George Will derisively dismisses the weakness of the term "extraordinary circumstances" as a term to tell us how Democrats will decide which nominees are acceptable and which are not. But Ilove this conclusion about the way that the Democrats have come to regard the filibuster as a sacred Senate institution.
By giving the filibuster sacramental status, Democrats have become, with the zeal characteristic of recent converts, devout communicants in the church of tradition, willing to die in the last ditch in defense of the Senate as the Framers of the Constitution supposedly wanted it. But of course that Senate was done away with in 1913.
The Framers' carefully considered requirement was that each state's senators would be "chosen by the legislature thereof" rather than by direct popular election. Do Democrats, in the purity of their newfound reverence for the Framers, now favor repealing the 17th Amendment?
The whole idea of the Senate as an upper house, more removed from the humdrum world of political pressure comes from how it was originally selected by the state legislatures and the longer terms. Of course, that meant, in practice, that a lot of political hacks got chosen to go to the Senate. But does anyone see the senators as being removed from political pressure today? They might think that they are very special beings, but they look like ordinary politicians to us. posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:24 AM
0 comments
Comments:
George Will derisively dismisses the weakness of the term "extraordinary circumstances" as a term to tell us how Democrats will decide which nominees are acceptable and which are not. But Ilove this conclusion about the way that the Democrats have come to regard the filibuster as a sacred Senate institution.
By giving the filibuster sacramental status, Democrats have become, with the zeal characteristic of recent converts, devout communicants in the church of tradition, willing to die in the last ditch in defense of the Senate as the Framers of the Constitution supposedly wanted it. But of course that Senate was done away with in 1913.
The Framers' carefully considered requirement was that each state's senators would be "chosen by the legislature thereof" rather than by direct popular election. Do Democrats, in the purity of their newfound reverence for the Framers, now favor repealing the 17th Amendment?
The whole idea of the Senate as an upper house, more removed from the humdrum world of political pressure comes from how it was originally selected by the state legislatures and the longer terms. Of course, that meant, in practice, that a lot of political hacks got chosen to go to the Senate. But does anyone see the senators as being removed from political pressure today? They might think that they are very special beings, but they look like ordinary politicians to us. posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:24 AM
0 comments
