An intrepid reader alerts us to this comment at Mt. Blogmore:
Grumpy Old Senator Tim is testifying now on the Senate floor. His testimony is absolutely, demonstrably false. He is saying the Republicans want to do away with a 200 year old, 60 vote rule. He has said about six times now in five minutes that the 60 vote rule is 200 years old. This is typical of Johnson - too lazy to bother getting his facts straight. The fact is the 60 vote rule is 30 years old. In 1975 the Democrats reduced the requirement to invoke cloture and end debate from 67 votes to 60 votes. The 67 vote rule to end debate isn’t half of 200 years old. There was no rule to end debate in the Senate until Rule 22 which allowed 67 members of the Senate to invoke cloture and end debate was instituted in 1917 and first used in 1919.
Further, if Tim were to do a little homework, he would understand that the filibuster was never invoked to block a judicial nominee who had majority support until that 225-plus year old tradition was violated under the leadership Senator Daschle.
Another reader, who happens to be one of our excellent NSU students, emailed me to suggest I had been unthoughtful in a post the other day where I referred to Tom Dacshle as "Tommy." She thought it disrespectful. I concede the point and have gone back and changed the post. This is an interesting question, which this Mt. Blogmore post brings up. We tend to feel very close to our elected leaders, and it is not uncommon to speak of "Tom" and "John" or "Tim" and "Stephanie." This is informal, but I don't think disrespectful. But there is an informality meant to diminish respect for these folks, such as when Clean Cut Kid calls Thune "Johnny" or Gov. Rounds "Mikey." My "Tommy" comment probably was of the same ilk and thus an error in judgment. I'll leave it to others to decide for themselves what is appropriate and what is not.
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