February 22^nd

 

Here we have Charles Krauthammer, a conservative columnist, holding forth in the Washington Post. I quote him, in part, on his advice to Republicans:

 

As for procedure, then-majority leader Reid (D-Nev.) went nuclear in November 2013 when he abolished the filibuster for presidential appointees and judicial nominees (below the Supreme Court). He did it to pack the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with liberals. The nation’s liberal chorus cheered. ‘Elections are supposed to have consequences,’ ‘It was time to push the button.’ Boom.

My beef with Reid was not what he did but how he did it. The filibuster has grown in use and power over the decades to the point of dysfunction. Everything needed 60 votes. This is relatively new and nowhere to be found in the Constitution.

 

So he abolished the filibuster for which Krauthammer is very unhappy. Krauthammer claims he did it to pack the lower court with liberals. Actually he did it so that the backlog of filibuster- delayed court appointments could move forward. It should come as no surprise to Krauthammer that most of these appointments were liberal. No issue of “poorly qualified” was ever raised about Obama’s three recommended appointments to the DC court. They were blocked entirely for political purposes.  The filibuster was eliminated so that the Republican caused logjam affecting these federal appointees could be broken and the country’s business carried forward. Krauthamer fails to mention the “blue slip rule,” under which any judicial appointment can still be blocked by a home state senator, is still in effect.

 

Krauthammer complains that Reid abolished the filibuster on the basis of a simple majority vote. He further points out that nowhere in the constitution is there any mention of the supermajority requirement. He is upset that Reid abolished the filibuster with a simple majority vote but goes on to insist that more than that requirement is not in the constitution, and besides the filibuster has been egregiously abused. It does seem to me that Dr. Krauthammer cannot make up his mind here.

 

Krauthammer has more advice: He wants the Congress to pass Homeland Security funding and send the bill to the President daring him to veto it. Of course most people know that the Republicans have decided to eliminate from the bill any funding for one of President Obama’s immigration policies; specifically allowing law abiding immigrants who have children born in this country to be issued green cards. Apparently the Republicans would like these people deported, all 3.7 million of them. Who pays for that? And what do they want to do with the children who, according to the constitution, are US citizens? Surprise, surprise; Krauthammer doesn’t address this issue at all. Once again it’s all about gaining political advantage and little about solving the country’s problems.