ConfirmThem

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

Although discussions about the compromise proposals between the administration and Senators are secret, bits and pieces do get reported. Says the LA Times:

One example came late last week during compromise negotiations among a dozen senators from both parties. When Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) proposed greater consultation between the White House and the Senate before judicial nominations are made, the White House quashed that notion, a Republican congressional staffer with knowledge of the discussions said.

Will Senators continue to try press the issue onto the executive branch or will they keep it framed as an issue of how the Senate fulfills its end of the appointments process? Even the group of moderates see (or would eventually see) the difficulty and problem with treading into the Presidential prerogative of nominations. The Byrd/Warner compromise can go nowhere unless the moderate Senators force themselves onto the President in a very public way. Will they? No way. Not unless they want to increase the tension and escalate the battle. That's not going to happen. They are moderates, after all, and the defining characteristic of moderates is that they'd rather smooth over differences between competing parties than escalate the conflict by bringing a new, powerful player into the fray. "Calm, calm, keep everything calm. Back slowly away from the President. Keep the battle confined to the Senate."