Asleep At The Switch

“Gov. Sebelius, if you were a kitchen appliance, which appliance would you be?”

“What would others say about you, Governor?”

“What is the last book you read?”

Senate Republicans stopped just short of these fluffy interview-style questions, but they hardly used Gov. Sebelius’ nomination hearing to flush out her positions on, say, taxing health benefits, shoring up America’s largest unfunded liability (Medicare), or her vision of Medicaid reform based on her years as governor of Kansas. She leaves the confirmation process having committed herself to vague generalities like openness to new ideas and a fondness for working with people – the sort of answers that a contestant on Wheel of Fortune might give.

As Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown summarized, “Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius fielded less than two hours’ worth of softballs tossed at her Thursday by members of the Finance Committee as they rotated through the hearing room between votes in the chamber.”

In fairness, Senators were caught between the hearing and floor votes. Democrats set the rules, which included pre-submission of some questions.

But should Republicans not have used the opportunity of grilling a future Cabinet member more seriously? Gov. Sebelius, after all, will be running the largest department in the federal government and helping to oversee health reform. This was their opportunity to help pin her down.

They missed it.

In the coming months, Democrats will push hard at health reform. It’s possible that they’ll even use reconciliation to their advantage. Republicans need to pick and choose their battles, use clever tactics, and – frankly – get lucky. Are they in this game?