ConfirmThem

By DanCT Posted in Senate Rules — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The Virginia Democratic Party Chairman, Kerry Donley, hits Sen. Warner squarely in his weak spot in an open letter , which begins:

"I’m taking the unusual step of writing you today because I believe you may be the deciding vote in upholding tradition and protecting minority rights in the Senate. I speak, of course, about the filibuster, which I urge you to support."

Although the arguments about "tradition" and "minority rights" border on the absurd, they prove very well-placed because these are concerns that Sen. Warner has raised before. For example, the Richmond Times-Dispatch quotes the Senator:

I do believe it's extremely important that we take every caution to preserve the traditions of the Senate, and that central pillar has always been unlimited debate from the first day the institution started.

Although the filibuster rule has long existed, the tradition has rightly been to let it lie dormant during the judicial confirmation process and give all nominees that make it to the floor a straight up-or-down vote. The Democrats now invoke the filibuster not because they need more time to debate, but because they want to block the President's nominees. By their actions, the Democrats are making the appeals to tradition and unlimited debate look laughable--a weak spot indeed. But, strangely, even as a liberal Senator (Specter, R-Pa) has correctly identified the Democrats' filibustering of nominees a " constitutional revolution," Senator Warner still argues in support of the tactic as "traditional". Senator, vote to uphold the Senate tradition of giving nominees a straight up-or-down vote once they make it to floor.