The United States Senate was designed by the framers of the Constitution to be insulated from heat of the moment issues wreaking havoc on our democracy, but lately Republicans have perverted that position to an adsorb end.
Unlike the members of the House of Representatives, which all seek re-election every two years, only one third of the U.S. Senate stands for election every two years. For House members, that means they run on the issues of the day, whether its terrorism, the economy, or other hot button issue leading the current headlines. Under our system, theoretically, every single member of Congress could be replaced each election.
Senators, on the other hand, only run every six years, with one third of the body up for election every two years. These Classes, as they are called, are divided up into groups of 33, 33, and 34 members each, and state’s two senators must be from different Classes so they can never be up for election at the same time. That means that two-thirds of the Senate is immune from the issues of the day being a factor in their election, thereby creating a cooling-off period for them to deal with issues with more time, or to let tempers subside before acting. This system is supposed to ensure stability in the Senate, as well, by always having members with years of experience on hand. In theory, this was supposed to yield better governance.
But, by the looks of Washington, D.C. today, the system is not working too well.
This week, we had a front seat view of dysfunction in the Senate.
At its worst, when two important issues were impacted by the inaction of the Senate Republican leadership to take action. And since so many Senators are not up for election, there is not much Americans can do but watch in dismay.
First, the Senate took up four new gun control measures in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando that left 49 victims dead. The measures included two bills that would have prevented people on the terror watch list from buying guns, and a bill that would require background checks on all gun sales, including those at gun shows and over the Internet. It seems reasonable to bar people who are deemed to be a potential terrorist threat from buying guns, and to check the backgrounds of all people buying guns. All of those measures failed to pass, with votes coming down almost exactly down party lines with Republicans controlling more than a majority of the Senate.
Then on Thursday, the Supreme Court tied 4-4 on a case testing President Obama’s Executive Powers where he sought to grant deferred deportation to undocumented workers through his DAPA program. The Court failed to make a ruling in the case that could have settled the power presidents wield through Executive Orders. Instead, the lower court’s ruling in the case will stand but only in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
The real issue here is that the Supreme Court is missing one member since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland in March, but Senate Republicans have refused to hold confirmation hearings before the election in November. Never before has the Senate refused to hear a President’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Campaign politics again trumped good governance.
Senate Republican leaders, including Mitch McConnell, have said publicly that their goal has been to block President Obama’s agenda, from Obamacare to gun control and immigration reform.
To that end, they have stymied every effort to move meaningful legislation on these issues for the entirety of Obama’s two terms. Although they lost on Obamacare, they seem to be winning on the other issues, but their strategy may back fire as voters become tired of their obstinacy.
This year, the 34-member class is up for election, with 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats running for reelection. Republicans currently hold a 54-member majority out of 100 Senators, but they are feeling the heat because seven of those Republicans are running in states that Obama carried in both his elections.
And with Donald Trump causing fraction among Republican voters, several close Senate elections may now swing to Democrats.
Republicans are so worried that, this week, Senator Marco Rubio reversed his promise not to run for reelection after losing his bid for the White House. Republicans think he’s their best hope for retaining that seat in Florida, and improving thier changes of retaining control.
Republicans are betting their long-term future in the Senate on voters’ tolerance of their short-term inaction. This year, though, it seems the tide is turning against them and it may end their short two year run in control of the most exclusive club in America.