No seriously what the fuck is it. It can't be a real job, I do not believe you guys it sounds fake. I've lived in america me whole and I've never heard of senate parliamentarian before.

  • half_giraffe [comrade/them]
    ·
    3 years ago

    For a real answer, it's a person who advises the current chairperson on parliamentary procedure. Most senators are freaks and ghouls so it makes sense that they'd have an expert on process to help them follow the rules of the Senate. Most of the time they are sitting next to the presiding officer and telling them what to say for certain motions and inquiries (which makes them look really wormtongue-y when the Senator just repeats verbatim what some random unelected official states to them lol). Basically we have such a complicated and mangled parliamentary process in the Senate that's so bogged down by conflicting rules that we pay someone over $170,000/year just to keep all that shit straight.

    The most important rule they have to advise on is the Byrd Rule, named after a Senator who was an Exalted Cyclops in the KKK and filibustered the Civil Rights Act (but I digress). The Senate is famously the "cooling saucer" meant to be a small-c conservative influence on legislation (literally designed to stop progressive/populist agendas from moving through). The exception is with budget reconciliation - this process allows spending bills to be passed with just 50 votes + the VP tiebreaker (making these un-filibuster-able). In theory this means that a majority party could pass anything they wanted without fear of procedural bullshit pulling it down. The Byrd Rule attempts to narrow the scope of budget reconciliation bills so they are only about spending, and the person who decides what is or isn't "extraneous" is the parliamentarian. And I say "decide" but really they are just advisors and can be overruled by the Vice President (which apparently hasn't happened since 1975). So totally real, functionally powerless, but the perfect bullshit scapegoat for spineless Dems to hide behind so they don't have to actually govern effectively.

    • half_giraffe [comrade/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Every week, Democrats pull slips of paper out of a big bowl labeled "Scapegoats" so they have a new answer for the question "why can't we have even one good thing?"

  • longhorn617 [any]
    ·
    3 years ago

    The constitution says that the senate is required to employ a George Clinton fan.

  • Zoift [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Its not a real position per-se, that's just the title given to the Annunakian diplomats.

  • garbage [none/use name,he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    bu·reau·crat /ˈbyo͝orəˌkrat/

    noun an official in a government department, in particular one perceived as being concerned with procedural correctness at the expense of people's needs.

  • jilgangga [doe/deer]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Don’t worry. VP Kamala Harris can overrule the parliamentarian. Last time I checked, the VP is a “slay queen”! Which must mean that she’s both for moments like this!!!

  • Mardoniush [she/her]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Broadly it's the person who actually does the job of the "for some reason we don't call this person a Speaker" of the Senate.

  • acealeam [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    glad im not the only one. i like to think I'm pretty well versed in this stuff but I've literally only heard of this term today