Just filibust a move!
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Just filibust a move!
Bust it!
The filibuster is a leglslative tradition that is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution -- and whose time has passed. We all believe in checks and balances, but that is accomplished by having three separate branches of government and through the already undemocratic makeup of the U.S. Senate, where voters in Delaware have a lot more clout than voters in California. The filibuster "mission creep" that now mandates 60 votes for any piece of legislation means that America can't respond to the grave challenges of the 21st Century.
But the filibuster is really popular, right?
Only in the movies! According to this New York Times poll (Question 53), only 44 percent of Americans want to keep the filibuster as it is, while 50 percent want to change it. That could be done in January of 2011 by a simple majority vote. It would take a lot of guts for either party to do that year, but with no guts, a gridlocked United States will soon have no glory.
Comments (118)
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they're— Talking point sleuth- ----}}} So, 1910-1940 and 1975-1998 are medieval? {{{--- Good point. My bad. However, the fact remains that the clip Idiot posted is completely, and deliberately, misleading. Jones didn't "concede" any "possibilities" that haven't been discussed extensively in the literature. There is much debate about the MWP. There is simply not conclusive evidence that it was global in nature. Further, the comment in Idiot's quote about the "significance" of the recent warming is also misleading. This kind of sensationalist and deliberately misleading advocacy is what undermines legitimate skepticism, it is also what exposes the Fraudytood of denialists who claim that their on the side of legitimate and unbiased scientific analysis. Here, read the entire interview for yourself: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8511670.stm— Talking point sleuth
- /////He also agreed that there had been two periods which experienced similar warming, from 1910 to 1940 and from 1975 to 1998//// So, 1910-1940 and 1975-1998 are medieval?— General_Turgidson
- ---))) Then you can show us the tax returns where you withheld FWT, Social Security, etc. Or the 1099s you issued them, (({---- LOL! I'm under no such obligation. You can hire someone for temporary work around your home without withholding SS, filing 1099's etc. Certainly, your initial conclusion along those lines could have been chalked up to ignorance, but the fact that you persist - even though your misconception has been explained to you numerous times - just goes to show just how much of a fraud you are, and how pathetic are your attempts to flail away like a schoolgirl in your pathetic attempts to somehow win an argument. Interesting, though, that you would go from explaining the near total lack of participation of blacks at the Tea Party convention to talking about "dark-skinned" people - because, apparently, in your mind, people who aren't white are all the same.— Talking point sleuth
- Wow! Idiot reaches even higher levels of Fraudytood. Here is what Idiot clips --snip-- Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now --snip-- Here is what Jones actually said: --snip-- He also agreed that there had been two periods which experienced similar warming, from 1910 to 1940 and from 1975 to 1998, BUT SAID THESE COULD BE EXPLAINED BY NATURAL PHENOMENA WHEREAS MORE RECENT WARMING COULD NOT. --snip-- Typical. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250872/Climategate-U-turn-Astonishment-scientist-centre-global-warming-email-row-admits-data-organised.html#ixzz0fYGwdpSh— Talking point sleuth
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- i agree w/ the general. if the GOP wants to filibuster, let them. they'll make themselves look ridiculous, and eventually we can get back to business.— mbphilly
- Its FINALLY OVER- bwack, LOL......."It is caused by man and that it is a crisis, is dead? The leader of the CRU now backtracking................. ================================================================================ ============================ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12...-organised.html Professor Jones told the BBC yesterday there was truth in the observations of colleagues that he lacked organisational skills, that his office was swamped with piles of paper and that his record keeping is ‘not as good as it should be’................. The data is crucial to the famous ‘hockey stick graph’ used by climate change advocates to support the theory. Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon...................... And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warming................ The admissions will be seized on by sceptics as fresh evidence that there are serious flaws at the heart of the science."— Manny Trillo
