Our new colleague Jay Newton-Small on yesterday’s failed attempt to hold a “no confidence vote” on Alberto Gonzales:
Does failing to pass a no-confidence vote mean that the Senate really has confidence in embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales?
Actually, no.
“A lot of senators felt strongly that this was a meaningless resolution and that this was political theater,” said Senator John Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican. “At the same time they’ve been fairly disappointed in the leadership of the Justice Department.”
Again, my favorite act of this political theater yesterday came from Trent Lott, who seems have dedicated his “resurrected” Senate career to proving that everything ran better when he was in charge. He also raised the specter (heh) of a “British invasion” of the Senate — as no-confidence votes are typically parliamentary procedures — saying, “What are we going to do, bring the president in here for a question period?”
Well, now that you mention it…