aa865
Bryan HanselOne of the weirdest things in the US is that Supreme Court Justices only need 51 of 100 Senate votes to be put into a lifetime position — earned or not — but officers in the military need 100 of 100 votes to get a promotion that they earned and one nut job senator can prevent the promotion. That's a broken rule that should be changed.
Jon Pinter@bryanhansel great idea
Lord KelvinWell, military officers can give orders that kill people.
But SCOTUS judges don't make decisions that... uh... er... nevermind.
Sckenai@bryanhansel Thay should go back to actually filibustering, and not this pretend option they’re using now.
Sir_Osis_of_LiverAside from cabinet/secretary level, I have no idea why officers in the military need Senate approval in the first place. Seems like gross micro-management.
Also, a filibuster should be an actual filibuster, not the pretend thing they're getting away with now.
Jeramee@bryanhansel
Considering how many wars America has been lied into since WWII, it seems to me that the bar for promoting military brass isn't high enough.
Considering how many wars America has been lied into since WWII, it seems to me that the bar for promoting military brass isn't high enough.
@bryanhansel
Case in point: Colin Powell. He was sent to investigate the My Lai massacre & tried to cover it up. We only know about it thanks to Sy Hersch.
If there were justice, Powell should have been charged as an accessory after the fact to a war crime. Instead, he was made head of the Joint Chiefs & could've run for president.
Doug Baker - Elbows Up! 🇨🇦@bryanhansel No, that's TWO broken rules. Judges' tenure should end at 75. So should Senators, maybe even members of the House.
@SonofaGeorge I don't have an issue with older people serving. I've known plenty of people who were whip smart and capable right up to their deaths of old age.
Tony Yarusso@bryanhansel @SonofaGeorge It is very nice to have known end dates rather than constantly wondering when someone is going to die. Canada’s Supreme Court justices have mandatory retirement at 75 and it works well, and with MUCH less drama than ours.
@TonyYarusso @SonofaGeorge I like the idea of term limits better and then make it so each president gets to make one appointment per term or something like that.
Richard Brockie@bryanhansel the cynic in me thinks that the hold on military promotions is until a republican is president and a “politically acceptable“ new slate of general officers can fill the vacancies. There is precedent, c.f.: Garland, Merrick
@RichardBrockie Tuberville is a Trumper, so it wouldn't surprise me, but he also wants to ban abortion completely across the military and that's his stated reason for the block.
Darwin Woodka@bryanhansel @RichardBrockie which is also ridiculous. It's not going to end the policy or the necessity for it.
Joe ❌👑@bryanhansel Not exactly, it is just that the Senate rules are broken. There are many steps required to get something done, and what usually happens is that some of the ridiculous steps, like quorum calls, multiple rounds of debate, etc. are waived by unanimous consent. If one asshole objects, then it can take a couple of days to get one nomination through (a few were forced through despite Sen Tuber's blocks, but it took a ton of time). And there are something like 300 military officers whose promotions have to be approved by the Senate, so it would take years to get through all of those if someone insists that every single step be followed and not one round be shortened. This kind of move wouldn't work on a major bill that has 60 senators in favor (needing 60 is another stupid rule), it would just waste time.
Gumberculese 86 47@bryanhansel The American poltical and legal systems are utter shit, yet they think they are the shining beacon to the world. GUFFAW
Royfireball@bryanhansel technically they don't need 100 of 100 votes. It's just having 100 of 100 votes. Makes the process of promoting 100 people not take 3 months which is important for our national security.
@bryanhansel absolutely. This hold nonsense has to end.
Eddie Dinel@bryanhansel @lisamelton this…is not accurate. As has been seen recently, if brought to a floor vote and given debate, military promotions above the relevant level take 50 votes.
The 100/100 thing is to take advantage of a streamlining process where someone says “I ask the Senates unanimous consent” and if nobody objects then no debate, no vote, it’s approved. But if anyone objects (like Tuberville the … choose your word…) then you’re back to debate and floor vote.
Brian@bryanhansel Not true, once they actually get a vote they only need a majority. Problem is one senator can make it virtually impossible with a hold.
SFborn1940@bryanhansel Add that to the hundreds of other rules that need to be changed or dumped.
Let's include Citizens United.
Let's include Citizens United.
Aviva Gary@bryanhansel To be fair, most of the US' rules are rules that should be changed because they are broken...
The Senate itself comes to mind...
Matthew Abbott@bryanhansel Sadly, the issue is that those officers *could* go through a process similar to SCOTUS nominees. It’s just that the process involves extra steps through committees and back to the main body, which is a silly amount of “advice and consent” for something so directly under the executive branch