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Senate Adopts New Rules on Filibusters
Wall Street Journal ^ | 11/21/13 | By Janet Hook And Kristina Peterson

Posted on 11/21/2013 9:52:06 AM PST by SoFloFreeper

Edited on 11/21/2013 9:53:53 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

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To: WaterWeWaitinFor

I am. I do. I spend entirely too much time every day on the “Politix” forum refuting the leftist lies in the articles their “editors” post on that website. I get weary of the stupidity I find there, stupidity and evil.


241 posted on 11/21/2013 2:22:14 PM PST by Wiser now (Socialism does not eliminate poverty, it guarantees it.)
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To: Conscience of a Conservative
I don't think the so-called nuclear option is a one-time thing. Senate rules are voted on at the beginning of each Congress. Usually, they adopt the package of rules in place from before.

Changing the rules mid-way through a session via a parliamentary interpretation is what just happened, which requires a majority vote to adopt. Otherwise, regular order would be necessary to change the rules.

Regardless of how we got there, these are the rules going forward, unless a future Senate votes to change the rules, following regular order, which allows for filibuster.

-PJ

242 posted on 11/21/2013 2:23:12 PM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: INVAR
Very true, all of what you've said! The Republic is now a thing of the past. It's history. Our grandchildren might get to read about what is was once like. I say, 'might', because history will be re-written from this point forward!

Sad day for the country! bowing my head

243 posted on 11/21/2013 2:23:19 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: Digger
Conservatives have no representation - NONE.

You're possibly right, but we do have more _____(fill in the blank) for the coming revolution!

244 posted on 11/21/2013 2:26:02 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: SoFloFreeper
and America takes another one in the........

245 posted on 11/21/2013 2:55:16 PM PST by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -vvv- NO Pity for the LAZY - 86-44)
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To: Nahhh I Dont Think So

Only if the Republicans are smart enough to do it. I am not optimistic that they are.


246 posted on 11/21/2013 3:19:40 PM PST by 22202NOVA ("Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage." -- H.L. Mencken)
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To: tapatio

You mean grammar!


247 posted on 11/21/2013 3:23:17 PM PST by SoldierDad (Proud dad of an Army Soldier who has survived 24 months of Combat deployment.)
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To: Conscience of a Conservative

The nuclear option was discussed in 2005 by the GOP but didn’t come to be.

https://www.google.com/#q=2005+senate+nuclear+option


248 posted on 11/21/2013 3:23:38 PM PST by deport
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To: SoFloFreeper
Maybe the repubs need to come out and say this is being done so the dems can can keep forcing Obamacare on the public.

They (dems) don't care , about all the harm that is being inflicted on the public by Obamacare-people losing their insurance (even cancer patients), impossibly high deductibles, people being reduced to part time hours exc...

They (dems) are not the least bit bothered by the pain, stress, and worry, being caused by O care- they want it to be forced on people period. (Not to mention they never read the freakin bill in the first place. Oh, and let's not forget they exempted themselves from it.)

The nuclear option is just another example of the democrat party ruling (not governing), by force.

This needs to be said loudly and often to the people, and tie it to the fact that the dems are trying to shove people into Ocare.

249 posted on 11/21/2013 3:29:13 PM PST by Pajamajan (Pray for our nation. Thank the Lord for everything you have. Don't wait. Do it today.)
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To: hattend

I agree. Reminds me of the Star Wars story, when the Senate agrees to give Palpatin “emergency powers” to essentially bypass the legislature.

That is what these fascists have done, and their sycophants in the media applaud.


250 posted on 11/21/2013 3:30:04 PM PST by SoFloFreeper
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To: SoFloFreeper

Eventually, the sycophants will run afoul of the Dear Leader, and will get a taste of his punishment.

Then it will be too late.


251 posted on 11/21/2013 3:31:30 PM PST by SoFloFreeper
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To: 11th Commandment

Those two are so missable.


252 posted on 11/21/2013 3:32:32 PM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: JediJones

Unused power is wasted power. Just like an unused resource, it benefits no one.


253 posted on 11/21/2013 3:33:03 PM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: tet68

Yes. Criminalization of Christianity is on the agenda. Oh, there will still be churches, but only ones approved by the state.

And watch out if you dare to have a Bible study in your home.


254 posted on 11/21/2013 3:35:55 PM PST by SoFloFreeper
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To: MeganC

225 years -we had a pretty good run as a republic. now we’re a pure democracy(mob rule)

Next, the Senate will just change what’s considered a quorum.


255 posted on 11/21/2013 3:37:16 PM PST by TurboZamboni (Marx smelled bad & lived with his parents most his life.)
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To: SoFloFreeper; KC_Lion; All
The following is Harry Reid's own words about the 'Nuclear Option' and it's from the Democrats very own site! It'll be pulled very, very soon so go see it while you can!

http://democrats.senate.gov/2005/04/26/floor-statement-of-senator-reid-on-nuclear-option/

Floor Statement of Senator Reid on Nuclear Option

For the past several months, the Senate has operated under a nuclear cloud. As a result of the Senate’s decision to reject a small number of President Bush’s judicial nominees, the Republican majority has threatened to break the Senate rules, violate over 200 years of Senate tradition and impair the ability of Democrats and Republicans to work together on issues of real concern to the American people.

It is astounding that Republicans would precipitate this destructive confrontation, especially since this President has a better confirmation rate than any of his recent predecessors. The Senate has confirmed 205 of President Bush’s judicial candidates and turned back only ten, a 95% confirmation rate. Ten rejected judges – only seven of whom are currently before the Senate – does not seem reason enough for Republicans to break the Senate rules.

