June 12, 2015
"to elevate the condition of men--to lift artificial weights from all shoulders, to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all, to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance, in the race of life."
--Abraham Lincoln
Senate Democratic leaders made headlines this week when they announced that, as a matter of party policy, they will block any and all spending bills from floor consideration unless they get what they want.
As The Washington Post forewarned, “Democrats prepare for filibuster summer.”
Having spent much of the past eight years arguing that it is illegitimate for the minority party in a democratic republic to use the procedural tools at its disposal to try to temper the will of the majority party, the sudden endorsement of obstruction by the Senate’s new minority party has elicited charges of hypocrisy from all corners.
These charges may be true, but they miss the crucial point: obstruction is a means, not an end.
What’s truly objectionable – and deeply cynical – about this pledge to blockade the Senate's legislative calendar is the outcome they’re trying to achieve.
"This strategy of obstruction may be tempting in theory, but will likely prove untenable in reality. "
They have taken a vow of obstruction and intransigence not in the name of a noble — or even popular — cause, but in an attempt to force Congress to abandon the modest spending limits established under the Budget Control Act of 2011, known as the sequester, and to return to an era of reckless spending and limitless public debt.
This may be good for the Democratic Party and for the ecosystem of special interests that subsist on government handouts and favors, but we know from experience that it’s not good for hardworking Americans trying to make ends meet outside of Washington’s influence economy.
This presents an opportunity for Republicans: call their bluff. Bring up individual appropriations bills, one by one through regular order with an open amendment process; host a robust and candid debate about each one; and give Senate Democrats an opportunity to explain to the American people why they are blocking bills to fund our schools, hospitals, and highways.
This strategy of obstruction may be tempting in theory, but will likely prove untenable in reality.
