The battle over Health Care Reform, the Stimulus Bill, global warming legislation, etc. has brought one thing clearly into focus.

The filibuster has transformed The Senate into an undemocratic, unrepresentative body of The People.

Imagine if our Presidential elections had the following rule, unless a President was elected by at least 60% of voters, no new president would be elected.

Would we consider that reflective of a true democracy?

So how can it be considered that bills that have over 50% of The Senate’s vote fail and that as little as 41% of the vote wins in killing a bill?

Think of how much profound change and progress could be taking place if we only needed 51 votes in The Senate to pass legislation.

That’s why I think the time has come to go nuclear.

When Republicans controlled Congress earlier in the Bush Admin, Senate Democrats used the filibuster to block some of the most extremist candidates the Bush Admin was trying to push through into becoming federal judges. Bush and The Republicans were furious about the principled use of the filibuster so they gave the Dems an ultimatum.

Either they stop using the filibuster as much as they were or they would employ what they called, “The Nuclear Option”, procedural changes that would not allow filibusters to be made on judicial nominees.

This caused enormous alarm among the historically invertebrate Democratic leadership and they agreed to let objectionable extremists  become judges for life as long as the Republicans let them filibuster once in a while in the worst cases.

Fast forward to today, when far more important changes to this nation are in the hands of a huge 60 member majority for the Dems and  how do they deal with the much more egregious overuse of the filibuster by The Republicans?

They shrug their sholders, give into those Senators who are tools of the very corporations affected by the bill, pay bribes to the Senators who engage in extortion and try to put lipstick on the legislative pigs they shepherd out of their chambers, squeezing from their forced smiles, “It’s a great start!”

The time has come to return democracy to The Senate. The filibuster is flatly undemocratic. Now, the weak kneed ones like Harry Reid in The Senate would run around waving their arms and shrieking at the scary idea that democracy might continue even under Republican majorities in Congress and fight to keep The Senate in eternal gridlock (which after 2010 I’m afraid it will be, The Dems aren’t likely to have a larger majority in the future).

But those Senators who have a fear of democracy are in the wrong business. Imagine the sweeping changes and progress that could be made to this nation if we only needed a simple majority in the Senate? Isn’t that worth accepting that Republicans would have the same right under a democracy when they get control. Isn’t that what elections are for?

The key point here is that if they put aside their fears of democracy and accomplished so much under true democracy, the Repubs would be out of power in the Senate for at least a generation and if they returned after that, society will have evolved so far from where they are today, they’d never maintain power if they didn’t reflect the new America.

I would argue that it would be a better reign on unpopular legislating and give the Dems the tools to reverse bad legislation quickly.

A little background, David Dayen wrote this on FDL:

In the 110th Congress, 70% of major bills were filibustered, as opposed to 8% in the 1960s. Political leaders just didn’t see the filibuster as an impediment a few decades ago.

http://news.firedoglake.com/2009/11/27/the-nascent-movement-to-end-the-filibuster/

He also referred to this explanation of how the Nuclear Option works:

The nuclear option is used in response to a filibuster or other dilatory tactic. A senator makes a point of order calling for an immediate vote on the measure before the body, outlining what circumstances allow for this. The presiding officer of the Senate, usually the vice president of the United States or the president pro tempore, makes a parliamentary ruling upholding the senator’s point of order. The Constitution is cited at this point, since otherwise the presiding officer is bound by precedent.

A supporter of the filibuster may challenge the ruling by asking, “Is the decision of the Chair to stand as the judgment of the Senate?” This is referred to as “appealing from the Chair.” An opponent of the filibuster will then move to table the appeal. As tabling is non-debatable, a vote is held immediately. A simple majority decides the issue. If the appeal is successfully tabled, then the presiding officer’s ruling that the filibuster is unconstitutional is thereby upheld. Thus a simple majority is able to cut off debate, and the Senate moves to a vote on the substantive issue under consideration.

