Ending the Rights of U.S. Senators as the Senate Has Known Them
By Erick Posted in Immigration — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Daniel B. Perrin is a former staffer to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. A friend of mine at the Heritage Foundation sent me a recent article written by Mr. Perrin that is extremely interesting and relates to how Senator Reid has run roughshod over Senate rules and procedures that have existed for quite a long time.
Below the fold, I've posted Mr. Perrin's article in full, with permission. Please do consider reading it.
Like the pigs who rewrote “All Animals Are Equal” into “Some Animals are More Equal than Others” in George Orwell’s novel 1984, the 15 Senators who are now voting to shut off debate, because their amendment was either subsumed into the new immigration bill or their amendment is being allowed to be offered, are empowering the Senate Leadership to now create a parallel universe where the normal Senate rules do not apply.
Here are a short list of examples of how this new Senate rule universe works:
Did the immigration bill have hearings? No.
Did the immigration bill have a mark-up in Committee where Senators with their own expertise on the issue could offer amendments? No.
Did all Committees of Jurisdiction have the ability to review and amend the legislation, or have hearings on it? No.
Is the normal Senate procedure where each Senator’s rights are protected and they are allowed to offer any amendments they see fit being followed? No.
Is there a self-selected bi-partisan group of Senators who are allowing Senators to plead their case for their amendment to be offered in return for the right to offer an amendment (since that right Senators had has now been taken away)? Yes.
By taking away the right of Senators to offer an amendment, then granting it selectively to certain Senators with certain amendments, has this new power given Senator Reid et all the ability to produce the 15 new votes he needed to shut off debate on the election bill? Yes.
Did a completely new ruling issued by the Democratic appointed Senate Parliamentarian produce this new found power of the Majority Leader? Yes.
Are there a bipartisan group of Senators who would not agree to an unanimous consent agreement to limit the debate and type and number of amendments on the immigration bill? Yes.
There is a new Senate rule regime: do away with the Committee process, do away with hearings, do away with unanimous consent, do away with the amendment tree and replace it with the number and type of amendments a small group of Senators so decided.
This is sort of like the Star Chamber for amendments, without transparency or transcripts or CSPAN.
The device by which Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has used to move from the 45 votes he had last week to shut off debate on the immigration bill, to the 60 votes he needs to shut down debate, is really a newly created weapon of mass Senate rules destruction.
It destroys the universal principles of unanimous consent, the protection of the rights of individual Senators and the protection of the rights of the Minority; that the U.S. Senate rules have been founded on since the Senate’s inception.
This radical empowerment of the Majority Leader is not unlike suddenly declaring the natural, God-given rights of man now stem from the State, which has the privilege of taking away those rights when they see fit.
In short, the normal checks and balances of the U.S. Senate have been shredded by the caged clay pigeon tactic employed by Senator Reid, and according to Senator Reid (in writing) with green lights from Senator McConnell and the White House.
How did Senator Reid accomplish this? Since he could not get the immigration bill passed under the rules of the Senate, he changed the rules.
The Majority Leader and staff leaned on the Parliamentarian to issue a new rule allowing a division of a Senate amendment to apply to where ever a Senator wanted to make a division. This is a radical departure from the written rules about dividing an amendment. This rule change will allow a precedent to be set that allows greatest reduction in the rights of Senators in the history of the Senate.
It is a Frankenstein procedure that implants the brain of the U.S. House Rules Committee in the head of the U.S. Senate. It is a de facto U.S. House-like rules committee where the minority has no power. So here is a prediction: this procedure will be used again, and without the consent of the Minority Leader.
It is a sad day for all those who expected U.S. Senators to stand up and protect the rights of the minority, and for U.S. Senators to stand up for their own rights.
This precedent will be used on any major piece of legislation where there is a difficult time coming to consensus or a bill is so controversial or has so little support, it cannot make it through the normal Senate process that has protected Minority rights for years.
It is an example of political greed at work. Greed, in the political sense, is I am right and you are wrong and I am so right in my beliefs that I am going to trample your rights because it is the best thing for you –and because I know what is right and good and best, I will change the rules to get my way. You have heard this song before, the ends justify the means.
Beware of political greed, and the power it aggregates.
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Ending the Rights of U.S. Senators as the Senate Has Known Them 12 Comments (0 topical, 12 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Oh, but we were right not to have used the Byrd Maneuver in the last Congress, because to take from the minority the right to filibuster judges would have made the Democrats respect tradition even LESS.
Run like Reagan!
the same people who fought so hard to protect the tradition and comity of the US Senate through the Gang of 14 are the ones who are trampling Senate tradition and comity with this crap.
Thanks John, Lindsay and friends.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
A bunch of Senators obtaining more power for themselves. These guys will do anything if it means they'll be able to wield more power than the rest of the Senate. That's what the G14 accomplished, and that's what this deal is accomplishing.
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Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman
Precedent must be followed if it suits the liberals' cause.
Precedent can be broken if it doesn't.
And witht he cynicism and corruption of the long term Republicans, we are really vulnerable right now.
conservatives play by the rules, liberals play to win.
this couldn't have happened no matter how authoritarian Reid may be. Now this may all work out with the second cloture vote if McConnell tells disappointed senators who didn't get to amend to feel free to vote "no," but this precedent has been set regardless of the outcome.
And it was a bipartisan effort.
God help the United States.
...we have passed the point at which "God will help the United States". We surely will not do it for ourselves, so what is left?
”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”…Edmund Burke
Didn't this one take care of that? It set all the limits of the entire debate. The only question now is whether Reid now stabs McConnell in the back by cutting off the promised amendment votes.
The Orwell novel quoted from is Animal Farm, not 1984.
Tremendous article by Daniel Perrin - and very disturbing as to the long-term fate of our nation.
typifies not only what the Senate is doing to itself, but what Congress is doing to "we the people" on this, and a host of many other, legislative initiative(s).
haystack's 12th:
Conservatives (and Presidential Candidates especially) shall offer no aid and comfort to the opposition in times of legislative conflict (and ensuing political campaigns).