 Actions And Consequences
As we head toward a weekend that we hope is filled with plenty of rest, we're pausing today to give a warning about unintended consequences, both in the past and the present.
Although right-wing media and politicians are crying the world's largest puddle of crocodile tears, as James Downie noted in the Washington Post yesterday, Republicans have only themselves to blame for Senator Reid and Senate Democrats using the so-called 'nuclear option' on Thursday.
The nuclear option is really just filibuster reform, a result of a long crusade by many, as Greg Sargent noted. It will have the benefit for all Americans of unclogging Congress a bit, as the minority party - currently the GOP - can no longer unilaterally obstruct virtually everything that comes before the Senate. Judicial appointments especially will likely zoom through now, as President Obama is finally going to be allowed to complete the constitutionally mandated part of his job in which he appoints new judges to the Federal bench.
As our staff discussed among themselves yesterday, and as everyone from Molly Ball to Ian Millheiser agreed, Republicans gave Democrats no choice but to blow up the old filibuster rules. Even while Republicans were stomping their feet and threatening heavy repercussions, as Paul Waldman made clear, the cries of vengeance coming from the right ring hollow, since Republicans would have likely done the same thing if they were in charge of the Senate - and they likely would have done it a long time ago.
To those who don't focus on politics regularly, the Democrat's filibuster reform may not seem like a huge deal at first. However, as Ezra Klein explained after the vote on Thursday, the unintended consequences of the change to Senate rules could affect a great many things.
A single action that caused massive unintended consequences is exactly what happened fifty years ago today, when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on a sunlit street in Dallas, Texas...
|
