Senator Janet Howell and the Abuse of Power


State Senator Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) is the Chair of the Senate Privileges and Elections committee. It seems she been taking extra privileges.

Senator Steve Martin (R-Chesterfield) explains over at the Virginia Gentleman:

The Privilege & Elections chair chose not to place these 6-7 resolutions on the docket, as is her right. Senator Obenshain made a motion to add these bills to the docket, as is his right. It is always in order for a member to make such a request. The committee can, if it chooses, reject the motion. However, the chair ruled the motion out of order. When asked what rule, parliamentary guidance or other legal basis she used in her judgment, she said “because that’s how I ruled.”

This video shows how it all transpired:

Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Colgan (D-Prince William) agrees with the Republicans.

Colgan, the most senior member of the senate, rose to his feet to talk about abuses of power employed by majority when he first joined the senate 36 years ago–bills that were assigned to fake subcommittees that never met; budgets crafted by a few members meeting at a hunting lodge; other items considered in executive sessions where the public and even many senators were not allowed to attend. [The Washington Post]

All 40 State Senate seats are up for reeelection this November. It’s time to rule Janet Howell “out of office.”

See also:

Bearing Drift: Obenshain, Martin & Colgan Protest Howell’s Disregard of Senate Rules

Crystal Clear Conservative: Senate Democrats: Who Needs Rules???

Shaun Kenney is keeping a roundup of posts.

State of the Union: The Reviews are In

And, just like John Boehner’s tie, they ain’t pretty.

A disappointing State of the Union address
The Washington Post
Maybe Mr. Obama, in the budget he proposes next month, will grapple more realistically with the hard choices than he did Tuesday night. But even if he does, how can he expect public support if he hasn’t made the case? From the man who promised to change Washington, it seemed all too drearily familiar.

An uninspiring performance
The Economist
The address in the House of Representatives felt as if it had been written by a committee with too much time on its hands.

Hogwash, Mr. President
Robert Scheer, The Huffington Post
He had the effrontery to condemn “a parade of lobbyists” for rigging government after he appointed the top Washington representative of JPMorgan Chase to be his new chief of staff.

FACT CHECK: Obama and his imbalanced ledger
Associated Press via Yahoo!
The ledger did not appear to be adding up Tuesday night when President Barack Obama urged more spending on one hand and a spending freeze on the other.

Obama and his speech
Mark Levin, via Facebook
As a matter of basic logic, how could the biggest deficit-spender in American history reverse course and become a responsible fiscal hawk?

The State of the Union and the End of Audacity
Ben Domenech, The New Ledger
The most laughable moment in all this came when Obama called last night for finding “a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations.” Why, just such a proposal had been put on the table only months ago, by the President’s own deficit commission!

Check out the live blog at Bearing Drift.