Co-operation Does Not Require Support

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is intent on getting Bush judicial nominees approved by the Senate through whatever means necessary, including changing whatever Rules of the Senate might stand in the way. Most notable of these Rules are those regarding deliberation, debate and speaking on the floor of the Senate. Senator Frist says, "Cooperation does not require support for the nominees. Cooperation simply means voting judicial nominees brought to the floor up or down." This is not the process of democracy as it should be exercised, especially in the US Senate and especially for lifetime judicial appointments.

The Senate was constituted and functions as an elite deliberative body uniquely positioned to advise and consent to proposed appointments made by the President. The most significant of such appointment are the judicial ones, because federal judges serve for life and the process of selecting those judges is one which directly involves all three branches of our government, the executive who nominates, the legislative Senate who advises and consents and the judge who proposes to serve.

Democracy is not just simply a matter of putting something to a vote and letting the majority rule. If that were the case then it would more appropriately be called Majorcracy. In a democracy the process is at least as important, and arguably even more important, than the outcome. Decisions need to be made by an informed and deliberative process where all views are heard, considered and factored in as part of the process. The majority needs to be considerate of the minority, not just because it is the decent thing to do, but also because today’s minority might become tomorrow’s majority and then might take the position that turnabout is fair play.

Virtually unanimous decisions are not always right. Mobs are usually unanimous, with perhaps one dissenter being trampled. The decision to put Americans of Japanese ancestry in concentration camps was approved unanimously by both the House and the Senate. The best results of decision making are those that can be accepted by all participants, even those who do not totally agree with the decision. Such decisions are often referred to as arrived at by a process of consensus, with the result that all parties feel their opinions were heard and considered and the result is something all parties can accept without rancor.

When Frist says, "Co-operation does not require support", it does not sound to me like something a Senate Majority leader should be saying to the Seante minority. Rather it sounds to me like something a rapist might say to his victim, elaborating with, "Just lie there and take it".

Here is the US Senate page on the history of the filibuster, with links to historical essays on the subject: http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Filibuster_vrd.htm

Incidentally, the first use of the filibuster to block a judicial nominee to the Supreme Court was by the Republicans to block the appointment of Abe Fortas to become Chief Justice in 1968. (See ‘The Rehnquist Choice" by John W. Dean, 2002)