I get Daily Reports via email from Air Force Magazine; this one from November 20, 2013 had an item that adds some perspective to how dysfunctional the Senate has become.
Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning made a half-joking plea Monday that the Senate stop blocking the filling of long-empty vacancies in the service’s appointed leadership. As soon as USAF comptroller Jamie Morin leaves to become the new Pentagon Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation—as early as this week—only two of the seven USAF civilian appointee jobs will be filled, Fanning said Nov. 18 during an AFA sponsored, Air Force breakfast series in Arlington, Va. “I had to sign out a new succession…last week which details all of those positions. I’m five of them right now,” he wisecracked, adding that he’s had to delegate some jobs to himself.
There's a bit more at the link, but the implications are clear. Senate holds are nothing new - but the question has to be asked: has the practice gotten out of control? (That's a rhetorical question.)
Granted, there are some valid reasons for holds. Sometimes it's the only way for a Senator to get answers to questions out of a reluctant administration. Sometimes there are serious issues at stake.
That being said however, holds appear to have degenerated into political hostage taking, grandstanding for the headlines back home in the district, and/or riding a particular pet hobby horse. (Yes Lindsey - we're talking about you. Too bad you have to out-crazy the crazy people back home.)
When people get elected to office who reflexively deny the need for government, who actively seek to cripple the functioning of government - it has real consequences because at the end of the day, there are things government has to get done. To quote Fanning again:
“It’s…really taxing for institutions and individuals” in such situations to manage multiple jobs, particularly in the midst of such heady budget churn and strategic discussions, Fanning said, adding that it’s already a slow process. “It took me a year to go from nomination to confirmation,” he noted.
That's just from the Air Force - now think about that effect across the entire executive branch.
Kevin Drum over at Mother Jones has been writing on this for a while now - since it hasn't been getting any better. Here's a sampling of Drum from 2009, again in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Drum links to a 2010 article from the Center for American Progress that shows just how bad it's gotten with some graphs.
The filibuster reform happened because Republicans have devolved into reflex rejection of anyone nominated by the President to fill judgeships and other positions. (Patrick Caldwell has a summary at Mother Jones.) The abuse of holds for lesser positions is just as corrosive, and likely to continue because it doesn't get quite as much attention.
Republicans like to use the words "train wreck" a lot, and the media repeats that phrasing while seldom pointing out who exactly is pulling up the rails and piling up debris on the track. It used to be a running gag in old film comedies set aboard trains where some character would keep pulling the emergency brake cord and send everything flying while the train screeched to a halt. The GOP can't keep its hands off the cord. Filibuster reform will cut that back a bit, but holds are still a tool they plan to keep on using - and anything else they can come up with.
It's up to the President and the Democrats in Congress - especially the Senate now - to get the train moving again and build up some momentum. Republicans want to keep the train sitting at the station - or even start backing up. It's time for Democrats to demonstrate that elections DO have consequences.