united we sit

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Continues the War on Partisan Seating

Fresh off last night’s bipartisan seating experiment at the State of the Union, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, is proposing to do away completely with the party-based seating arrangement that the chamber has used for two centuries.

Let’s close the Partisan Divide and let the Democrats, Republicans and Independents all sit together. I’m going to advocate–if there truly is an interest in working together–that we get rid of the aisle on the Senate floor. We could sit not by party but by state, or by alphabet, or some other way that erases the partisan divide.”

Last night’s unity seating was a show acted out for the TV cameras and the American people. The cameras and viewers are gone now, so we’d be surprised if this idea picked up steam. Especially the part about getting rid of the aisles, which would really inconvenience whoever has to sit in the middle.

Ben Nelson: ‘Get Rid Of This Aisle!’ [TPM]
Nelson: Eliminate partisan seating in Senate [Hill]


Last night’s unity seating was a show acted out for the TV cameras and the American people. The cameras and viewers are gone now, so we’d be surprised if this idea picked up steam. Especially the part about getting rid of the aisles, which would really inconvenience whoever has to sit in the middle.

Ben Nelson: ‘Get Rid Of This Aisle!’ [TPM]
Nelson: Eliminate partisan seating in Senate [Hill]


Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson Continues the War on Partisan Seating