- I will bet a dollar to a dime that "montani semper liberi" doesn't have a lot real friends...And Will, I will gladly pay for the lie detector test if you ever want to establish that you have a fair and balanced character...— will_wonders_never_cease
- I think Churchill had it right when he said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others". How about all of you stop whining and wake up to the fact that you really don't matter all that much in this "democratic" goverment we have. Try getting out of your house and doing something good for somebody else, or get some exercise, or grab a beer and watch some basketball. Basically, if you think you're the one who knows it all, go run for the Senate. If not, shut up and get a life.— sjbrewer100
- How sad and pathetic it is that you boyz need to use such a feeble line of attack in every thread? Yawn. Didn't exploit anyone (paid a very fair wage). Didn't do anything illegal (check the laws). Wasn't going to hire a union moving company to get a couple of hours help from one guy moving a couple of items. CAN'T YOU BOYZ COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER THAN THAT? LOL!— Talking point sleuth
- Filibust what? The only branch of the goverment that isn't controlled by the left is the judiciary. If the dem's had any guts, they would simply push through their agenda and let the voters decide their fates in November.— Norton
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- /////You all heard of Nick's they serve hard drinks in there for men who want to get drunk fast, and they don't need any characters around to give the joint "atmosphere"./////// I don't care how liberated this world becomes - a man will always be judged by the amount of alcohol he can consume - and a woman will be impressed, whether she likes it or not.— General_Turgidson
- ////anyone see the hypocrisy in that statement besides me????//// It was so obvious, it didn't seem worth pointing out.— General_Turgidson
- Gridlock in government is good. The idea that 535 people in washington dc need to be constantly passing legislation upon legislation is flawed. I see no reason the federal govt couldn't just take a year off. We have state governments to handle the business of daily life.
- A good clip of some righteous indignation of Tea Partiers. See if you can find the one black person in the entire clip. (Fortunately, there are two explanations for the lack of diversity. The first is that no one has been "held back from bein' here." The second explanation is that blacks are socialists. LOL!) http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/35776_Video-_Tea_Party_Convention_Attendees_Speak/comments/#ctop— Talking point sleuth
- Violent Liberal Pofs- a new trend? Next up on MSNBC......Bwack, ARTS, BOYZ (which is actually a gay man's term) LOL,— Manny Trillo
- ---}}} You're taking Patraeus' statements on COIN strategy in Iraq & Afghan and dishonestly assigning it to the fight against Islamic terrorism worlwide. {{{--- ---}}} LOL! Now, after years of supporting Republican policies in Iraq and Afghanistan - because those policies were addressed at FIGHTING GLOBAL TERRRORISM, sloboat now says that Iraq and Afghanistan are irrelevant to FIGHTING GLOBAL TERRORISM. Hilarious.— Talking point sleuth
- ---}}} You said poverty was THE driver of Islamic terrorism worldwide. {{{--- Never said it, sloboat. Never. I have stated the obvious and the true, however - something that you, notably, run away from addressing: poverty is a relevant issue in combating terrorism.— Talking point sleuth
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- batboy: I appreciate that you read my posts so carefully, and I'm honored that you've committed some of my trademark comments to memory - but please get it right. I never type LOLZ!— Talking point sleuth
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- LOL! I guess that Petraeus is one of them "Soshulists." --snip-- In Mosul, a city of nearly two million people, Petraeus and the 101st employed classic counterinsurgency methods to build security and stability, including conducting targeted kinetic operations and using force judiciously, jump-starting the economy, building local security forces, staging elections for the city council within weeks of their arrival, overseeing a program of public works, reinvigorating the political process, and launching 4,500 reconstruction projects. This approach can be attributed to Petraeus, who had been steeped in nation-building during his previous tours in places like Bosnia and Haiti and thus approached nation-building as a central military mission and who was "prepared to act while the civilian authority in Baghdad was still getting organized," according to Michael Gordon of The New York Times.Some Iraqis gave Petraeus the nickname 'King David', which was later adopted by some of his colleagues. Newsweek has stated that "It's widely accepted that no force worked harder to win Iraqi hearts and minds than the 101st Air Assault Division led by Petraeus." --snip--— Talking point sleuth