The effect of the nuclear option is not limited to the single question under consideration, as it would be in a cloture vote. Rather, the nuclear option effects a change in the operational rules of the Senate, so that the filibuster or dilatory tactic would thereafter be barred by the new precedent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option#Changes_to_Senate_rules

This is the kind of change we need now. We have a window here where Dems should maintain majorities for years and an enormous amount could be accomplished. Meanwhile, Pres. Obama could fulfill his promise and ambition to be a modern day FDR and make the kind of big course corrections needed to tear this nation away from its growing plutocracy and back to a true democracy that serves its majority of citizens.

I know it’s scary but i believe that the prospect of becoming a truly progressive 21st Century democracy outweighs the horror of democracy being practiced in the Senate.

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typo-knig
Member
typo-knig

hi guys im trying to start a movment. i know its silly for a typo guy to try and get something done, but im posting this everywhere i know caring people gather. my email is bizzbee714@yahoo.com if anyone can help or think of any ideas to spread the word

The recent health care fiasco has proved again and again that we the people have no voice in Washington.

What if we could actually organize something. Not some teabagger thing with signs and yelling, but on a day, one day where everyone in the country at a certain time, just went quiet. 5 minutes would do. Not to protest what Washington is doing to us, but HOW. Maybe our silence would be more powerful than our shouts. Not left or right, just America saying we know what your up to and we don’t like it. Thunderous silence could be our weapon when words fail. Not left or right. The only ideology is that we the people aren’t being heard in Washington. That corporations aren’t we the people, we are. No other agenda as we all have different views and would only like to be heard, by the Congress and the White House. This would be a completely non partisan protest. Not left nor right , not Dem or Rep. but We The People.
This cannot be accomplished by bloggers and email spam artists. We need the media to draw some attention to the cause. We don’t want a media circus. We don’t have slogans or silly names. Our goal is that with 5 minutes of silent dignity we might accomplish what decades of shouting has not occurred. we want our voices heard. 5 minutes On Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday everyone in America stops where they are what ever they are doing and says nothing, does nothing and for 5 minutes silently shouts. We matter. We are the people.

A simple dignified poigniant way to get our message across. We dont want banners or marches. We only want to be heard
Spread the word to everyone you know
Monday, January 19, 2009.
3:00 p.m Eastern.
Everyone stops what they are doing and for 5 minutes. We have silence
Maybe by doing nothing we can get something done.

whatsthatsound
Member

It’s an interesting idea, typo-knig. I like it!
But, another typo, you’ve set the date for January, 2009. Upcoming year is 2010.
I’ll try to send you some silence from Japan.

escribacat
Member

Just saw the Senate advance the health care vote. CSPAN says there are a few more procedural votes and then another vote during the week. I thought this was now going to committee next…anyone know what’s the story?

Scheherazade
Member

I just wrote an article that explains it that very thing. Also, you can find more information at Bloomberg.com. 🙂

Scheherazade
Member

Also, there is this from Talking Points Memo:

Voting Underway

For reasons tied to the murky parliamentary logic of the senate, this is the first of six votes. But the tick tock over from now to Thursday are basically just what the maximum delay Republicans can force under senate rules. That was the sixty votes the Dems needed. Let’s be clear: this makes passage of the senate bill all but certain.

Khirad
Member

By the way, did anyone see the retrospective video Chris Matthews had of Sen. Kennedy giving a speech on the floor to the gist of: a bunch of working people paying taxes to pay for our cushy gov’t plans, but men like us are unwilling to pay a little more in taxes to return the favor?

It was brilliant. I’m missing him.

Chernynkaya
Member

I saw it and was looking to post the video. Friday night’s music thread here had it posted, Bito told me.

Questinia
Member

It’s odd that a country so enamored with violence should employ such a passive-aggressive device as the filibuster.

We should do like those countries where they go at it physically, attacking each other with their shoes and dossiers.

Can you imagine Lieberman in a fist fight? He’s probably a kicker.

