JEFFERSON CITY - Senate Republicans were dealt a surprise attack from a group of Democrats Wednesday that threatens to push the already-polarized Senate into an all-out war.
In a highly unusual move, a handful of Democrats abruptly voted Wednesday morning to adjourn the Senate for the day before most Senators knew what was happening. No Republicans were in the chamber at the time, allowing the vote to succeed before it could be challenged.
Shortly before lunchtime, four Democratic Senators found themselves alone in the chamber for a few moments and seized the chance to move to leave for the day -- an action that cannot be reversed once approved. Democratic Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, who was presiding over the Senate at the time (also unusual, given his frequent absence), quickly ruled the motion carried and banged the gavel to adjourn -- as the rest of the Senators scrambled back into the chamber trying to figure out what had just happened.
"It was a slick move," said Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler. "In my 28 years here, it's never happened before."
Stunned Republican Senators and their aides rushed to consult the Senate rules book to see if there was any the action could be reversed -- while Democratic Floor Leader Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, happily told reporters he had helped orchestrate the action.
"I think they (the Republicans) needed to learn a lesson," Jacob said.
Jacob said he had passed a note to Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, telling her to wait for the right moment and then quickly move to adjourn. He even said he had read about the tactic in the book "Master of the Senate," the biography about Lyndon Johnson.
But Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, said Jacob should have "read that whole book" before treating Senate traditions with "unprecedented disrespect." Nodler said unlike in the U.S. Senate, where a filibuster cannot be stopped without a so-called "super majority," the Missouri Senate can cut off debate with only a normal majority.
That means Republicans, who control 20 out of Missouri's 34 Senate districts, can technically cut off debate any time they want.
But long-standing Senate traditions have frowned upon invoking that procedural rule, and it is rarely used. Senators from both parties are usually allowed to speak on an issue as long as they want, or can manage to endure. Because of this tradition, minority Senators can try to kill bills they do not like by dragging out the debate with filibusters.
After the "sucker-punch" delivered to Senate Republicans on Wednesday, though, Republican leaders said they consider the gloves effectively off, and that they might no longer abide by that tradition.
"When not incumbered by Senate traditions, the rules are fairly direct," Nodler said.
Nodler said if Senate Democrats wanted to break with tradition by voting to suddenly adjourn, he and other Senate Republicans see no reason why they themselves should abide by the tradition of not cutting off debate.
"In this case, the majority has not taken away the protections of Senate traditions," Nodler said. "The minority has thrown them away."
As a result, an all-out battle is expected this morning when the Senate reconvenes at 10 a.m. Capitol observers say Republicans will now move to ram through their legislative agenda -- including their budget -- and quickly move to cut off any Democratic attempts to filibuster.
If that happens, Senate Democrats may have found themselves effectively sidelined -- powerless to stop Republicans from passing one bill after another, beginning with lawsuit liability limits. This has left many Republicans and even some moderate Democratic Senators wondering whether the Democratic "victory" Wednesday may have backfired.
"I would say it was an unwise course to take," Nodler said. "You can either live by the rules, or die by the rules."