- ---}}} this, from the clown who blames poverty for islamic terrorism. {--- Not sure how it's related, but I guess I should debunk that fraudulent statement nonetheless. I never "blamed" poverty for Islamic terrorism. I've simply stated the obvious - poverty helps create conditions where terrorists can find support. Here, I'll let folks like Robert Gates and Gen. Petraeus explain it to you: --snip-- Under the leadership of Robert Gates the Pentagon has for some time now been at work planning a new approach. The 2008 National Defense Strategy allocated equal importance to mastering irregular warfare as conventional combat. "We cannot capture and kill our way to victory," explained Gates. General David Petraeus, the mastermind of the new counterinsurgency strategy, reinforced this idea when he affirmed that "the more force you use, the less effective it is." These comments highlight a major strategic shift. Today the formula is more brain and less brute force. Military operations are subordinated to "soft power" initiatives. In fact, the National Defense Strategy asserts that "beyond security, essential ingredients of long-term success include economic development, institution building, and the rule of law, as well as promoting internal reconciliation, good governance, providing basic services to the people..." In other words, rather then through military victory alone, success is consolidated by the resolution and the transformation of the conflict. --snip--— Talking point sleuth
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- ---}}} It's only Krazy Kristian Konservatives' misdeeds that are appropriate as grist for the political mill. {{{--- Still missing the point, eh sloboat? The fact of whether a murderer is or is not a Christian is not relevant in an of itself. The fact that a murderer would be motivated by RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM is relevant. It's relevant when it is a Muslim, and it is relevant when it is a Christian. Interesting, though, that you only think it's relevant when it's a Muslim - given that you're not a racist, and all. (After all, you did once have a black roommate, and you were nice to him, LOL!) In itself, the fact that a murderer is a lib or a conservative isn't relevant. The political affiliation of a murderer who killed people because she was denied tenure isn't relevant. The political affiliation of a nutjob who was AMASSING WEAPONS FOR POLITICAL REASONS is relevant. Now why don't you go on one of your never-ending whines about Bill Ayers some more - because he was a terrorist with leftist ideology - even as you lamely claim that the rightwing ideology of political terrorists isn't relevant.— Talking point sleuth
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- Right, Manny. I point out how you press the shift key to capitalize "OK," when YOU ALREADY HAVE THE SHIFT KEY ON, you remain obsessed with my pointing that out, and you're baiting me. LOL! You boyz are hilarious.— Talking point sleuth
- ---}}} Yes, the mass murdering professor was a lib. {{{--- ---}}} Nice. Sloboat politicizing a murder. Nothing is beneath the dude. A Tea Partier amasses weapons for STATED POLITICAL REASONS, and sloboat thinks that people who pointed out his Tea Party affiliation are the one who politicizes it. A liberal professor commits murders BECAUSE SHE WAS DENIED TENURE, and sloboat makes it a political event. And of course, Tim McVeigh, Scott Roeder, Terry Nichols, Eric Rudolph - other murderers motivated by FAR RIGHTWING POLITICS, are also to be ignored - eh sloboat?— Talking point sleuth
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- TPS has no idea I was BAiting HIM he is constantly Baited here YET- HE IS CLUeless to it.— Manny Trillo
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- Must be the latest Dem talking point. Maddow is blathering about it on his show.— BSinPA
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Damn those liberal Alabaman college professors and their guns!!— rudytbone- Well, this thread certainly was active while I was away at my real job, although the advent of Swiftie, John Gualt (who is that guy, anyway?) and especially the inimitable bill atk. certainly brought the level down. I have to admit, though, that the emerging Capra meme is pretty funny. Confidential to the Sleuth: You do know Manny was baiting you, right?— Billy Ray Winthorpe
- ---}}} Talking PoinT sleuTH- DOES glen bECK scare You? {{{--- ---}}} Not in the slightest, Manny. I'm glad that Beck is around to keep luring the lunatics out of the woodwork. But I am curious as to why Palin is "pallin'" around with terrorists. Oh, and btw, have you figured out yet that when you have the caps lock key on, and you want to type capital letters, YOU SHOULDN'T PRESS THE SHIFT KEY? LOL!— Talking point sleuth
- Talking PoinT sleuTH- DOES glen bECK scare You?— Manny Trillo