My Republican colleagues claim that nominees are entitled to an up-down vote. That claim ignores history, including recent history. Throughout the years, many judicial nominees have been denied up-down votes. For example, according to the Senate Historian, Republicans filibustered Lyndon Johnson’s nomination of Abe Fortas to be Chief Justice.

During the Clinton Administration, almost 70 judicial nominees were bottled up in the Judiciary Committee and never received floor votes. In addition, Republicans engaged in explicit filibusters on the floor against a number of Clinton judges, and defeated a number of President Clinton’s executive branch nominees by filibuster. Some of the loudest proponents of the nuclear option opposed cloture on those nominees.

America is paying attention to this hypocrisy. Our citizens are alarmed at what the Republican majority is planning to do. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released yesterday, Americans oppose by 2 to 1 changing the rules to make it easier for the President to stack the courts with radical judges.

The American people have rejected the nuclear option because they see it for what it is — an unconstitutional abuse of power.

Regardless of political affiliation, Americans understand that this is a partisan power grab. Nearly half of the Republicans polled opposed any rules changes, joining eight in 10 Democrats and seven in 10 independents.

Over the last several months, I have spent a lot of time reaching across the aisle and talking with my colleagues about how to avoid this nuclear catastrophe. My door has always been open to responsible Republicans who do not want the Senate to head down this unproductive path.

I wrote to the Majority Leader on March 15 and expressed a willingness to find a way out. The Majority Leader replied two days later that he would offer a compromise for resolving this issue. One month later Democrats still await that proposal.

Now it appears that Republican leaders are not interested in compromise. The Majority Leader stated earlier today that he will not accept any compromise that does not provide for the confirmation of all of President Bush’s controversial nominations – including those that were previously rejected by the Senate.

Karl Rove, currently the Deputy White House Chief of Staff, has stated that the President will settle for nothing less than a 100 percent confirmation rate.

These are not positions that allow for compromise.

These are not positions that allow the Senate to proceed with the work of the American people.

There are positions that force a confrontation. These are positions that divert attention from the problems real Americans face – high gas prices, poor schools, inadequate health care coverage.

These positions demonstrate that Republican leaders are fiddling while Rome is burning.

Republican leaders don’t want compromise. Republican leaders don’t want Democrats to have a voice in this debate. Republican leaders don’t want any check on their quest for absolute power. They want total victory.

95% of President Bush’s nominees have been confirmed, but that isn’t good enough. The Majority Leader wants to break the rules and turn the Senate into a rubber stamp for the President. Ultimately this is about removing the last check in Washington against complete abuse of power — the right to extended debate.

Once that last check is gone, the radical right will be able to place one of their own on the Supreme Court. This is all about the Supreme Court. The radical right is angry with the decisions of Justices Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor, both of whom were appointed by Ronald Reagan. The radical right wants a different kind of Supreme Court – one that would roll back equality, liberty and the rights of all Americans.

Many of us understand who elected us to this body – the people sent us here, not Karl Rove, not James Dobson and not radical elements of our society.

There is a way to avoid the nuclear shutdown. I have outlined a proposal to my Republican colleagues in an effort to protect our independent judiciary and to preserve the Founding Fathers’ vision of the Senate.

I will keep the details of my conversations with other Senators private, but I want to talk about why compromise is necessary.

Democrats stand united against the unconstitutional nuclear option. We have a responsibility to protect checks and balances, not violate them. My offer protects those checks and balances.

My offer also renews procedures to allow home state Senators to have a meaningful say in who sits on the federal courts in their states. Those procedures encourage consultation and leads to the nomination of consensus judges, judges who can be confirmed unanimously in most cases.

Democrats have confirmed 95% of the President’s judicial nominees. The ten that were denied confirmation previously lack a commitment to the fundamental rights and liberties we hold so dear. But, to ensure that the Senate remains a check on the President’s power, especially for the Supreme Court, we are willing to compromise on this subject.

I believe my proposal strikes the right balance – it protects our democracy and the independence of our federal courts, it protects the American people and lets us do their business, and it breaks a partisan stalemate that is unnecessary and divisive.

I want to emphasize that any potential compromise is contingent on a commitment that the nuclear option will not be exercised in any form during this Congress. The threat to break the Senate rules must end.

End of Senator Reid's comments.

256 posted on 11/21/2013 3:40:20 PM PST by MeganC (Support Matt Bevin to oust Mitch McConnell! https://mattbevin.com/)
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To: SoFloFreeper
It's official. We're a one party fascist police state now.

 photo Obama-nazi-swastika_zps18fef4a2.jpg

257 posted on 11/21/2013 3:51:05 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (Repeal ObamaScam NOW!!!)
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To: Truth29
Didn’t Bill Ayers say something like killing 25 million people was acceptable to get to their leftist dream?

Actually it was professors and academics from Columbia. The very same people who groomed Obama to power.

And YES, they were deadly serious about exterminating 25-70 million Americans whom they pre-determined would not accept 'change'.

America has no clue what is about to happen to it.

Even most here keep saying silly things like "We win the Senate in 2014" and 'What goes around comes around".

They have no clue what time it is.

258 posted on 11/21/2013 4:06:40 PM PST by INVAR ("Fart for liberty, fart for freedom and fart proudly!" - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Cboldt

Collins a RINO
Landrieu a Dhimmi. What’s your point.


259 posted on 11/21/2013 4:11:59 PM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Reach across that aisle, McCain! Keep reaching! If you reach far enough you can participate in a circle jerk.


260 posted on 11/21/2013 4:13:38 PM PST by VerySadAmerican (".....Barrack, and the horse Mohammed rode in on.")
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