Posted on 02/05/2003 5:56:55 PM PST by Xthe17th
Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation (freecongress.org) noted recently that since the mid-1970s, the Senate has not had a real filibuster, the kind that has Senators sleeping on cots, with possible cloture votes in the middle of the night. Since then the Senate has had only "Cadillac" filibusters. The Family Research Council (frc.org) offers this background:
The Senate requires 60 votes to cut off debate, that is, to override a senator's control of the floor. So long as a senator is speaking on a bill -- filibustering -- no vote can be held unless 60 senators agree to end the debate. Even if a bill has enough votes to pass, the 60-vote rule and the filibuster can stop any legislation dead in its tracks. Until the early 1980s, filibusters were rare. Senators actually had to speak, for hour upon hour, to block action on legislation. It's tough to speak substantively for very long on a subject, so filibustering senators often resorted to reading newspapers, reciting names from phone books, reciting poetry or other foolishness. Unless a senator could convince others to join his filibuster and keep the "debate" rolling, the speaker usually ran out of gas and a vote was held.
In the 1980s, however, the two parties struck a "gentleman's agreement" to suspend the filibuster. It's now only required that a senator inform the majority leader of his intention to filibuster and a vote on legislation is suspended unless 60 senators agree to cut off the "debate." This gives any one senator the power to block a vote on any legislation.
Republican Senators under Sen. Bill Frist have an opportunity to make the Democrat obstructionists "put up or shut up" -- and conservatives across America need to let the GOP know that it's time to "call their bluff."
ACTION ITEM: To stop the shameless "fake filibuster" strategy on the part of Daschle and friends, Sen. Frist must return to the days of the real filibuster. He should announce that senators who threaten to filibuster judicial nominations will be required to go to the floor of the Senate and actually speak. Senators should be required to deal with one subject only, namely the item being filibustered. The public will soon hear about the topic being discussed. The liberals will then have to defend their position. This will make successful filibusters unlikely. It would be politically powerful, too. What would Americans think if they saw Ted Kennedy on C-SPAN reading the Boston phone book for hour after hour to stop the Senate from voting on a Bush judicial nominee?
When it is clear to the American people that the liberals are obstructionist, the pressure will be on Daschle to abandon the filibuster strategy. Then perhaps the President's initiatives and nominations will be fairly considered. If the extremist Democrats who take their marching orders from groups like NARAL and PAW are determined to filibuster President Bush's nominees, then Sen. Frist should compel them to speak.
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Americans across the country need to SWAMP the Republicans in the Senate TODAY with messages *demanding* that the Senate leadership DISCARD the 1980s "gentleman's agreement" to suspend the filibuster, and force the Daschle Democrats to show the world the kind of obstructionist deadweight they really are.
And ConservativeAlerts.com has set up just the way for you to do that.
Now you can send "FaxGrams" to ALL 51 GOP SENATORS -- every single one of them -- telling them to support returning to the REAL filibuster and "force the hand" of the liberal Democrats. The cost is only $19 -- about what it would cost you in time & long distance fees to do it yourself. Go to our site below to send your 51 faxes NOW:
http://www.campaigncontribution.com/alerts/filibuster
NOTE: If all of the Republican Senators find their offices buried under a sea of faxes by the time the judicial nominee voting begins next week, demanding that they rescind the agreement to suspend the filibuster, then we could finally see an end to the "judicial armageddon" imposed by the Daschle Democrats for the last two years. WE CAN WIN THIS ONE! Send your Faxgrams to EVERY SINGLE GOP SENATOR *TODAY* -- and be sure to forward this email to everyone you know that wants to help make sure President Bush's initiatives and judicial nominees receive the fair hearing they deserve.
Also, Paul M. Weyrich's full article,"Bill Frist Must Force Democrats to Stage Real Filibusters", can be found in the print issue of the latest Human Events (vol 59, no 5, week of Feb 3, '03)
Her fellow alderpersons made a make-shift porta-potty for her with tablecloths and who-knows-what for a recepticle - RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR of the municiple building! Lookers-on were tossing toilet paper down at her from the balcony. When she had finished her business, her cohorts (they all had that evil eye look of Jesse Jackson's cronies) all smugly clapped at their desecration of legal proceding.
For Ted you need the No Alcoholic Beverages rule. He'd start getting shaky before he made it to Ackerman in the Washington phone directory.
The founders of our once great nation established the House of Representatives to represent the people in congress. The states WERE represented by the senate. But now, the people have duplicate representation and the states, along with the 10th amendment, are shut out. Senators now cater to the greed of the people and special interests to get and stay elected.
There is more information, links, and a graphic on my FR homepage. In a nutshell, the 17th amendment has given us a senate full of selfish ignorants who don't know squat about the Constitution nor do they really give a 'Rat's *ss about their state. Case in point - Chuckie Schumer filibustering Mr. Estrada over pure ideology when the Constitution clearly states that it is the senate's job to advise and consent. Renewed adherance to the tenth amendment as well as decimation of campaign finance problems could all be achieved with the repeal of the abominable 17th amendment.
BTW, ironically the 17th was passed to prevent the influence of special interests. This problem was really due to the lack of secret ballots (people voted openly at their workplace often in front of their boss) which had given rise to corporate legislatures. The secret ballot was the one and only good thing to come out of the progressive movement.
Yeah right...what a rip off.
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