The Lazy Coup: A Modest Proposal for the Obstructionist Endgame

Dear Senate Republicans:

You are no doubt being flooded with messages urging you to "do your job" and grant a hearing and vote to Judge Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination. I am not going to do that. As far as I can tell, your reading of the Constitution is correct. There is nothing in the "advice and consent" clause that mandates the Senate to provide that consent, or even consider it.

Of course, there is very little that the Constitution does mandate from the Senate; it enumerates powers, but does not generally say that these powers must be exercised. There is a smattering of "the Senate shall" clauses, which imply that these are mandatory. Even in these cases, however, full attendance is not required, so these mandates cannot be said to apply to any individual Senator. Furthermore, no deadlines are stated for any of these duties.

Indeed, the Senate could decide not to undertake any business at all, for the entirety of its session. This may appeal to some limited-government voters as the ultimate ideal. And if any seemingly necessary business was neglected, the Constitution does not outline any method to force the Senate's hand. The power to remove or censure a Senator rests entirely with the Senate itself.

This logic leads us to a solution to another problem you are facing. It appears that your party will soon be caught between a rock and a hard place in this year's Presidential election, with voters choosing between a Republican nominee that the GOP leadership wants nothing to do with, and a Democratic nominee that it has been trying to vilify for nearly a quarter century.

It doesn't have to be this way. The Constitution tasks the Senate with opening, tallying and certifying the electoral votes that are sent by the states. It does not, however, specifically state that this must be done before Inauguration Day. You could simply put the sealed certificates in a file drawer and sit on them for a couple of months. Come January 20th, there will officially be nobody to swear in.

Then, you simply declare a vacancy, clearing the way for Speaker Ryan to take the oath. Piece of cake.

So what if the word "coup" starts flying around in the liberal media?