- Nice. Yet another raving, lunatic, rightwing Tea Partier. Boy, it sure is a good thing that in reality, they don't exist. --snip-- As we reported yesterday, Gregory Girard, a Manchester technology consultant, was found with a stash of military grade weapons, explosive devices including tear gas and pepper ball canisters, camouflage clothing, knives, handcuffs, bulletproof vests and helmets, and night vision goggles, say police. They believe Girard, who pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, was “preparing for domestic and political turmoil,” and feared martial law would soon be imposed. Girard’s wife said her husband had recently told her: “Don’t talk to people, shoot them instead,” and “it’s fine to shoot people in the head because traitors deserve it.” But it appears that Girard had lately found a community with which to share some of his growing fears. A “Greg Girard,” listing his location as Manchester, Mass., has a personal page on the “Patriots of America” online network, a popular site affiliated with the Tea Party movement. --snip-- Gee - do you think that maybe this dude was a fan of Glenn Beck?— Talking point sleuth
Hey look! Bird's giving out wings.— Hamlet
Everyone have a nice weekend, I am off to Nick's for a drink. You all heard of Nick's they serve hard drinks in there for men who want to get drunk fast, and they don't need any characters around to give the joint "atmosphere".— bird11- And one more thing Hamlet did you notice George's own brother, Harry, never said a good thing about him until he was home from the war (probably after he had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, and razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan). It was only then that he said "A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town." ...see it was all about the money.— bird11
- And Hamlet, "George Baily is the biggest man in town!" is probably the reason Violet was always hanging on Georgie.— bird11
- Hamlet - George Bailey would be doing Violet Bick in front of Mr. Potter and taunting Potter for being in a wheelchair.— bird11
- George Baily would never tea bag Mr. Potter...— Hamlet
- He would not, Bird! George Baily is the biggest man in town! Bigger than you, Bird, bigger than anyone.— Hamlet
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- "tea baggers are by far the best at making up school yard names for people in the news" ... anyone see the hypocrisy in that statement besides me????— bird11
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As a long time blog poster, not so much here but around the net, I have to say, Republicans and tea baggers are by far the best at making up school yard names for people in the news. Has anyone else noticed that? Is it the 4th grade view of the world and its machinations? Just wonderin'...— Les Ismore- Comment removed.
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- Hamlet, don't kid yourself George Bailey would have handed out Fannie Mae loans like Halloween candy then cashed his bailout check.....and liberals would hate him for it.— bird11
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- I wish we did have some Capraesque politicians in Washington. Frank Capra's movies are corney, but they are how I envisioned America was really like when I was a kid. Hey, can anyone imagine a Capra hero being a Republican? Neither can I.— Hamlet
- General Petraeus, who is the probably the military source most quoted by "conservatives" on how to fight terrorists, says that holding the trials in a closed military setting would be a successful recruiting tool for terrorists. Hmmmm. Let's see. sloboat, Mr. Smith, and "bag o cheese," or General Petraeus. It's just so difficult to know which side has more credibility. Complete toadies who are exploiting American fears about terrorism for partisan political interests, or a military expert?— Talking Point Stooge
- Why is Obama such a coward? What does he think KSM will escape if the trial is in NYC??— Talking Point Stooge
- birdie, Here's what's laughable. "Conservatives," using American fears about security, exploit the decision to try these guys in federal court by saying that doing so would be a recruiting tool for terrorists. CIA operatives in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, who are fighting the terrorists, say that holding the trials in a closed military setting would be a successful recruiting tool for terrorists. Hmmmm. Let's see. sloboat, Mr. Smith, and "bag o cheese," or CIA operatives fighting terrorists in Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalia. It's just so difficult to know which side has more credibility.— Talking Point Stooge
