If Republican Senate doesn't get rid of the Filibuster Rule & go to a simple majority, ...

Real Donald Trump twitter account ^ | August 23, 2017 | President Donald Trump

[jjotto]

The Constitution prescribes the two-thirds Senate rule for removal after impeachment. It takes an Amendment to change that.

[VRWCarea51]

The U.S. Senators were not seated by a majority or super majority when the Constitution was enacted either.

[VRWCarea51]

#29 Show votes and show ponies get exposed for the RINOs they are.

No more meaningless show votes to be able to highlight during campaigns.

[AmusedBystander]

The Senate was originally NOT intended to "do the will of the people". It was intended to "do the will of the states"

Well since they are doing pretty much the "will of the corrupt cronies", I think a little "will of the people" is way over due.

[trebb]

And Ryan has “warned the President to not shut down the government over funding for the wall”....he and McConnell are working in tandem to thwart the President and screw the People.

[Wonder Warthog]

"The U.S. Senators were not seated by a majority or super majority when the Constitution was enacted either."

I'm not getting your point here. I think the first Senators were chosen by the states legislatures.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Well since they are doing pretty much the "will of the corrupt cronies", I think a little "will of the people" is way over due.

Well, that was pretty much the argument used to pass the direct election of Senators Constitutional Amendment. Apparently the desired result didn't happen.

[Cboldt]

-- This isn't rocket science. A 7th grade civics class could figure it out. --

And still, most people don't get the principles involved.

The so-called filibuster rule is a common rule in deliberative bodies. Robert's rules of order has this feature, but instead of 3/5ths majority, uses 2/3rds majority.

The point of cloture is to prevent a majority of the body from bum's rushing a bill to a vote, before dissenters have an opportunity to present their case. Once everybody has a chance to be heard, it's time to vote. A functional body would take the vote after sufficient deliberation.

The senate is dysfunctional, and uses cloture as a minority veto device. It's not the rule that is the problem. It is the people.

The senate rules lack a "move the question" facility, since 1806.

No functional body has a minority veto function for ordinary business.

[bert]

So long as it takes 60 votes to allow a vote, the Senate is not functioning as intended by the founders.

The purpose of the rule is to allow unlimited debate. If the Democrats want to stay up all night every night till the cows come home, they should be made to do that. The rule has been been perverted to mean that there are no consequences to insisting on unlimited debate with no intention of debating continuously for ever.

If Senators insist on maintaining the rule, they must insist on staying up all night every night.

[bert]

In effect, there is no Senate.

[Cboldt]

Suffrage is the right to vote, so the clause you cite is just that each state will have equal power and representation in the senate. That clause doesn't impose a simple majority rule. A simple majority rule isn't expressed because it is (or at least used to be) taken as an obvious feature of a deliberative body.

"Equal suffrage" applies and works properly in the constitutionally prescribed super-majority issues, ratification of treaties, for example. Therefore, equal suffrage isn't a "majority" rule.

[Amendment10]

"Suffrage is the right to vote, so the clause you cite is just that each state will have equal power and representation in the senate."

Thank you for your opinion Cboldt, but I’m still not convinced. I will have to do some scratching.

[Norseman]

Thank you for your explanation. I know the filibuster rule has been abused. You summed the problem up nicely with this comment:

“No functional body has a minority veto function for ordinary business”

And, clearly, the Senate has become dysfunctional.