United State’s Senator Blizzard Warren got shut down. (I’ll wait for the applause to stop.)
Democrats are livid. (More applause? Sure, I’ll wait.)
How did it happen? Well, there’s this thing called Senate Rule XIX. It state’s that,
2. No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.
Lizard Warren had some very unpleasant things to say about her colleague, Sen. Sessions so another fellow member, Montana’s Steve Daines, made an appeal. Say hello to Senate Rule XIX.
Subparagraph 4 states.
4. If any Senator, in speaking or otherwise, in the opinion of the Presiding Officer transgress the rules of the Senate the Presiding Officer shall, either on his own motion or at the request of any other Senator, call him to order; and when a Senator shall be called to order he shall take his seat, and may not proceed without leave of the Senate, which, if granted, shall be upon motion that he be allowed to proceed in order, which motion shall be determined without debate. Any Senator directed by the Presiding Officer to take his seat, and any Senator requesting the Presiding Officer to require a Senator to take his seat, may appeal from the ruling of the Chair, which appeal shall be open to debate.
This is all Courtesy of Duane Patterson at HotAir, who goes on to share how this longstanding rule can be used instead of the Reid Rule, also known as the Nuclear Option, to move all sorts of business like, say, Supreme Court nominations.
No Senator can speak more than twice on any legislative day on the same subject. Them’s the rules. So Leader McConnell could easily deem the floor debate on Gorsuch one legislative day, provided the Senate is not gaveled into recess, meaning he turns the debate into a true filibuster…ish. Democrats would have the floor to talk it out, but once each Senator runs out of gas and tag teams out, they can only sub back in one more time. McConnell could probably have them all run out of gas within a 48 hour period. After they’ve all had two reps on the floor, whether it be at Noon or 2am, they’re done. Once they’re done, and there’s no one left legally, under Rule XIX, to take the floor in order to continue the debate, McConnell deems the debate over by rule and calls for the final confirmation vote. There is no 60 vote cloture vote necessary. Once the two-speech rule has been applied to all who wish to speak, debate is done. Over.
I’m sure Democrats are formulating a plan in their DC Dungeon to thwart this business but it doesn’t much matter. The left demanded, begged, pleaded, and then embraced the Nuclear option.
Republicans can always fall back on that progressive leadership to get whatever they want and credit them for it at the same time.
Lizzy Warren Ground her Axe
Gave Jeff Sessions “Forty Wacks.”
When Mitch Saw her vent her spleen
He invoked old Rule Nineteen
