During the lame duck we should ditch the filibuster rule

[dsc]

Democrats should end the filibuster rule while they still have power. I know, you are thinking dsc has gone round the bend. But really we should. The filibuster is clearly undemocratic, and that alone should be enough to make it go. But if you want to talk strategy, well let's talk strategy. The filibuster is an asymmetrical weapon. It blocks popular agenda items of Democrats and unpopular ones of Republicans. Thus people can, with impunity, vote for people like Joni Earnst and Tom Cotton and know that social security and medicare and farm programs will still be there. It also makes it impossible for Democratic voters to get the results they went and feeds the mid term spiral we fall into. If there were no filibuster we would have had the Dream Act, Card Check, ENDA, and a public option at a minimum. Imagine if we had those things going into 2010. Let Obama veto the bills that would be passed without a filibuster. Then let's campaign in 2016 on the very simple proposition, do you want GOP policies or Democratic ones.

[still_one]

1. They wouldn't have the votes to do it

[dsc]

4. there will be a lame duck session

and they have enough to do it there.

[still_one]

5. The Democrats won't unite on this. Democrats are like herding cats

[upaloopa]

2. Maybe it made sense when we controlled both Houses.

Not now.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Well, the GOP will once they get in

But if we do it first they will be "justified"

Lose, lose situation

But that has been the Democratic leadership strategy since 2009.

[FBaggins]

6. let's assume for a moment that that isn't doing them a favor...

why wouldn't they just pass it again right after they take control?

each Senate makes its own rules

[FBaggins]

7. Something else to consider

This beating was bad enough (particulary given the possibility of one or two seats switching to caucus with Republicans) that there's no longer a guarantee that we'll take back the Senate in two years.

Given the fact that it's at least possible that we'll lose the White Houe in 2016... would you really want to give away our only remaining tool to stop another Scalia or total dismanteling of the social safety net?

Of course... we basically did that when we started unraveling the filibuster this term.

[Recursion]

8. 23 GOP Senate seats are up in 2016, and it's a Presidential year

It's hard to foresee a scenario where they keep the Senate.

[FBaggins]

10. It's actually easy to see such a scenario

I think I'm going to wait a few days before assuming in advance that we'll win races (particularly before knowing who will retire).

A year ago we were pretty sure that it was hard to forsee a scenario where we would lose the Senate this year. We even had people talking about retaking the House.

[dsc]

9. It is precisely because of the filibuster that we lose the Senate seats

we are in this mess because a huge portion of our base feels elections in non presidential years don't matter. They think that, in part, because a minority can defacto run the Senate.

[Lee-Lee]

11. That wouldn't look petty and childish at all

And any Dem who votes that way and is up in 2 years will have that become a talking point of the repukes.

[dsc]

12. I do not mean use it to pass stuff now

I mean take it out and keep it out.

[Lee-Lee]

15. I know what you mean

Changing the rules to your favor then changing it back as soon as you loose power couldn't be defended if called petty and childish.

Going nuclear was a bad call, leaving no good way to go foward from here.

[Enrique]

13. if we ditched it now

I predict it would magically come back next time the Dems are in the majority.

[dsc]

14. then we would have every right to blame them

Voters are owed democracy and having elections matter.

[Cleita]

16. I thought the Senate Majority Leader had to do that. Will Mitch do it?

I wonder.

[dsc]

17. during the lame duck Reid will still be leader

[Cleita]

18. Reid won't do it. I wish he had done it when he could have passed a lot

of good legislation and maybe things would have been different this election. I believe a lot of people blame Democrats for not getting things done so they decided to try the Republican instead. I know it's shallow thinking but it's there.