There is no question that for the last five years, Senate Republicans have abused the filibuster rule to block confirmation votes on candidates nominated by President Barack Obama. Many of these candidates have been completely qualified and capable to carry out the various positions for which they have been nominated, but that means nothing to Senate Republicans; they were nominated by this president, and thus, they should have no role in our federal government.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats showed that they have had enough. In a 52 to 48 vote, the Senate changed its rules, effectively ending the filibuster as an option on executive and judicial appointments. Now, it will only take a simple majority to confirm any of the president's nominees, as opposed to the 60-vote threshold required in the past.
By propelling this vote and changing the rules, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid (D-IL), used what has been called the "nuclear option." And in the current state of our politics, it may just take something nuclear. When the legislative body is rendered unable to function as a result of one party's intolerance of the president, a change is clearly necessary.
The only exceptions are nominations to the Supreme Court - which may change.
There have been over 165 filibusters in the history of the U.S. Senate and over half of those have taken place since Obama took office. As The New York Times has noted, 20 of his district court nominees have been filibustered when only three district court nominees have ever been filibustered before.
But the straw that really broke Reid's back is how Republicans have blocked all three of Obama's nominations to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit - the second most powerful court in the land after the Supreme Court. As an 11-member panel, the court is currently filled with eight judges (split evenly between 4 liberals and 4 conservatives). The concern for Senate Republicans is that filling the court with Obama's nominations will tip the court in an overwhelmingly liberal direction.
There has been no suggestion, however, that any of the three nominees - Patricia Millet, Cornelia Pillard or Robert Wilkins - are unqualified or unfit to sit on that court. Nor is there any indication of controversy or scandal - there is no substantial reason to block them for appointment. Senate Republicans simply don't want them on that court.
And it is also part of the simple equation that if Obama is for it, they are against it.
This is not what the framers of the Constitution envisioned when they formulated our democratic system. They did not have in mind an obstructionist Congress that was against a president, simply to be against him. The system of checks and balances is designed in regard to ideas and goals - not personal distaste.
The Senate's role in presidential appointments is to provide "advise and consent" - which is important. Obviously, politics is a factor in confirmations. But it is ultimately the president's job to fill vacancies. And the minority party in the Senate does not have the right to stop him from doing so.
Reid made the right call in finally ending the parliamentary procedure that has thwarted the Senate from being a functional body since Obama became president.
There are some problems with this change that should be noted, though. It is true that this is likely to induce a more polarized body in the long term. Changing the traditions of the Senate is a radical thing to do - the Democrats have objected to this vehemently in the past. As an institution, the Senate functions much in the way it did in the 19th century. And the Senate, by its nature, is used to working in a bipartisan fashion in a way the House is not accustomed. Part of that comes from generally having to pass a 60-vote threshold.
Now, this rule change does not apply to legislation or to the Supreme Court - though some are saying it may not be long before those rules are changed, too.
The rule changes put in place last week will make it substantially easier for the Obama administration to achieve some of its goals for the remainder of Obama's presidency. The change may, one day, work against the Democrats (it will hurt whoever is in the minority), but, for now, it will help restore the Senate as a functioning institution.
And that will help us as a country now.
email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
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