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Rule XIX, the obscure Senate parliamentary provision used by Mitch McConnell and fellow Republicans to silence Elizabeth Warren's criticism of Jeff(erson Beauregard) Sessions, was implemented at the turn of the 20th century, after South Carolina's two senators got into a public spat over party influence that culminated in a fistfight on the Senate floor.
Quite a far cry from Warren quoting Coretta Scott King.
In case you missed it, after she read negative quotes from Sen. Ted Kennedy and Coretta Scott King about Jeff Sessions, Republicans in the Senate voted along party lines to officially block Elizabeth Warren from commenting at all during the rest of Sessions' hearings (see video here).
The maneuver they pulled, invoking Senate Rule XIX—a rule from 1903, which, among other things, bars senators from "imputing" other senators—would seem to not apply here. The Senate was not discussing Sessions' merits as a senator but rather as a nominee for attorney general, as Sen. Chris Murphy pointed out. Still, when Republicans control the Senate, there seems to be not much that can be done in opposition.
That's the key point. Rules against criticizing other Senators cannot apply when you are DEBATING THE NOMINATION OF A SENATOR! https://t.co/mLQqP7z14d
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 8, 2017
Feb 8, 2017I believe his confirmation would have a devastating effect on not only the judicial system in Alabama, but also on the progress we have made everywhere toward fulfilling my husband's dream that he envisioned over twenty years ago.
↩︎ NPR
The Heritage Foundation, that cesspool of conservative ideas that is still hanging on, published a primer last month explaining how the Senate majority—Republicans—can silence any dissent from the minority—Democrats—by "strictly enforcing" Rule XIX.
Given the Foundation's close working with the Trump campaign, transition team, and now administration, this seems not coincidental at all.
Senate Rule XIX is invoked so rarely that the last time reporters on Twitter were able to find it used was in 1979, when one old white man called another an "idiot." Which, to be fair, seems like a much more proper use of the rule.
1979: John Heinz (R-PA) invoked Rule XIX after Lowell Weicker (R-CT) called him “an idiot” and “devious.” Robert C. Byrd worked out a truce pic.twitter.com/G3UEOcDPjF
— Greg Giroux (@greggiroux) February 8, 2017
