Skeptic Bob
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2014
- Messages
- 16,626
- Reaction score
- 19,488
- Location
- Texas
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Left
Public hearings for SC nominees didn't start until 1916, the first nominee to show up didn't happen until 1925. And the first televised hearing was 1981 on cable. Since 1981 Senator grandstanding became front and center. It wasn't anti- democratic before, why would it be now ??
Maybe “anti-democratic” is the wrong word. But generally I think of openness and transparency of government as being more democratic. Admittedly, back in the days before 24 hr cable news and the internet, the difference between closed and open hearings was more negligible.