My first few years as a lawyer were spent defending evictions, a fast moving process. In those days the trick was to delay cases until the client could move, because the Circuit Court judges were almost uniformly hostile to tenants. They would uphold an argument centered on some arcane procedural point, but when it came time for trial-forget it. So I quickly learned how to manipulate court procedures.
All this is by way of admitting that I don’t have a similar mastery of the procedures in the Senate, and it’s quite possible that I’m missing something here. I can’t help but think that Harry Reid has now painted himself into a corner. He has withdrawn the defense bill from consideration, until the Republicans mend their ways, except that he hasn’t:
“Because Republicans continue to block votes on important amendments to the Defense Authorization bill, we can make no further progress on Iraq and this bill at this time.
For these reasons, I have temporarily laid aside the Defense Authorization bill and have entered a motion to reconsider.
But let me be clear to my Republican colleagues — I emphasize the word “temporarily”. We will do everything in our power to change course in Iraq. We will do everything in our power to complete consideration of a Defense Authorization bill. We must do both.
What happens if the Republicans wait him out, and as October nears start accusing the Democrats of failing to support the troops? Will Harry have the cojones to keep the bill bottled up until they cave? It seems pretty clear to me that he’ll end up caving and they’ll end up winning.
The more I think about this, the more I think they decided to take their stand on the wrong bill. The bill is too important, so they will, at some point, feel duty bound to get something passed. It’s not simple enough, and therefore not easy to defend in a soundbite.
It would have been far better to make the Republicans actually debate the Webb Amendment, by putting it on the agenda and saying that we will get to the Defense Bill, and all the other important bills, as soon as we have finished protecting the troops. It shouldn’t be hard to soundbite that. Then, let the Republicans talk as long as they want, and just keep repeating that they’re punishing the troops to protect the president, and that they can have a vote on the Defense Bill anytime they want, as soon as they end the filibuster.
Then, when they cave (assuming they do), you blithely announce that you’ll make them do it again on the Defense Bill until there are up and down votes on the amendments. By that time, unless the Democrats are more incompetent than even I suspect, the American people will understand what the Republicans are doing, making it all the less likely that the Republicans will do it.
It seems that Reid has just punted this to October, at which point we’ll be hearing the same crap we heard in the Spring, with, most likely, the same results.
I devoutly hope that Reid has looked down the road, and has reason to think that things will play out differently than I suspect they will. No doubt he knows the rules better than me. I’d be ecstatic if I turn out to be wrong on this one.
