From FRC: The Fallout of a “Post-Nuclear” U.S. Senate
You may recall last month when the United States Senate invoked “the nuclear option” changing the Senate’s rules, making it possible for a simple majority of senators to confirm President Obama’s executive and judicial nominees.
As you know, these nominations are for lifetime appointments to some of our nation’s most powerful courts. So it stands to reason we would want them filled by people a large consensus of our lawmakers agree are qualified for the job, right? Not under the new system.
Family Research Council has articulated very succinctly what the fallout is proving to be in this “post-nuclear” United States Senate:
Senator Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) party got a bench for Christmas — a federal one. That’s the unfortunate effect of the Left’s latest power grab, which yesterday yielded its first prize: a radical appointment to the D.C. Circuit Court. Two months ago, the nomination of Patricia Millett, an anti-Christian, anti-marriage ideologue, was a nonstarter under the chamber’s historic 60-vote threshold. That all changed before Thanksgiving when the Left steamrolled the Senate’s rules and unleashed the majority on a confirmation system that, until recently, gave both parties a say in the process. Now, in this “post-nuclear” world, the Senate that most Americans complained was moving too slowly is suddenly shifting into high gear to give the President’s picks lifetime jobs.
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