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- "President Barack Obama said he is “agnostic” about raising taxes on households making less than $250,000 as part of a broad effort to rein in the budget deficit. Obama, in a Feb. 9 Oval Office interview, said that a presidential commission on the budget needs to consider all options for reducing the deficit, including tax increases and cuts in spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. “The whole point of it is to make sure that all ideas are on the table,” the president said in the interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands Friday. “So what I want to do is to be completely agnostic, in terms of solutions.” Obama repeatedly vowed during the 2008 presidential election campaign that he would not raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 and households earning less than $250,000 a year. When senior White House economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner suggested in August that the administration might be open to going back on that pledge, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs quickly reiterated the president’s promise. In the interview, Obama said that putting preconditions on the agenda of a bipartisan advisory commission, which he said he would soon establish, would just undermine its purpose. “What I can’t do is to set the thing up where a whole bunch of things are off the table,” Obama said. “Some would say we can’t look at entitlements. There are going to be some that say we can’t look at taxes, and pretty soon, you just can’t solve the problem.” ....I would like to say I whole heartedly disagree with the President on this flip-flop.— bird11
- From MSNBC "Attorney General Eric Holder is leaving open the possibility of trying professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed before a military commission instead of the civilian trial originally planned for New York City. "At the end of the day, wherever this case is tried, in whatever forum, what we have to ensure is that it's done as transparently as possible and with adherence to all the rules," Holder told The Washington Post in an interview published in Friday's editions. "If we do that, I'm not sure the location or even the forum is as important as what the world sees in that proceeding." .......... I would like to support President Obama in this wise change of heart.— bird11
- Listening to the Dems and Republicans over the years on the filibuster suggests the following paraphrase : Le filibuster est mort. Vive le filibuster.— RADDOCSJ
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- I think Biden's point was correct -- the filibuster IS a valuable tool to force the majority to consider the wishes of a slighter minority -- i.e. the wishes of 53 don't trump that of 47. Once you get to "supermajority" (60-40) you don't need to negotiate at all. I have no problem with the filibuster as a tool to gain compromise on legislation (republican or democrat). I do have a problem with it as a club to prevent up/down votes on Presidential nominees. Using it that way interrupts the business of governing our country.— IggleFan68
- "Stop publishing your lies and start admitting to your liberal bias." Don't think he is trying to hide it. Bias is a requirement on the editorial page. Sorry.— pagoda
- Will, who are you kidding? If the roles were reversed, you would be the first one on the boat applauding and supporting the filibuster. Stop publishing your lies and start admitting to your liberal bias. I agree that the filibuster is absolutely a frustrating, if not undemocratic, tactic. However, to get rid of it would take one hell of a bi-partisan effort.— frankfj
FISA shmisa,Americans don't enjoy a right to privacy. Why.? because our dear and glorious leader says so, that's why.— ocjones- Gee, after Mass passed universal care, health costs continued to rise. Now what? Price controls, which will inevitably lead to shortages. http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/02/11/mass-governor-wants-to-cap-hospital-doctor-rate-increases/— RG
- ........................Dianne Feinstein's Cheat Notes written on hand during debate-— Manny Trillo
"The Senate allows small population states to prevent large population states from running roughshod over how that land should be used." . . . . I wouldn't mind if that's all the Senate did as its function, but that's irrelevant to the question of protecting liberty and freedom. Land use is within the power of state and local governments to regulate and restrict, not to mention the power of eminent domain. The 5th Amendment only guarantees a fair process and just compensation before the state can seize land or change the laws governing its use.- General - are you trying to say "" Now you can call it Dick, or you can call it Rod, or you can call it shaft, or you can call it TPS, or you can call it package, or you can call it tool, or you can call it eye one, but you shouldn't hasta call it Johnson!"— bird11
- /////the freedom and liberty of the half of the population without johnsons/////// ------ Don't say 'johnson.' They don't like hearing it and find it difficult to say, whereas without batting an eye a man will refer to his dvck or his rod.— General_Turgidson
- "MSL what kind of job did the 14th Ammendment do to protect the freedom and liberty of the half of the population without johnsons" . . . . . . Bird, nothing at first. It took another amendment to guarantee women suffrage. However, the 14th Amendment is the legal basis for much of Congress's civil rights protections for women today, as it gives Congress legislative authority to enforce "equal protection" of the law.
