The Tompkins County Republicans reportedly adopted a resolution including the following:

… the Tompkins County Republican Party urges our congressional leaders to vigorously use legal challenges, budget reconciliation, funding power, the treaty power, altering filibuster rules if necessary, and refusal to bring to the floor of the Senate any presidential appointments requiring confirmation while not recessing to avoid presidential interim appointments.

Evidently Tompkins County Republican Party has no program other than obstruction nor does their resolution show much respect for the Constitution which they claim to value. Reportedly the Executive Committee voted for this resolution 7-5; it is somewhat heartening that there may be as many as five adults on the Executive Committee.

• The Constitution gives the President the power to make recess appointments; use of pro-forma sessions to thwart the President conflicts with the spirit if not the letter of the Constitution.
• The Constitution requires the Senate to act to confirm or reject Presidential appointments. It doesn’t provide for the Senate to hold appointments hostage.

It would be interesting to know the views of the five dissenters; do they recognize that their leaders have struggled to hold their badly divided party together while avoiding silly, self-destructive acts?

© William Hungerford – March 2015

http://ithacavoice.com/2015/03/tompkins-gop-passes-no-confidence-vote-speaker-boehner-senator-mcconnell/