Sometimes Beltway Democrats do the right thing. Thanksgiving recess appears to be one of those times, and wow! Harry Reid is catching hell for it from editorial pages across the country. As you surely know, Majority Leader Reid decided (finally!) that he couldn’t trust George W Bush not to abuse the Congressional recess. This Thanksgiving, Bush apparently intended to recess-appoint several folks the Senate had made clear were not acceptable selections for their position, among them homophobic Surgeon General-designate and rabid theocrat Dr James Holsinger Jr.

I think Harry Reid deserves a round of applause for drawing a line in the sand and saying: No mas. Did anyone else expect, a year ago, when the pro-life Mormon Reid first became Majority Leader, that his first recess-appointment confrontation would come because of Bush’s choice of a misogynistic homophobe for Surgeon General? I did not.

Of course, Dr Holsinger has never completed the followup questionnaire from Senate Committee chair Edward Kennedy, who said:

We sent out the questions on 7/26 and requested that they be returned by COB on 8/10. We have not received the answers and there is no Committee action scheduled at this time.

And for challenging this President on his recess appointments, Senator Harry Reid, I say: Thank You. This is some of the hell we were asking for when we shouted “Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!” and waved all those signs at YearlyKosOne in Las Vegas. I’ve still got my “Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!” sign on my fridge, although you’ve sorely tempted me to tear it down several times this past year….

But, for now, sir, you are forgiven (sort of). This was not an easy choice, and I’m sure you’re catching hell from your colleagues, although Bob Novak reports you’ve taken some of them on a Latin American junket so maybe you’re not hearing the criticism.

Anyway, Leader Reid, here’s the thanks you’re getting from some of America’s newspapers. Just a sample of the stuff being thrown your way for exercising the prerogative of the Senate (Article One!!):

Winston-Salem Journal:

Reid looks childish and Bush untrustworthy. Reid appears to have taken it upon himself to discipline the president of the United States, much like a parent who refuses to let the children go out and play. Bush has probably earned Reid’s suspicions.

Wall Street Journal:

The real story is that Democrats are opting for a stunt to show their MoveOn.org base that the party is “confronting” Mr. Bush. In a microsession Tuesday, Virginia Democrat Jim Webb presided over an empty chamber for less than a minute, then left. Come to think of it, given their accomplishments so far, Democrats might as well have spent the entire fall doing the same thing.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The senators won’t miss their turkey, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will open the Senate for a pro-forma session and twice again next week.

The reason is that the Democrats don’t trust President Bush. They fear that he will use his power to make recess appointments of candidates who have been unable to muster sufficient support in Congress to win confirmation. No recess, no recess appointments.

When a president goes out of his way to poke his political rivals with a stick, he can hardly blame their leader for taking the view that one good technicality in Senate procedure deserves another.

Even FOX Noise seems to get the point, and helpfully summarizes the recess outrages committed by this President:

The Democrats’ action appears to be in response to earlier recess appointments by Bush that had been heavily opposed by Democrats, including U.S. ambassador to Belgium Sam Fox, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Charles Pickering, and DEA chief Julie Myers.

Fox, a political fundraiser, caught Democrats’ ire when they learned he had contributed to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group that bought ads attacking 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

Bolton was opposed as a firebrand manager. When the Senate still would not confirm him in 2006, after his first recess appointment expired, the administration considered keeping him on until they realized Bolton could not be paid under federal law.

‘The same fate is likely to meet Myers, who likely sunk her confirmation at a Department of Homeland Security Halloween party in which she handed out a “best costume” award to an employee who dressed in what was later criticized as a racially insensitive costume.

The Washington Post holds out the possibility that Reid may also ruin the Christmas break as well:

Under law, a president can use a recess appointment if the Senate is adjourned more than three days without reconvening on the fourth day. The interim appointments last through the current and next sessions of Congress.

Congressional rules allow for the Senate to be adjourned for three full days without being considered in recess. Bush cannot use the interim appointments as long as the chamber is opened every fourth day. Reid set a schedule of pro forma sessions on Tuesday and Friday next week, and then on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29.

The Senate returns Dec. 3 for full legislative sessions and is expected to adjourn a few days before Christmas until mid-January. But Reid is threatening to hold pro forma sessions throughout the holiday season, if necessary, to block recess appointments.

Nothing beats the Los Angeles Times for false equivalency, though, as they include a dose of “Clinton-did-it-too!”

The practice of recess appointments is controversial.

In 2005, Bush appointed John R. Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during a congressional recess, thereby circumventing a Democratic filibuster against Bolton’s nomination and sending him to New York.

Clinton angered Republicans with his recess appointment of James C. Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg, making Hormel the country’s first openly gay ambassador.

Yeah, sending a guy to the United Nations after he advocated taking the top ten floors off the UN headquarters building is just the same as sending a public library advocate and local philanthropist to…. Luxembourg.

And, Majority Leader Reid, look who’s backing you up! Someone who can always be counted on in a pinch: Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. Scottish Haggis had this to say when W launched his tirade during the Federalist Society wank-a-thon, accusing the Senate of “no longer asking judicial nominees the right questions:”

The leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), returned fire for the Democrats, arguing the President’s tone was counterproductive.

“A war of words is not productive,” Mr. Specter told the AP in a telephone interview. In terms of judicial appointments, Mr. Specter was hopeful some progress could be made.

Thank You, Majority Leader Harry Reid, for standing up for Article One!

We’ve told you before that recess was scary, sir, and that you musn’t trust this Preznit on any recess deal. You’ve gotten lots wrong this year, sir, and you’ve certainly heard loud and clear from the netroots when you have. But in this case, you are due our sincere thanks for standing up for the prerogatives of the United States Senate.

Thank You, Harry Reid! Keep up the good work; we’re watching!

And thanks also to the Senators he’s enlisted to conduct and preside over the pro-forma sessions: Jim Webb, Byron Dorgan, and Jack Reed. Special thanks also to every one of the Senate and Capitol Hill staff members whose holiday breaks are interrupted in the service of constitutional governance.

(YouTube of CNN interview with Virginia’s Senator Jim Webb as he comes in to work on Tuesday to conduct the first pro-forma session, courtesy of cuzimjustabill)

UPDATE (h/t Rayne)

Send postcards to:
The Honorable Harry Reid
United States Senate
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-2803

DC Phone: 202-224-3542

DC Fax: 202-224-7327

Email Address: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/email_form.cfm

Reid’s Chief of Staff: gary_myrick -at- reid.senate.gov

Send postcards to:
The Honorable James Webb
United States Senate
144 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4603

DC Phone: 202-224-4024

DC Fax: 202-228-6363

Email Address: http://webb.senate.gov/contact/

Webb’s Chief of Staff: paul_reagan -at- webb.senate.gov

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