Posted on 12/11/2013 1:22:28 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Senate Republicans will stage a more than 30-hour talkathon on the Senate floor to protest Democrats’ triggering of the "nuclear option" last month.
The GOP protest, which could extend into the weekend, will throw a wrench in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) hopes of wrapping up legislative business for 2013 as soon as possible.
Republicans will delay a final vote on Cornelia Pillard, one of President Obama’s picks for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, until about 1 a.m. Thursday.
Then, Senate Republicans will hold the floor throughout the night, speaking out against Reid’s use of the nuclear option. Reid invoked the controversial tactic before Thanksgiving to strip Republicans of the power to filibuster judicial and executive branch nominees. The rules change did not affect Supreme Court picks.
“When you blow up the Senate rules, there has to be a consequence,” said a Republican senator.
“We’ll stretch this into the weekend if need be,” said the GOP lawmaker.
A GOP source said that so far 36 senators have signed up for hour-long speaking slots on the Senate floor, which would tie up business until early Friday morning.
The tactic is similar to all-night talk sessions Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) held on the floor to protest the administration’s drone policy and the Affordable Care Act, respectively.
A Senate Democratic leadership aide said the GOP floor protest will not stop the Senate from voting on other nominees Thursday.
"All they're doing is highlighting their own impotence," said the aide. "The Republicans no longer have the tools to delay that they had before."
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) started the extended debate Wednesday afternoon by slamming Pillard’s nomination and decrying the Democrats’ unilateral effort to rewrite Senate procedures.
Republicans are still fuming over the use of the nuclear option, which allowed Democrats to change Senate rules with a simple majority vote. Traditionally, 67 votes are needed to alter the rules.
“What they did on this rules change, the first time in the history of the United States Senate that we changed the rules without 67 votes,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). “The ill will that has been inflicted by that action is incalculable.”
Democrats argue they did not rewrite the Senate rules but instead changed the chamber’s precedent, which has the effect of a rules change.
Reid argued the Senate changed its rules 18 times since 1977 before triggering the nuclear option.
Republicans say they will retaliate by forcing Reid to call in his colleagues to a vote on Pillard after midnight.
“I imagine people will want a full and robust debate on this very controversial nominee,” said a Senate GOP leadership aide.
"This is exactly the sort of nominee who had zero chances of confirmation before the nuclear option," said another senior GOP aide.
Reid could alter the schedule by postponing the vote on Pillard until regular business hours on Thursday, a GOP aide noted.
Democrats, who themselves are irate over Republican obstruction, said they will stick to their plan to confirm Pillard as soon as possible, even if it leaves them bleary-eyed.
“We’re voting at 1 a.m. if Republicans keep playing their damn games,” said a Democratic aide.
Are these the same GOP Senators that blasted Paul, Cruz and Lee for such a tactic?
Ur doing a heck of a job there Mitchie....
Just call me a "glass half full" kind of guy...smirk.
Filibuster used to be 67 votes, not 60. Blame Mondale.
“Republicans plan 30-hour talkathon to protest ‘nuclear option’ use in Senate”
That’ll show them. What a cackle of do-nothings.
It's best served hot compared to the usual Republican method of sticking it in the back of the refrigerator until it gets moldy and is thrown out long after anyone can figure out what it is anymore.
You are absolutely right. It’s theater. People are still being duped by this. They’ve had 5+ years to fight resist this slip into tyranny.
We will hang together or we will hang separately. Either way we will hang.
Which might be the only reason to do it. Keeping in mind that they like DC’s consolidation of power and are not constitutional conservatives. When they have power, we’ll wonder why they’re not decreasing government and getting us back to the constitution. “Well, gosh darn it, the Democrats keep obstructing us.”
Oh, wait...
This will accomplish precisely bupkis.
Wow! THAT”LL teach those meanies a thing or two!
I'm curious Sarge: What would you have done earlier and differently? Was there a way for the Republicans to prevent the nuclear option from passing?
So what do you suggest they do instead?
Because we are all cowards. Because we are about TEA, alright, but only in name and lip service, plain and simple.
When the republicans were getting ready to do the same thing, McCain rounded up a Gang of 14 to prevent it. The announcement of the blocking move was made a few hours before Frist was going to set the process in motion.
So, if the republicans wanted to stop this, for the second time, all they had to do was round up a sufficient number of Democrats to prevent Reid from getting a majority.
Failing that, the 30 hour token protestS (plural) should have started that day, and continued.
I'm not impressed at all with the planned show of protest. They might as well just carry on "as normal." If they protest about the loss of the right of a minority to block nominations, then the party comes off as hypocritical, just as much so as Reid who flipped flopped the other way.
“So what do you suggest they do instead?”
How about no more unanimous consent on anything, period?
“BLAH BLAH BLAH”.
As long as Obamacare is law, he wins and America dies.
I’m sorry but I want to see less talk and more action from both sides of the Republican party.
I am tired of talk.While they talk,Obama gets away with murder and the destruction of our economy and civil rights.
They can have their Talk-a-thon but I won’t be watching.I’ve had it.
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