# How do you solve a problem like Tuberville **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 25, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571 "2023-07-25T17:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/141 "2023-09-21T03:17:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s not that he can block policy. It’s that he can override the Senate’s unanimous consent to suspend the rules. He does not like the policy, so he has the power to grind Senate proceedings on appointments to a halt unless they change the policy. That’s a tremendous power for one Senator out of one hundred to have. And there doesn’t seem to be anything that anyone else can or wants to do about it. They don’t re-write the Senate rules, because no Senator wants to give up the power that they each have. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/142 "2023-09-21T03:17:10Z")
The latest from Beau on Tuberville. > **[Let's talk about Tuberville's show today....](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDV_-wkYQIg%2F)** > > Support via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/beautfcThe Roads with Beau: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC\_x7nc3Vi4BPgmNnMsz774ACheck out the store. Sticker... ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/143 "2023-09-21T03:24:46Z")
Do you have a one line precis of his video? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/144 "2023-09-21T04:16:09Z")
Okay. Basically, Beau says that Tuberville is planning to relent and let _just_ the Marine Corps Commandant get installed, and forget about the other 300 or so promotions, just to take a little heat off himself, like a petulant child who promises to stop holding his breath if he’s allowed to watch an hour of his favorite TV show. And he says the Democrats shouldn’t let him get away with it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/145 "2023-09-21T04:17:56Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > So in the US system, every Senator has a veto on all government policies, in addition to the power of a minority of 31 to block all legislation. > > Parliamentarianism is looking better and better. Which feeds back into my thesis that the American Revolution was a mistake and we’d be better off if the British had won. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/146 "2023-09-21T05:04:39Z")
What I’m saying is that he can’t block any policy in general. It’s a specific set of circumstances that allow him to be able to act this way on this particular issue. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/147 "2023-09-21T13:20:25Z")
Apparently Schumer got them to vote by threatening to make everyone stay over the weekend. Wondering why he hasn’t just made them all stay _every_ weekend doing nothing but voting on these things until Tuberville is getting shit from everyone in both parties. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/148 "2023-09-21T13:26:03Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > So, is there no legislative or executive action conceivable to punish Tuberville and the state of Alabama until they see the error of their ways? LBJ would not have let a lone Senator get away with shit like this without consequences. The legislative action would be for a majority of senators to vote to interpret the rules so that they can effectively release the holds. While I agree that parliamentarianism is a better system in general and also that the senate has stupid rules, this an issue of lack of willingness from the majority, not lack of ability. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/149 "2023-09-21T13:37:16Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Wondering why he hasn’t just made them all stay _every_ weekend doing nothing but voting on these things until Tuberville is getting shit from everyone in both parties. That’s probably plan G (or whatever). Start with carrot. Resort eventually to stick. Plans A-whatever were probably all at least somewhat aspirational - it really would be best if people acted liked responsible adults and got work done. Jumping right to the conclusion that the other side is recalcitrant and will never work with you may end up being reality but it’s not a great thing to conclude from the beginning. And to be fair, many other GOP senators would have balked well before now. It took a truly special (in the value-neutral sense of the word) example to escalate things to this point. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/150 "2023-09-21T13:44:46Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Plans A-whatever were probably all at least somewhat aspirational - it really would be best if people acted liked responsible adults and got work done. Jumping right to the conclusion that the other side is recalcitrant and will never work with you may end up being reality but it’s not a great thing to conclude from the beginning. Which continues to be Democrats main problem. They think the GOP is suddenly going to come to their senses and start acting like adults again. That ship has clearly sailed long ago, and wishful thinking isn’t ever going to force their hand. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/151 "2023-09-21T13:45:29Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Wondering why he hasn’t just made them all stay _every_ weekend doing nothing but voting on these things until Tuberville is getting shit from everyone in both parties. There are many more endangered Democratic incumbents running for reelection next year than there are Republican incumbents. The more time they spend in Washington, the less time they’re back home hosting fundraisers and campaign rallies, touring small businesses, doing ribbon cuttings for federally-funded projects, meeting with state and local officials, and all the other things that will help their reelection. That’s another reason why the “just keep them in session for months until they vote out the backlog” approach won’t work. Schumer needs to see to the political needs of his caucus. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/152 "2023-09-21T13:48:17Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Which continues to be Democrats main problem. They think the GOP is suddenly going to come to their senses and start acting like adults again. This is an overstatement. None of the other GOP Senators would have pulled this stunt. Or if they had, taken it this far. They would have been reined in by their own party by now had they tried. Tuberville is ‘special’ in that sense. And that’s the thing. It’s not the Democrats expecting the other side to act like adults. It’s them expecting the GOP to act within their recent levels of relative insanity. And that’s not unreasonable. The Senate GOP leadership, at least, understands that this escalation does them no good, either. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/153 "2023-09-21T13:53:35Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > It’s them expecting the GOP to act within their recent levels of relative insanity. And that’s not unreasonable. I assume part of the Senate Democrats’ expectations is that the party would exert some pressure to bring Tuberville around, which hasn’t happened. Instead, Tuberville has uncovered deplorables who stepped out of the shadows. (Like the Senators who voted against this confirmation of an officer who was appointed to his previous office – Chief of Staff of the Air Force – by Trump and unanimously confirmed on that occasion.) The RWNJ infection is running deep, even in the upper house. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/154 "2023-09-21T13:56:37Z")
Serious, purely hypothetical question: a piece of heavy construction equipment falls on Tuberville, killing him. What happens to his hold? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/155 "2023-09-21T14:16:59Z")
I would expect most if not all those military confirmations go through very quickly after There is a non-zero chance another GOP senator decides to take up the same game, but the likelihood is pretty low ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/156 "2023-09-21T14:37:12Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > There is a non-zero chance another GOP senator decides to take up the same game, but the likelihood is pretty low “In memory of our dear departed colleague, I will take up his brave fight against the murder of the unborn that is imperiling our brave men and women of the Armed Forces, and by so doing increase my own reelection chances!” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/157 "2023-09-21T17:46:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What I’m saying is that he can’t block any policy in general. It’s a specific set of circumstances that allow him to be able to act this way on this particular issue. Why not? What is the rule that says there must be a clear linkage between a policy he doesn’t like and military promotion? As far as I’ve read, each senator has the power to put a hold on a promotion, for any reason, arbitrary or principled, and the only remedy is political pressure. Suppose he were to say: “The administration’s policy of granting funds to gay, lesbian and trans centres is illegal. Therefore I will put a hold on all military promotions until the administration stops that illegal policy.” Someone then says, “But what’s the connection between funding for GLT centres, and the military?” Tuberville says, “As a senator, I use the powers I have to defend my understanding of the law.” ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/158 "2023-10-26T03:43:52Z")
> **[Senators prep proposal to go around Tuberville's holds](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/10/25/congress/senators-could-go-around-tuberville-00123607)** > > The proposed resolution would need 60 votes and first must work its way through the Rules Committee. It is not a rules change. There’s more at the link, but the pileup of vacancies, including on the Joint Chiefs, and the new chaotic situation in the middle east may have added urgency. In like maybe a month. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/159 "2023-11-02T03:09:45Z")
A group of Republican Senators confronted Tuberville on the floor of the Senate today and tried to individual bring up over 60 senior military nominations by unanimous consent. Tuberville objected to each one. > **[GOP senators push back but can’t get past Tuberville on military blockade](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/01/gop-senator-to-confront-tuberville-on-military-blockade-00124877)** > > Republican senators pushed to confirm more than 60 military nominees, but Tuberville blocked them all. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571/160 "2023-11-02T03:35:12Z")
Heheheh… anything but just eliminating the “hold” and stripping that power from **any** single Senator, even if just on _this_ matter… they won’t give up _that_, will they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-tuberville/987571.md?page=9)