[TRY ONE]

What a bunch of jerks!

This Senate has a bunch of Firsts:

1) They filibuster judicial appointments 2) They prevent recess appointments

[unspun]

Who is more of a budding creep in the Congress than Webb?

Wimp-bloc types that voted for him should be ashamed.

[nyyankeefan]

Senate meets for 9 seconds to block Bush appointment...

No cajones republicans.....have more than 9 meet for a special session and call for a quarom..if the lib/dems refuse....after a roll call.....seek a ruling by the SCOTUS!!!

[Huck]

Smart move by the DEMs.

[Cboldt]

The Senate runs on unanimous consent. The opportunity for the GOP to short-circuit the currently ongoing stunt was presented on December 19, and was not taken. It would have taken only ONE Senator to raise an objection at that point in time, and the plan for a series of pro forma Senate meetings "between" the first and second sessions of the 110th Congress was most certainly well known by the Republicans.

See "4. ORDER OF PROCEDURE" from December 19, 2007, at Page S16069 of the Congressional Record.

Notice Senator Reid's "I ask unanimous consent," followed by a schedule for pro forma sessions, recesses and adjournment sine die, and concluding with the chair's statement, "Without objection, it is so ordered."

In general, the notion that a bare quorum of senators (e.g., all of the GOP, plus VP Cheney), can show up and get legislative advantage "on surprise" is ludicrous. So is the notion that a trap can be sprung when all the potential objectors happen to be absent from the floor. The Senate runs on unanimous consent - consent sometimes given grudgingly, but given, just the same. Takebacks of consent require unanimous takeback.

The situation with pending nominations parallels the Democrats particular objections with recess appointments. See "2. NOMINATIONS STATUS QUO," also from December 19, but at Page S16061 of the Congressional Record.

Usually, all nominations not acted on are returned to the president when the Senate adjourns sine die (See Senate Rule XXXI), but in this case, all nominations are kept status quo, except Bradbury and six nominees that had been pending before the Armed Services Committee.

Finally, the process of entering a series of pro forma sessions in order to prevent a period of longer than 3 days without a Senate meeting was also done over the November/Thanksgiving recess, as well. AMERICAblog.com: Reid shut downs Bush recess appointments during Thanksgiving. To the best of my knowledge, it is otherwise without precedent.

[Badeye]

‘”I didn’t appoint myself ambassador to a tropical nation,” Webb, a former Navy secretary, novelist and TV documentary maker, quipped afterward. ‘

We’re more worried about your weird fixation on fathers putting their kids penis in their mouths, you nutcase.

[mainerforglobalwarming]

The only positive out of this nonsense is IF a democrat is president in 2009 the gop can use the nonsense liberals have used to block appointments. The can call their maneuvers the Harry Reid roadmap to unity.

[xzins]

Since there is a constitutional requirement for a new session to begin in early January. That means an old session must formally end before the next can begin. I wonder if the President can slide in a “recess appointment” in that interim?