We've long heard about the collegial nature of the Senate. If you're a senator, you treat your colleagues with respect and decorum unless your name is Harry Reid, and you give particular deference to colleagues who are nominated for cabinet positions. That doesn't mean you automatically vote to confirm them, but you certain afford them a great deal of respect.
I'm not necessarily telling you, pro or con, it's good that the Senate is this way. At times this frustrates me. At times I think it hamstrings Republican senators from advocating more strongly for good policy. But this is the way it is, and as such, it would be an extraordinary thing for one senator to actually testify against another in a confirmation hearing.
