Pray Nuclear Deterrence Works in the US Senate
Moves to limit or abandon a mechanism for ensuring the U.S. Senate’s minority party can shape legislation have long been known as “the nuclear option.” That’s because the legislative filibuster keeps Congress’ upper chamber from operating like the House of Representatives, where a simple majority governs, and its demise would figuratively “blow up” the Senate as we have known it.
Yesterday, amid signs that the Senate’s slimmest possible majority is poised to end or create exceptions to the legislative filibuster, Republican leader Mitch McConnell unveiled what might be called a “nuclear deterrent”: the threat to use procedural measures to slow the chamber’s business to a crawl. He calls it a “scorched-earth Senate.”
Immediately at issue is S.1, legislation that would preclude free and fair elections in this country. Let us pray that Sen. McConnell succeeds in deterring its party-line enactment.
This is Frank Gaffney.
Mitch McConnell by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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