Monday, May 10, 2010

GOT THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD -- I SUMMON YOU HERE, MY LOVE: Hey, I was just wondering, how exactly does someone nominate a person for an office that requires confirmation? I don't mean how is the candidate vetted -- there's a lot of information about that. I mean, ministerially, how is a person nominated? For a position like Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, does Obama just have a press conference and say, "I nominate Elena Kagan; ball's in your court, Senate"? Or is there some sort of form he has to fill out, like an executive order or a designation of beneficiaries of his life insurance policy? On the one hand, the government loves its paper, and getting a cc of that memo would be a nice framable memento for the nominee (how much would you pay for an original of the Harrold Carswell memo?). On the other hand, it seems like a bit of unnecessary paperwork. And assuming that paperwork is required, how is it transmitted to the Senate? Does it go by messenger to the Sergeant at Arms, by .pdf to HReid@Senate.Gov, or by U.S. Mail to some clerk?

Just curious.

Incidentally, in the interest of heading off any discussion whatsoever about today's nominee -- including not just political discussion but also "I knew her when" talk -- commenters are instructed to pretend that today's nominee was Brigadier General Amos T. Halftrack of the long-running syndicated comic strip Beetle Bailey. Commenters who fail to observe this fiction will be met with sternly disapproving facial expressions.

12 comments:

  1. Adam C.4:02 PM

    Word on the Hill is that General Halftrack's nomination could be DOA due to troubling reports concerning his interactions with his administrative assistant.   

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  2. The Pathetic Earthling4:22 PM

    Of course, it was Roman Hruska who was the real villan in the Carswell nomination -- and he has a courthouse named after him!

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  3. Jordan4:26 PM

    I...declare....BAAAAANKRUUUUPTCYYY!  something like that?

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  4. God forbid you wanted an actual answer, CRS should suffice:

    The President customarily sends nomination messages to the Senate in writing. Once received, nominations are numbered by the executive clerk and read on the floor. The clerk actually assigns numbers to the presidential messages, not to individual nominations, so a message listing several nominations would receive a single number. Except by unanimous consent, the Senate cannot vote on nominations the day they are received, and most are referred immediately to committees. ...

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  5. sconstant4:29 PM

    Commenters who fail to observe this fiction will be met with sternly disapproving facial expressions.

    Did you mean "Commenters who fail to observe this fiction will make us !$%(@*ing angry."?

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  6. The Pathetic Earthling4:43 PM

    I love these sorts of details of government.  Recall that Richard Nixon's letter of resignation was addressed to the Secretary of State, because he (or she) is the keeper of the seal of the United States.

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  7. isaac_spaceman5:19 PM

    Why would you say he's a villain?  His quote on Carswell is one of the greatest things anybody has ever said. 

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  8. isaac_spaceman5:25 PM

    NANCY:  Henry, there's mail for you.
    HENRY:  From whom? 
    NANCY:  Oh, it's from Nixon.
    HENRY:  [opens] Oh, he's resigning.
    NANCY:  That's nice.  He wrote you just to tell you about it? 
    HENRY:  No, he's actually resigning to me.  This is his resignation. 
    NANCY:  Doesn't he need to tell H.R. or something? 
    HENRY:  I guess it's sent to me as Keeper of the Seal.  [pause]  Do you know where I put the seal? 
    NANCY:  What does it look like? 

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  9. Also, he seems to run a mightily undisciplined Camp Swampy.  And does General Halftrack have the requisite experience here?  I mean, this is like nominating Lois Flagston to SCOTUS!

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  10. Joseph J. Finn5:55 PM

    Maybe he keeps the seal in a suit of armor and cracks walnuts with it, like the Pauper?

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  11. Eric J7:10 PM

    And then I could imagine no one telling Jerry for a few weeks.

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  12. kevbo nobo7:11 AM

    black, whiskers, flippers; barks alot and lives in the pool?

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