- Anyone see the Picturtes of Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein with HAND WRITTEN NOTES ON HER HAND?....hmmm strange...— Manny Trillo
- If it made a good movie maybe a filibuster will make good TV. None of this threat of a filibuster stuff. If you want to filibuster then you have to stand up and talk.— Seamus
- "Amazing how libs only hate the filibuster when they control the Senate!" . . . . Yeah, remember that nucular option thingie they dreamed up? Oh wait...
- "The fact is, we had to add the 14th Amendment to protect freedom and liberty FROM the power of the states." MSL what kind of job did the 14th Ammendment do to protect the freedom and liberty of the half of the population without johnsons.— bird11
- GT has a good idea- Make the senators fillabuster- call their bluff. There is nothing to lose , they won't pass anything anyway.— Molly
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- "Explain how statehood is relevant today to liberty and freedom since the passage of the 14th Amendment." The Fedgov owns huges amounts of land out west. The Senate allows small population states to prevent large population states from running roughshod over how that land should be used.— db_cooper
- So, Will, please pull up one of your past posts decrying how the Dems are using filibusters to obstruct GOP legislation and Bush judges. C'mon, if you are so principled against the filibuster, you should have had at least one.— db_cooper
- ///what ever happened to Young MC, anyway?/// He came out with a CD in 2002 that flopped. He's done some guest appearances on TV shows, but if you take a look at his IMDB listing, his songs are used three or four times every year in big movies and TV shows, so I guess he's been living off residuals.— General_Turgidson
- Amazing how libs only hate the filibuster when they control the Senate! When they are in the minority, the filibuster is a grand democratic tradition and a cornerstone of our Republic!! Again, arguments like this sicken me. Bleh!— rudytbone
- "what ever happened to Young MC, anyway?" - he got a life.— Talking Point Stooge
- "what ever happened to Young MC, anyway?" He died from lack of health insurance.— RG
- Still a great song - what ever happened to Young MC, anyway?— Talking point sleuth
- no glory? at the moment I am personally feeling that the filibuster is glorious, as do a majority of americans who are terrified of Obama's healthcare ideas.— Bud Fox
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- Montani, are you suggesting that filibusters generally function in a democratic or an anti-democratic way? One might be tempted to view the filibuster as an elitist reaction against increasing democracy, particularly given its eventual association with massive resistance to civil rights legislation. BTW, presumably Byrd's filibuster is not what makes him your state's pride and joy in 2010, yes?— Billy Ray Winthorpe
What's wrong with the majority party working with the minority party to craft legislation that is acceptable to a larger part of the country - represent all sides, as it were. Too much work? Oh, that's right, Republicans are dumb and should just let Democrats govern. How's that reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac going? Didn't they just pump more money in and not reformed the system? Bet they got nice bonuses.- Oh, and SCOTUS has long given the Senate the constitutional green light to eliminate the filibuster by a simple majority vote.
- Billy, its interesting to note that a senate filibuster was never practiced within the elitist Senate until the 1830s, after Jacksonian democracy had taken hold. The rules have been designed to limit filibusters ever since, not to encourage them. Indeed, the House had effectively banned the filibuster by 1842. My state's pride and joy, Robert Byrd, once filibustered 14 hours on the Senate floor against a civil rights bill in the 60s.
- I guess that makes it ironic that the Ninth and Tenth Amendments were included on the premise that the power of the states would be less corrosive of liberty than the power of the central government would be. Of course, that all goes back to the fact that in the early Republic, "some citizens were more equal than others" based on skin color, sex, and of course personal wealth.— Billy Ray Winthorpe
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- The fact is, we had to add the 14th Amendment to protect freedom and liberty FROM the power of the states.
- Mark G: Thanks for adding one other reason why we have the Senate, one that still operates today when we are 50 states. Presumably this does not mean that you discount the reason I've already outlined for the Senate's existence, does it? Montani: Well, I can agree with your statement on the history behind the Connecticut Compromise, but I reckon the individual states are going to remain relevant as long as the states retain any amount of legislative and regulatory power. And they do. A lot of it.— Billy Ray Winthorpe
- "The framers adopted the bi-cameral system so that small states like Delaware would not be trampled by the more populous states on the Senate" . . . . . Don't be silly. It was a compromise when we were trying to form a union of 13 individual colonies, each of which had been created under British colonial policy, not some natural law of God. Explain how statehood is relevant today to liberty and freedom since the passage of the 14th Amendment.
