Now The Media Notices Filibusters
Miguel Estrada, Doubtless, Wishes That They Had Noticed Sooner
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Congress — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Gosh, I don't recall there being all that much attention paid to filibusters that occurred back when Republicans controlled the United States Senate. Back then, of course, it was seen as a matter of course that "controversial" votes--and my, weren't there many judicial nominations that were deemed "controversial"?--should have to clear a 60 vote threshold in order for cloture to be invoked. Now, all of the sudden, the filibuster is considered an "obstructionist" tactic. The mind reels.
Of course, Senator Specter--who is quoted in the story--is precisely correct when he points out that Harry Reid schedules cloture votes that he knows he cannot win just so that he can claim that Republicans tried yet again to obstruct the business of the Senate. That was the reason behind the all-night session that occurred earlier this week. The Democrats knew that they didn't have to votes to overcome a filibuster and the session was utterly and completely useless. Senators did not lose sleep to achieve something. Rather, they lost sleep so that Senator Reid and his allies could go out and make spurious claims about the Senate and the work associated with it.
In any event, we all know that if the Senate sputters to a halt, it will be the Democrats, as the majority party, who get the blame from the voters for not being able to govern. Democrats knew this and used this knowledge to achieve a majority in the 110th Congress. You live by the sword . . . well, you know the rest.
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Now The Media Notices Filibusters 9 Comments (0 topical, 9 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)
the Republicans are using it at a rate far more than it has ever been used. 42 votes (1 in 6) in the Senate have been held up year to date versus a total of 52 for the whole 109th Congress. If the trend continues, the Democrats will have a ready-made argument to point at Republicans as obstructionists.
Or did you forget about the vote that just got erased from the record ?
The one where the democrats wanted a vote saying the president shouldn't pardon Scooter Libby ? The Republican caucus had to counter with examination of President Clinton's pardons.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Republicans are doing this at their peril. I agree with smagar that the media will pick this up and use it against the Republicans over the next 18 months.
Scooter's commutation is a slap in the face to me when the President leaves two Border Patrol officers in jail for doing their jobs. They deserved a pardon more than Scooter did.
you can legitimately argue your position is if you believe those bills should have passed. Do you? Do you think the GOP should just let bad legislation go through, just so they won't be viewed as "obstructionist?" Talk about a losing strategy - they may take a political hit, but the country takes an even bigger one. I'll take the former, thank you.
...when they see me they'll say, "There goes Loren Wallace, the greatest thing to ever climb into a race car."
being "obstructionist" or not attempting to pass any meaningful legislation? The House's (in)famous "100-days" strategy was nothing but a 100-day joke. The Senate has wasted an equal amount of time on nothing but meaningless tripe.
If the polls are true and the publick is interested in nothing but an end to the war in Iraq, then the Dems are the ones that will take the flak, seeing as they are the ones in the majority, yet they have been able to do nothing.
The Death-Valley level of approval of Congress isn't just due to "obstructionism".
...when they see me they'll say, "There goes Loren Wallace, the greatest thing
to ever climb into a race car."
If the Dems keep putting forth legislation that is of interest to the public and the Republicans keep up the filibusters, I do not see how this could be a winning strategy for the Republicans. Deny the will of the people at your peril. The one thing that would kill the Dems would be for the turn-around that we all hope for in Iraq. Other than that, the Republicans are just setting themselves up for big loses in the Congress and the Presidency.
And where I live, the polls are representative. People want out. No one even talks about winning anymore.
we all know that if the Senate sputters to a halt, it will be the Democrats, as the majority party, who get the blame from the voters for not being able to govern.
Last time, when Democrats were filibustering, the MSM was sympathetic to them. So, the Dems didn't pay much of a price for filibustering.
This time, when Republicans are filibustering, the MSM is not sympathetic. So, while there may not be much of a PR price overall to pay from filibustering, rest assured that the MSM will make us pay as much as they possibly can. If there's something negative about filibustering per se, I'd expect the MSM to teach us LOTS about it the next time the GOP filibusters.
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)