Moral derpitude

Image via Picy.

Dana Milbank judges the nuclear option severely, though confusedly:

Democrats were fully justified in stripping Republicans of their right to filibuster President Obama’s nominees — yet they will come to deeply regret what they have done.

...the Senate in 2013 is hardly a healthy institution. Yet it has achieved far more than the House —passing bipartisan immigration legislation and a farm bill and working out deals to avoid default and to end the federal government shutdown — largely because, until Thursday, Senate rules required the majority party to win votes from the minority.

Whoa, just a minute there, buddy. You're saying they passed those bills this year because, unlike the House, they needed a three-fifths majority to do it? Without the filibuster they'd have needed fewer votes so they they'd be harder to get? And therefore they shouldn't have eliminated the filibuster specifically for presidential nominations because—umm—even though they couldn't confirm any of those judicial and executive appointments, they did manage to avoid the default with legislation that would still be subject to the filibuster if it came up now? Because why exactly?

If your proof there is that the House hasn't been able to pass anything whatever in the same time period except 43 resolutions to keep beating their heads against the wall until it stops hurting, that isn't because the House needs a filibuster option. They've done fine without filibusters for a lot longer than the Senate has managed with them. It's because it has too many Republicans. I know you don't like it but trust me, I've seen the math.

Image via LittleCityKids.

The Politicos of the world, meanwhile, are out of their minds with excitement over the accession of New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie to the chair of the Republican Governors Association because of the license it gives them to start talking about how he's doing in his purported quest for the presidency two years before it technically gets started:

Taking over the committee gives Christie an enviable platform to travel the country collecting chits and bulking up his donor network. He will oversee more than $100 million in spending across 36 governor’s races in 2014.

But a level of risk comes with this newfound power base. Mitt Romney took heat in 2006 for using the RGA to boost his own political fortunes.

Where does the idea come from exactly that this is the way to get the Republican nomination? It usually doesn't work!

1963-66 Robert Smylie (IA)
1967 John Love (CO)
1968 John Chafee (RI)
1969-70 Ronald Reagan (CA)
1971 Louie B. Nunn (KY)
1972 William Milliken (MI)
1973 Linwood Holton (VA)
1974 Winfield Dunn (TN)
1975 Christopher Bond (MO)
1976 Arch Moore (WV)
1977 Robert Bennett (KS)
1978 Robert Ray (IA)
1979 Otis Bowen (IN)
1980 Richard Snelling (VT)
1981 John Dalton (VA)
1982 Jim Thompson (IL)
1983 Richard Orr (IN)
1984 Victor Atiyeh (OR)
1985 Dick Thornburgh (PA)
1986 John Sununu (NH)
1987 Tom Kean (NJ)
1988 Mike Castle (DE)
1989 Mike Hayden (KS)
1990 John Ashcroft (OH)
1991 Carroll Campbell (SC)
1992 Tommy Thompson (WI)
1993 George Voinovich (OH)
1994 John McKernan (ME)
1995 Michael Leavitt (UT)
1996 John Engler (MI)
1997 Terry Branstad (IA)
1998 David Beasley (SC)
1999 Frank Keating (OK)
2000 Ed Schafer (ND)
2001 Jim Gilmore (VA), Tom Ridge (PA)
2002 John Rowland (CT)
2003 Bill Owens (CO)
2004 Bob Taft (OH)
2005 Kenny Guinn (NV)
2006 Mitt Romney (MA)

As chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2006, Mitt Romney crisscrossed the country to elect GOP governors and broke the group’s fundraising record by hauling in $20 million.

Yet just two of the 16 governors he worked to elect then are supporting his presidential bid. (Politico)

2007 Sonny Perdue
2008 Rick Perry
2009 Mark Sanford (SC) (resigned to spend more time with his Appalachian Trail)
2009-10 Haley Barbour (MS)
2011 Rick Perry (TX) (resigned to make time for presidential run)
2011-12 Bob McDonnell (VA)
2013 Bobby Jindal (LA)
2014 Chris Christie (NJ)

Except in that one truly peculiar case of 40-odd years ago. And Romney, of course, although his service in the RGA arguably did him more harm than good, setting him back four years.*

*I spent some hours composing this silly list before finding a usable source. One of the stupidest Saturday afternoons ever in a generally sadly misspent life. Just saying.

And it's the White House Press Corps! No, wait, the UK Football League Mascots raising money for Prostate Cancer UK in a 2012 race at Doncaster, from The Mail Online.