senator much longer.
For these reasons, every floor vote is a disruptive event. When Reid calls a vote on a bill, or a nomination, or even a motion reconsider whether to proceed to debate, he is telling 99 of the most over-scheduled people in Washington that they need to drop what they are doing and present themselves on the Senate floor. It would be as if your boss ordered everyone in your office to drop what they are doing and report to a central conference room at barely predictable intervals, and then to try to schedule the rest of their days around these disruptions.
A majority leader who doesn’t manage this process in a way that allows his or her colleagues to attend to the rest of their job responsibilities probably won’t remain majority leader much longer.
As Millhiser points out, overcoming Republican obstruction on judicial nominees is possible, but it entails massive inconvenience for individual senators, including all the Democrats in Harry Reid’s caucus. While Democrats are committed to filling empty slots in the federal judiciary, there is a limit to how much pain senators will tolerate in order to get it done. They do, after all, have some other priorities, too.
It might help if the president stops doing this:
Obama Sparks All-Out Revolt Over Socially Conservative Judicial Nominee
and this is why hearing “trust us” from the white house illicits the opposite reaction
If this is a something that massively inconveniences all senators, why is it only a threat to Democrats? Why can’t Reid use this against Republicans? Because Republicans don’t care so much about constituents? That doesn’t make sense: they cater to their allies more assiduously than we do to ours.
I bet we’ll see exactly the same rationale used when Republicans have the Senate, to explain why Democrats allow confirmation of right-wing judges. Because if we don’t, the Republican Majority Leader will force us to take floor votes, which they us completely disruptive.
When Democrats are in power, the threat of ‘complete disruption’ undermines Democratic goals.
When Republicans are in power, the threat of ‘complete disruption’ undermines Democratic goals.
The problem isn’t the threat of complete disruption. The problem is–and this dovetails with Boo’s long-time issue with liberals’ ambivalence about being the establishment–power.
It’s unacceptable to let such a large number of Federal Judge positions go unfilled. This is the top priority for Senate action, particularly as normal legislative processes have been tossed out by full-on House Republican intransigence. Almost nothing that requires House action is going to happen right now, so there’s little urgency to pass bills out of the Senate that can put pressure on the House.
Reid needs to either deal with the mass inconvenience for his Senators and get the judge positions filled, or remake the rules again to overcome Senate GOP obstruction and get the judge positions filled.
Get the judge positions filled. Get them done as quickly as possible so we can move on to the rest of the work. This is dangerous, what’s happening right now. Also, too, Obama needs to stop moving moderate Judge nominations and keep ’em liberal. He doesn’t seem to be getting Republicans to move judge nominations even when he makes those concessions, so what’s the point?
Meh.
These overpaid, underworked fucks get paid to pass legislation and to perform the work of the state.
Maybe if they spent less time collecting bribes…er, campaign contributions, and less time filibustering issues just to, uh…waste time…they could take care of all of this stuff and be done with it.
I don’t have much empathy for poor, poor US Senators.
Which all goes to point out that the dysfunctional nature of Congressional institutions need to be fixed. And the keystone task is addressing how election campaigns are funded and who gets to “buy the ear” of their reps in congress.
good post.