Dear Commons Community,
There has been a slight thaw in the relationship between Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C. in the past several weeks as the House and the Senate have been able to draft and pass a budget bill. On the minds of many is whether this is a signal for our senators and representatives to put the past behind them and move forward with solving the problems confronting our country. According to an editorial in today’s New York Times, the answer is NO.
“The budget deal that Congress approved and sent to President Obama on Wednesday may bring some relief to agencies burdened by sequester cuts all year, but it does nothing to bring the two political parties closer together. Republicans immediately reverted to their obstructionist agenda, making it clear that the budget compromise with Democrats was a brief aberration.
Paul Ryan, the House budget chairman, defied the Tea Party by negotiating the deal with his Senate counterpart, Patty Murray, but he quickly announced plans to “get something” in exchange for raising the debt limit early next year. “We’re going to decide what it is we can accomplish out of this debt limit fight,” he said on Fox News. One of those demands, he suggested, could be the president’s approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, or unspecified “reforms” (meaning cuts) to social-welfare programs. The White House will once again refuse to pay the ransom, leading to yet another standoff.
While Mr. Ryan prepares his list of demands, Senate Republicans are still stomping around their chamber, infuriated that they can no longer block the president’s nominees with filibusters. Rather than accept the reality that a simple-majority vote will now be used to confirm nominees, Republicans have chosen to erect a continuing series of procedural roadblocks, delaying confirmations and votes, and even preventing committees from meeting.
Mr. Obama’s nominees will eventually get confirmed, but that doesn’t mean that this show of rage won’t cause real damage. Because this congressional session is nearly over, the delays will prevent the Senate from confirming all of the nominees before time runs out. Three were approved on Friday; a vote on Janet Yellen to be chairwoman of the Federal Reserve had to be put off until Jan. 6. Six other nominations will have to be resubmitted to the Senate next year, adding weeks or months to the process.
“There is nothing urgent about any of them,” said Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. The Democrats “took away our right to influence the nominations, so it’s up to them if they want to stay here until Sunday night.” Filling these jobs — deputy secretary of veterans affairs, deputy interior secretary, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness — is far less important to Republicans like Mr. Alexander than preserving their right to prevent nominees from getting a vote. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, accused Democrats of expecting a “rubber stamp” from Republicans on nominations.
A rubber stamp? No one is stopping Republicans from voting against any nominee. They simply won’t be able to block appointments with only two-fifths of the Senate, which they have been able to do more often in the last five years than at any point in congressional history. Now, having lost that wrecking ball, they are trying to bring about dysfunction in other ways.
The public made clear how it felt about destructive tactics when Republicans shut down the government in the fall, but the lesson never seems to get through. Both Mr. Ryan and Mr. McConnell still embrace the politics of confrontation, the only form of governing that their party seems to understand.”
Peace on Earth and Good Will to…!
Tony
