Photos by Peter Bosy
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Cast (in order of appearance)
Newsman One (Cooper),                      Dave Santchi
Senator Orrin Knox, Illinois,                   Bill Hammack 
Newsperson Three (Reigel),                Tori House**
Newsman Two (Marty),                           Tom Schutt
Senator Brigham M. Anderson, Utah,   Rob Nardini
Mabel Anderson, Brig’s wife,               Laura Leonardo-Ownby
Senator Seabright B. Cooley, South Carolina, Cal Turner
Senatorial Aide                                          Spencer Dees ** 
Harley Hudson, V. P. of the United  States,     Larry Horn
Senator Robert Durham Munson, Michigan,
Majority Leader of the Senate                              Dick Jacoby
Senator Toni August , Minnesota,
Chairman Foreign Relations Committee    Sue Kuehnhold *
William A. Hunting ton, Nominee for Secretary of State                                                                                               Mike DeKovic
Presidential Aide                                             Mark Barefield**
Claire Munson, Bob’s wife                            Lori B. Proska
Senator Fran Van Ackerman, Wyoming, Kathleen Kusper

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Senator Carroll Richardson, Arkansas,        Alfred Dreifke
Senator John DeWilton, Vermont,                  Michael Williams
Senator Jane Winthrop, Massachusetts,         Carol Clarke
Herbert Gelman                                                     Jim Kopp*
The President of the United States                   Dennis Hudson
Liz Hotchkis, Senator Anderson’s Secretary, Sue Wisthuff*
Rally Speaker                                                      Karen Arnold
Senator Wilson Calloway, California,             Rick Pavia
Senator Stanley Danta, Connecticut,              Robert Erck*
*new to our stage
** denotes CTWS student           

Dramaturg's Diary
By Dave Bremer

Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2, of the United States Constitution

Since its foundation, the Senate has closely guarded its power to review and either approve or reject presidential appointees to Executive or Judicial branch posts. Here are some items from the Senate’s history of using this power and prerogative.

In its history, the Senate has confirmed 114 Supreme Court nominations and over 500 Cabinet nominations. Approximately 4,000 civilian and 65,000 military nominations are submitted to the Senate during each two-year session of Congress; only a very small portion (but sometimes a highly visible one) fails to receive action.

Historically, Supreme Court nominations have attracted the most scrutiny by the Senate, the media, and scholars. Since 1789, the Senate has rejected fewer then 2% of all Cabinet nominees.  In that same time, nearly 25% of all Supreme Court nominees have been rejected, failed to be confirmed, or been withdrawn from nomination.

For most of its history, the Senate at large dealt with most nominations.  Since the mid-20^th Century, it has become routine to refer nominations to Senate Committee.

The greatest number of Senate rejections occurred in the post-Civil War period.  It was time of intense political views concerning reconstruction and sharply divided along political party lines.

During President Grant’s administration, the Senate rejected 9 out of 58 contested Executive and Judicial nominations.  In President Hayes’ administration, 51 out of 91 contested nominees were rejected.

During most of U.S. history, the President exercised a custom established by George Washington called “Senatorial Courtesy.”  This custom involves the President deferring to the preferences of Senators belonging to the home state of a prospective presidential nominee.

Following Rutherford B. Hayes’ administration, James Garfield tried to accommodate all major political factions in his dealings with the Senate.  However, he decided to challenge “Senatorial Courtesy” in a dispute that arose over appointments to federal posts in New York.  These involved appointments to collector positions in the Customs House of the Port of New York.  This was one of the most desirable positions for presidential appointment at that time, and one of the most lucrative in regard to political boodle — if placed in the wrong hands.  Opposing his nominations were New York Senators Roscoe Conkling and John Platt.  Both were Republican “stalwarts” and heavily involved in the New York state political machine, anchored in Tammany Hall.  Conkling was also one of the most powerful Senators in Washington by grace of his committee chairmanships.

President Garfield raised the level of debate by declaring the real issue at stake was whether the President was to be “the Registering Clerk to the Senate,” or the Chief Executive of the Nation.  Garfield refused to withdraw his nomination.  Conkling and Platt vigorously opposed him.  When Garfield ultimately refused to withdraw his nominations, Conkling and Platt resigned from the Senate.  The Senators from New York planned to gain a moral victory by winning reelection and thus trumping the President.  Without Conkling’s influence, the Senate approved of the nominations.  Conkling and Platt ran for reelection—and both lost.  In 1883, James Garfield was assassinated by a demented office seeker.  This hastened the passage of the 1883 Civil Service Act.  This law removed many jobs from appointee status by taking them out of patronage control.  This reduced opportunities for friction between Congress and the President.

In the 20^th Century, on only 3 occasions, 1925, 1959 and 1989, did the Senate reject proposed Cabinet officers.  Other major nominees were specifically rejected less then 30 times during the same time period.

In 1947, the Senate passed to control by Republicans.  The relations with President Truman were so cordial that this Senate did not reject any of his appointees.  However, so convinced were they of Truman’s defeat in 1948, that the Senate failed to act on 11, 122 nominations to positions in government, with the intent that President Dewey would fill them when he got elected.

Oddly enough, with the Senate back in Democratic power, and Truman reelected, Truman’s biggest clash would come in a bitter nomination battle within the Democratic Party over the nominee for head of Federal Power Commission.  The Democratic Senate voted 15 to 53 and rejected his nominee.

In recent years, John Tower (R-Texas) had served 24 years in the Senate when he retired in 1985.  During those years, he had alienated his Senate colleagues with his abrasive manner.  In January of 1989 President George H. Bush nominated Tower as Secretary of Defense.  During an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee, his opponents built a case against his character rather than his competence.  Confronted with evidence of gross personal misconduct on the part of Tower, the Senate engaged in a blistering and bitter debate before killing his nomination by a vote of 47 to 53, which ran mostly along party lines.  Tower became the first nominee ever to be rejected for a position on a new President’s Cabinet.  He also is the first former Senator to be turned down by his former colleagues for a Cabinet post.  The irony was that the Senate Armed Services Committee was a committee Tower chaired less than five years before his rejection.

Production Credits

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are audience Talkback nights.

Join us immediately following the show
for a discussion with the cast, crew, and
experts in the subject.

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