GAG ON RULING
In his fervor to keep Senator Warren from reading letters by the late Coretta King on the Senate floor, Senator McConnell has misapplied Senate Rule 19 and made it impossible for the US Senate to review Presidential nominees who happen to be sitting Senators.
Properly applied the rule exists to prevent ad hominem arguments from side tracking responsible debate. We had a similar rule in the Maine Senate when I served there and I thought it served to promote meaningful debate. Simply put it means if you are debating a hunting bill you cannot refer to a Senator on the other side of the issue as a poacher. Stick to the issue.
In the case of consideration of the nomination of Senator Sessions for Attorney General he is the issue. What in his background qualifies him for the job and what disqualifies him for the job. By law the US Attorney General has the important responsibility of enforcing our civil rights laws. It is vital that the person holding this position be seen by people of all races as committed to faithful enforcement of these laws. The personal experience of a black woman, active in the civil rights movement is relevant to the question and due diligence requires that it be considered along with the rest of Sessions record.
McConnell's misapplication to Rule 19 in this case results in a situation as absurd as if you were asked to hire a school bus driver but told you couldn’t listen to evidence that the applicant drove drunk.
Before Sessions was a Senator, he himself was reviewed by the Senate for a lower judicial position and was disqualified because of his positions on race. Given this background, and the fact that our country struggles with racial issues, it is not just appropriate that the Senate consider all views on Session’s attitudes on race, it is mandatory that they do so before deciding if he is qualified to be the man who will enforce America’s promise of equality before the law.