I was struck the other day by a story about Senator Jim Webb’s Christmas break assignment that requires him to walk into the Senate, call the session to order, and then immediately close the session with a swift thud of his gavel.  Webb will probably be the only one in the chamber.  His Senate colleagues will be home with their families. Apparently he, and several other assigned Senators, will go through these motions 11 times over the holiday break.  You ask, why would Webb spend his holiday break in such an odd manner?  Unfortunately, this behavior is simply another symptom of the dysfunction of our democratic system.  Our elected leaders (both Democrats and Republicans) have chosen to play politics rather than address the pressing problems of our country.  This whole charade boils down to one thing – recess appointments. 

You may remember that throughout the first half of 2005, President Bush tried to push through the Senate confirmation process an extremist nominee for the position of UN Ambassador, John Bolton.  This struck many people as quite a ridiculous choice considering Bolton’s obvious contempt for the institution for which he was nominated. This, however, has been the modus operandi of the adminstration:  insert people who express a clear disdain for government into leadership positions in the very government agencies they had spent years attacking. 

After an arduous review process it became clear that Bolton didn’t have enough votes to secure a nomination.  So, rather than accepting that his nominee didn’t have broad support and finding a less extreme candidate, Bush decided to use a political “trick” to appoint his nominee using a constitutional loophole that allows presidents to appoint nominees when Congress is out of session.  This tactic that was originally designed for vacancies that came about abruptly during a recess, has been used by many presidents as a way to get around the Senate confirmation process.  Bush certainly wasn’t the first to use this tactic.  Both Democrat and Republican presidents have been guilty of subverting the confirmation process.  However, Bush took this to another level in his usage of this tactic for such a high profile and controversial nomination. 

The Senate confirmation process was created by our forefathers for a reason.  The process of Senate confirmation helps ensure that nominated public servants are not too far out of the mainstream. 

Bush still has many high level appointments that he would like to confirm.  The Democrats have indicated serious reservations about these appointments and have refused to confirm them. 

So, Senator Webb plays his charade and President Bush fumes at being foiled in his underhanded tactic.  Many political strategists might laud the Democrats for their careful strategizing and preparation that eliminates this backdoor appointment process.  What we all tend to forget, however, is that the real loser in this charade is not President Bush, but the American people.   Rather than feeling relief that the Demcrats have figured out a way to put a stop to these nominations, I feel sadness at the dysfunction of our system. 

As a Democrat, I naturally tend to place the blame on President Bush as the leader who has simply chosen to nominate individuals who are far enough out of the mainstream that they can’t get the support of 60 Senators.  However, I must concede that this problem is bigger than President Bush.  It’s a sign that our system is broken and we’re all (Democrats and Republicans) at fault.  For too long our elected representatives seem more concerned with outplaying the other party in political games than actually addressing the dramatic problems that face our country – from the war in Iraq to global warming to energy security. 

Rather than seeking to govern from the extremes, it’s time that our elected leaders realize that seeking out common ground could actually allow something to get done.  Of course, they seem to be more content to simply play these political games that just prolong the stalemate.  Then again, getting something done might be what they are really afraid of, particularly if it required the two sides to actually work together and share credit for progress. 

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