Bernard Marx
Member

I imagine him as a hair puller

Chernynkaya
Member

I think he’s be a biter. Ugh!

PatsyT
Member

Yeah, he truly bites!

Chernynkaya
Member

LOL!!! Indeed.

Questinia
Member

Quite possibly a scratcher.

Khirad
Member

I’d at least have appreciated this from Al Franken to Lieberman:

escribacat
Member

Hey, Adlib, Paul Krugman’s got a column along the same vein today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/opinion/21krugman.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman

escribacat
Member

Does anybody know if the vote tonight is going to be on CSPAN?

nellie
Member

It’s on C-SPAN2 — that’s the senate.
http://c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN2.aspx

Brownback is on now — gag.

Chernynkaya
Member

OMG– wasn’t that just the most disgusting display? “Abortion has no place on a health care bill.”

Is he fucking kidding?! What a turd.

PatsyT
Member

I loved Senators Boxers comments last week on men and their privacy with E D drugs. How about we have all Senators that use E D treatments be made public,

Chernynkaya
Member

While that would be fun, (and it would!) what would be fair is to make them take out a separate rider for Viagra to be covered.

PatsyT
Member

How much can we charge for that?
I think I smell a profit…..

Khirad
Member

She totally rocked that point.

Kalima
Admin

I remember how “Whatever Georgie wanted, Georgie Got.” It reminds me of this song. Whatever your President has proposed is met with constant obstructors mainly from the RW, not because his proposed policy changes are overwhelming, but because they don’t like the colour of his skin and try to wrap in a bow of socialism or Marxism to make it sound legitimate to their masses, as if the masses know the first thing about either.

My heart bleeds at the ignorance or the bought mind set of your msm, your President has a tough road ahead, please extend your hand when you can, we will all benefit no matter which country we live in.

nellie
Member

George had his 60 votes — and too many of them from the dems.

Kalima
Admin

That is my point nellie, what is wrong here?

Some of these Dems need to shift party lines, they sound way too conservative to me.

nellie
Member

They can’t get votes from the GOP base. Otherwise, people like Evan Bayh would probably be Republican. He and Lincoln Chafee have basically the same politics — and Lincoln was tossed out of the GOP.

If we think the dems have troubles, the GOP is really messed up. They can’t win without their base, and they can’t win with it — because the candidates that the base will accept are wackadoodles.

I just sing the same old song all the time — we need instant runoff voting to make third parties viable. That will improve the discourse and give us better candidates.

Kalima
Admin

I can’t disagree nellie but wtf?

nellie
Member

LOL! Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Kalima
Admin

I’m sure that you could have. 🙂

I’m just angry with everyone.

Scheherazade
Member

Not sure if this is worth a look or not, but I happened across it a moment or two ago.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPTION TO CHANGE SENATE RULES AND PROCEDURES: A MAJORITARIAN MEANS TO OVER COME THE FILIBUSTER

escribacat
Member

Where’s the button?

Scheherazade
Member
nellie
Member

That is hilarious!

Chernynkaya
Member

Ahahahahahah!!! I did it!!

escribacat
Member

LOL. Excellent!

Khirad
Member

The bastard had me when he multiplied for the 3rd time!

FlyingLotus
Member

LOL!

Chernynkaya
Member

AdLib, I was going to write a similar post, but you did it much better– really! And it IS scary because I know that the Reptilians will at some point regain control of Congress. As we know, these are not our parents Reptilians either. They are MUCH more radical and fascist.

That said, on principle, we must overturn the filibuster rules, as they are not only undemocratic, but actually designed for gridlock. They practically ensure that no legislation passes– this is WAY beyond incrementalism.

But I do not believe this Congressional session will ever invoke the nuclear option, and not only because these are some of the most spineless Dems ever. I think Obama himself would not request or approve of it. It’s not his way, and that’s too bad.

FlyingLotus
Member

While I admire O’s high mindedness on bipartisanship in principle and theory, it is not going to accomplish squat with these cretins.

