Posted on 05/04/2017 6:38:21 AM PDT by Kaslin
I agree completely. However, it is not going to happen.
The problem isn’t so much Democrats as some Republicans. We all know where the Democrats stand on the various issues. We have a GOP majority in the senate, but a number of GOP senators oppose eliminating the fillibuster. I suspect they secretly share more in common with Democrats than conservatives, so the fillibuster is—in their minds—something that can both give them political cover in the GOP as well as prevent conservatives from having a say.
The 60 vote Senate rule is totally ridiculous and out of date. It is time for Mitchell to bite the bullet and get rid of it. They will never get tax reform unless they get rid of this archaic rule AKA: “The Byrd Rule” named after former West VA Senator Robert Byrd.
The filibuster worked well when most senators were working in good faith to get the best for their constituents. Compromise is a good thing in that situation to keep the minority from getting screwed.
But, when senators are working for their party rather than their constituents and the party is working for donors, the filibuster is not a good idea. It’s a tool the minority uses in bad faith negotiations in hopes of disappointing the majority of the voters to win the next election.
He should have gotten rid of it as soon as he became majority leader, just like dingy Harry Reid did in 2007.
Mitchell is an Establishment guy. Keeping the rule allows him to blame the Democrats for not passing legislation that he “REALLY” opposes. It provides him cover from criticism within his own Caucus and Party. If he gets rid of the rule, it will only be because of intense pressure to do so. Stay Tuned!
The days of the filibuster are numbered. Republicans can either end it now or they can wait for the democrats to end it when they take control of the senate again.
Not so sure this is a good idea.
I wonder if getting rid of the filibuster is along the lines of finishing off the Sinate, work that began with the 17thA.
No filibuster makes the Sinate just another House, and this would be the final straw.
The Sinate is indeed broken, but I think the proper fix is repeal of the 17th, to turn it back into a Senate. That means it will take awhile, and needs a Convention of States to accomplish.
Exactly right and very well stated!
See my post #6 to Freeper Old Retired Army Guy.
I dunno. I don’t think you can trust the electorate to understand that 51 dem senators will get your 401K plan confiscated by the government just like they hijacked our healthcare.
I don’t think the problem is necessarily that republicans are spineless (although they probably are) and can’t find a way to completely rollback ACA. I think the problem was the electoral temper tantrum that “we, the people” had in 2008. we actually got lucky that the obamites were as incompetent as they were; the carnage could have been much worse.
generally, I think we keep blaming politicians for the electoral decisions we make.
Slippery slope to eliminate the Electoral College.
Remember when Obamacare was rammed down our throats at 3 am on a Sunday morning, and because the Dims had a filibuster-proof majority there was nothing we could do about it?
Now imagine a not-so-distant future where the Dims can do the exact same thing on any subject, including gun control, with just a 50-50 tie in the Senate and a Dim Vice President tie-breaker.
No, this way lies folly, and people are being much too short-sighted to see it. Get rid if the filibuster altogether, and you may as well also get rid if the Senate entirely. It will become just another House.
Maybe replace them with Bellybusters those sound tasty.
I swear the Republican senators must be the type of parents who give their kids a candy bar when they were threaten to hold their breaths.
So why are Republicans rushing to pass a budget that Democrats love?
...
They don’t love it. They are spinning it to fool their constituents and create discontent among Trump’s supporters.
Its not going to happen, what will happen is more ranting against McConnell and Ryan. But Trump's OK, the master negotiator apparently got rolled.
McConnell wouldn't have the votes to do this and the GOP in the Senate will not replace him with someone who will.
First, historical lore says that the filibuster was part of the original design of the Senate. Not true. When we scour early Senate history, we discover that the filibuster was created by mistake.
https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-history-of-the-filibuster/
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