- The gravest challenge in the 21st century will be to maintain the liberty and freedom that the Constitution assured us in the 18th Century. The framers adopted the bi-cameral system so that small states like Delaware would not be trampled by the more populous states on the Senate, and the House would be more "representative". Those who would speak for tomorrow need to learn about yesterday, lest we forget the lesssons of the past.— Mark Glaeser
- Amid all the talk about what was or was not in the original Constitution and what that should mean for our modern governance, let us remember that the original document was drafted at a time when the leaders of society feared the very concept of democracy. The common mob deciding weighty political matters for themselves? Horrors! That's why they instituted the Senate as an "upper house" in our legislature, somewhat akin to the British House of Lords, and called for senators to be elected by the legislatures (NOT the residents) of each state. Together with each state's property-holding requirements for the franchise and for office-holding, this assured that the Senate would always display a certain rather lordly social composition. So if, like me, you're glad that you get a vote in senatorial elections today, be thankful that back in 1913 our legislators decided that they could trust us with that vote and therefore altered the original intent of the Founding Fathers by passing the Seventeenth Amendment. Oh yeah, and bust the filibuster. It's hard enough to get anything done in this country anyway.— Billy Ray Winthorpe
- But seriously, and this is my last comment, I swear -- if the Democrats really want to overcome the filibuster, call the GOP on their bluff. Dems were all for filibusters, and the GOP called (I think it was Frist) the filibuster "formula for tyrrany by the minority." Now, the role is switched. All last year, the GOP couldn't filibuster a thing. If they're threatening to do it now (which is usually all that happens, is the threat to filibuster), then make them do it. Because right now, the Democrats seem to be whining about the filibuster, when they can easily make the GOP seem like major obstructionists by calling the bluff and letting them filibuster. Haul in the cots and the comfy PJs, put the obstruction on TV. That will win support much better than crying about it and looking like a hypocrite.— General_Turgidson
- Pelosi vehemently supported the filibuster move by Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold on the FISA renewal. So did Barack Obama, actually. And all of the senior democratic leadership supported filibustering Samuel Alito (although, to Obama's credit, he at least said then that it is not a very good maneuver, even though he supported it). Both parties are against it when it stands in their way -- which, if ever there was a sign that it needs to be kept, that's it. You can end a filibuster with cloture.— General_Turgidson
- Another case of both parties being hypocrites. When the Dems used it to block judges, we heard about the great history of the fillibuster and the Repubs whined about. Now the roles are reversed and both side of changed their opinions....— psuguy
- Oh, one more thing Will-- maybe yo can take up the whole filibuster thing with Joe Boden, who was for it, before he was against it: "Biden, who served in the Senate for more than 30 years, was a longtime proponent of the filibuster as a way to block Republican presidential appointments and legislative initiatives. He was also an active opponent, on philosophical grounds, of the so-called nuclear option, a Republican effort to change the rules of the Senate to end the filibuster as a way to block judicial nominations. " (http://tinyurl.com/yc2sdfz). --- "in May of 2005, Biden said, "At its core, the filibuster is not about stopping a nominee or a bill, it's about compromise and moderation." When the Senate was considering President George W. Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court, Biden held out the prospect of a filibuster to block it. As the writer of the article mentions, talk about a deathbed conversion.— General_Turgidson
- Yeah, that's not right -- will go in and fix it.— will
Not in the constitution? That has never stopped the left! Right to privacy? Abortion? Pick an issue the left can't get legislatively, and look for the legal road to the SCOTUS. That bunch has invented more things than 3M!— georgel- Will, do you mean that the time has come for the filibuster, which would mean that it is suitably fulfilling a need, or that its time has gone? Because you write the former, but your post seems to be trying to make the point that it is the latter.— General_Turgidson
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