At first, I thought he was being very clever, thinking he was exposing them for the “party before country” lowlifes they are.

Now, I just think, Eff that and Eff them!

Chernynkaya
Member

Hi, Flying Lotus, and welcome! Yep, me too– fuck ’em. Right now, my consolation prize for crappy legislation is that the Reptilians got fucked. We did too, but not as hard as they did, so there’s that.

FlyingLotus
Member

Hi Cher, This is my planetPOV incarnation.

SaviourMachine says hello!

Chernynkaya
Member

Oh! Hi there!!

FlyingLotus
Member

Ok, walk me through this, Cher.Maybe, I’m being a wee bit dense.

How did the Reptilians get screwed?

Chernynkaya
Member

Sorry Flying, I should have been clearer– The passage of any health care bill is a defeat for the Repugs. They were determined to kill it. They held fucking prayer sessions to defeat it! As much as I think the bill sucks, they see it as a big win for the Dems.

FlyingLotus
Member

Thanks for the clarification.

Tis small comfort.

Chernynkaya
Member

That’s true. But I try to look at the pluses.

Pepe Lepew
Member

True, they will see the passage of even a massively watered down bill as a defeat.

KevenSeven
Member

Savior! Where the hell have you been, girlfriend?

Adlib and I have been kicking around the idea of a “drinking liberally with the planeteers, Los Angeles edition”. I trust you are in?

I bet he brings your sister with him…..

FlyingLotus
Member

I know the Party of No deserves our wrath but the democrats, I’m sorry to say, deserve our ire.

They allowed, once again, the No No’s to frame the debate on this issue.I’m not a sporty person but even I know, that playing offensive as opposed to defensive is the better strategy.

The dems dropped the proverbial ball, imho.

FlyingLotus
Member

I don’t know what I find more disgusting Lieberman or the cowtowing to him.

Sincere ?

Why does he hold so much power?

bito
Member

Thoughtful post AdLib. As you noted in the post, the tactic was used rarely in the past. In the 110th session it was used 159 times. In the 111th it has been already used 101 with another year remaining.

The propose of the Senate is/was to temper the legislation of the house and do what is good for WHOLE country. That knowledge seems to be lost on the Senate anymore. Now it is me, my party, my state.
What would it take to inspire the Senate today to remember their foundation?

KevenSeven
Member

The Nuke Option would not be worth employing unless the Senate bill was re-written to be much more liberal. Even socialist, for my taste.

Is there NO hope that the bill does not move to the left in conference?

Scheherazade
Member

Based upon what I’ve read it doesn’t seem likely. 😐
Conrad: Final health bill will have to hew closely to Senate’s version

choicelady
Member

GREAT post AdLib. We are encouraging Reid to do precisely that, if he cannot use his force of committee appointment or the President won’t use the calm but certain threat of reduced federal support to the recalcitrant senators’ home states. It IS the only way. Thank you for being so clear, providing the background on the “nuclear option” and giving us all another set of actions to pursue.

KevenSeven
Member

There is no chance that the president would blackmail a senator with Federal funding. Not ever going to happen.

Electoral support? Sure.

Scheherazade
Member

Maybe not, but Reid sure used the lure of money to temp a few Senators to vote for cloture.

bito
Member

Sche, Why do you think that this is such a big deal? This is done from the Village Council to the President. It has been for years.

Scheherazade
Member

I don’t really think it’s that big of a deal. I would like to see other states get some of the perks that Nebraska has been given, but in the end if it gets the legislation passed then I don’t have much complaint. Besides, the idea that Medicaid will be covered by federal funds for Nebraska from here on isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I simply mention it because I do notice that people haven’t threatened people in Congress with money, but they are tempting them with it. I would like to see both push and pull. If they can do the one as a form of encouragement, I don’t see why they can’t do the other as an additional means of motivation.

bito
Member

Like C,Lady mentioned, gifts are given to get the bill. Threats are made for final passage.

Scheherazade
Member

Fair enough.