Memo to GOP: Seat Franken or we'll keep Specter's committee seats

[Are_grits_groceries]

That's the bottom line.

Seat Al Franken and give him his committee assignments now, or we'll block a new organizing resolution that would let you reassign Specter's previously Republican committee seats to one of your own.

Until a new organizing resolution is adopted, Specter's committee seats (Appropriations, Judiciary, Veterans' Affairs, Environment & Public Works, Special Aging) are locked in. He'll be caucusing and (sometimes, anyway) voting as a Democrat, but will be occupying Republican seats.

Democrats should demand Republican agreement to seat Franken and give him his committee assignments now, or they'll just block a new organizing resolution until he arrives, and change it as they see fit later on. After all, with 60 Democrats (once Franken is finally seated), they can give themselves any ratios they want, whether they opt to remain true to the 60/40 split in the Senate or not, since there won't be enough votes to filibuster an unfair organizing resolution.

But we wouldn't want it to come to that, would we?

Until there's a change, Appropriations goes effectively from 17-13 in favor of Democrats to 18-12. Judiciary to 12-7. Environment to 12-7. Veterans' Affairs to 10-5. Special Aging to 12-7.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/28/725385/-Memo-to-GOP:-Seat-Franken-or-well-keep-Specters-committee-seats

Heh!! Good plan...

[w4rma]

1. Agreed. I see no reason to have two organizing resolutions. We can wait until Franken is seated.

That should be any day now, right? The election was almost six months ago.

[lamp_shade]

2. Damn good plan.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. Smot!

That's how we say it in New England.

[sellitman]

4. Dems get a spine?

Let me know when please.

[abq e streeter]

7. You beat me to it---furthermore, we should apologize for even thinking such a thing

at least apologizing for absolutely nothing is something our party's leaders have a lot of experience in....I say go with your strengths...

[backscatter712]

5. Works for me. About time we had something to beat the GOP over the head with...

Time to twist some arms!

[malaise]

6. It's hardball time

for those fugging losers

[Laelth]

8. Brilliant. I say go for it! n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[rhett o rick]

9. Are we talking about Sen Reid doing this? Are you series? nm

[TheBigotBasher]

10. Good Plan

but can you imagine How Reid would compromise on this?

By the time he compromised, he would have given the Rethugs back the Committees, signed Spectre up to the DLC, which means he may as well have stayed where he was, given Franken's seats to the Rethugs and as Franken is not seated, take some of one of our own in the mean time.

[struggle4progress]

11. Since Franken will win his lawsuit, I can see no reason to hand the Rs Specter's seats

[pscot]

12. I like the way you think

Wanna be Senate majority leader?

[Are_grits_groceries]

13. I think it is well past time for Reid

to stand up to something besides his shadow.

[no limit]

14. You are forgetting we are talking about the democrats here

how could they live with themselves if they didn't give the GOP exactly what the GOP wants?

[Occam Bandage]

15. It isn't the GOP that's preventing Franken from being seated.

It's the fact that he is not actually the winner of the MN Senate race yet, and will not be until Minnesota issues a certificate, which cannot happen under Minnesota law until the legal process is finished. That is the law. It is obvious the law needs changing, as it allows a sore loser to deny his state representation through endless and frivolous challenges, but it's the law regardless. For Minnesota to seat Franken at this point would be legally no different than seating a candidate five days before the election, on the basis that polling suggests it's very likely that candidate would win anyway.

Suggesting we try to force the GOP to let us get around the law by ignoring Senate rules regarding committee membership sounds nice to partisans, I'm sure, but it's absolutely absurd. Why not simply pass an organizing resolution giving Democrats 100% of the seats in every single committee? It would be just as valid.

The GOP is entitled to a certain number of seats, including ranking-member seats, in committees by virtue of having 40 members in their caucus. The fact that their membership is down from 41 doesn't change the math by one seat exactly in all of Specter's committees. And I really can't get behind thuggish violation of one rule to extort the other team into turning a blind eye to our thuggish violation of another.