Schlicht letter: U.S. Senate

Sen. Jim Risch invoked Rule 19 in the U.S. Senate this week in order to silence his colleague Elizabeth Warren. He is quoted as saying that, “If you don’t have rules, you have anarchy.” Even allowing for political theater, Elizabeth Warren’s reading of Coretta Scott King’s 1986 letter regarding the unsuitability of Jeff Sessions to be a federal judge would hardly be classified as anarchy. Risch has shown that he does not value debate among colleagues, showed great disrespect for Warren, and perhaps most importantly showed extreme disrespect for voters who should expect that the open discussion of all matters is part of the decision-making process of the Senate. Sessions, in fact, is on record for speaking out against the federal Voting Rights Act, which as attorney general he is responsible for enforcing. This is one of many aspects of Sessions’ suitability for the position under consideration which should have been part of a healthy debate. We need and deserve a senator who is willing to engage in legitimate debate over an important topic, not one who would rather squelch all debate under a very thin pretense of “rules.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Schlicht letter: U.S. Senate."