I can understand the Senate having a rule that you shouldn't attack your fellow Senators. This makes sense when, as is true 99.99% of the time, the subject of the debate isn't precisely the question of the whether a given Senator has the requisite character and qualifications to be confirmed. It strikes me as bizarre to say during a debate about a Senator's qualifications that criticism of that Senator is out of bounds. Senate collegiality ought not to mean that the Senate should automatically confirm the nomination of anyone who happens to be a Senator at the time of his nomination, right? And if you agree, I don't see how you can use rules of Senate collegiality to prohibit extreme criticism of a nominee.
I'd also note that the letter that Warren wanted to read was a letter that was already in the official Senate record from an earlier confirmation hearing in which the Senate rejected a prior Sessions nomination on a bipartisan basis.
|