Obama's Democrats threaten to end filibusters in Senate

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Obama's Democrats threaten to end filibusters in Senate
Source: Reuters - Tue, 9 Jul 2013 05:50 PM

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, frustrated by a dysfunctional and unpopular Congress that has been unable to perform basic tasks such as agreeing on a federal budget, may soon seek an unprecedented rules change in the Senate.

The Nevada Democrat's aim would be to strip Republicans of their ability to stop President Barack Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees with procedural roadblocks known as filibusters, which also have been used to halt much of the president's legislative agenda.

Republicans charge that such a move would effectively turn the 100-member Senate into the House of Representatives where the rules already allow the chamber's majority to virtually ignore the minority.

"I'm worried, very worried," said veteran Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. "There has been wrong on both sides, but this could destroy the Senate."


Read more: http://www.trust.org/item/20130709175005-l651e/?source=search

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[vinny9698]

1. Sorry McCain the Senate has been destroyed

And you full well know it. When the minority can obstruct for their ideals, even when the populace has a 90% support for gun control, then a change is needed and required to have a functional Senate.

[another_liberal]

16. Good point.

The Senate has acted fairly broken for some time.

[awoke_in_2003]

42. It has been broke...

since the dems took over. When the pukes ran the show, they got shit passed (and shit it was) while minority leader Reid said he couldn't stop it, even though the pukes didn't have a filibuster-proof majority. Those republicans are just so mean. Now the dems are the majority and cannot do squat. I would say Reid is a pathetic piece of shit, but he is really doing the bidding of his masters- he is complicit.

[xtraxritical]

54. Yeah, vulgarity and profanity prove your point.

Your my first "ignore".

[awoke_in_2003]

55. I am clutching my fucking pearls. nt

[bitchkitty]

72. LOL n/t

[cprise]

19. +100

[polichick]

26. That's for sure!

[PoliticAverse]

2. Then again, he may not... n/t

[AndyA]

3. I was thinking...surely, this must be old news!

Surely Harry Reid isn't threatening again to change the Senate rules. He's been making that threat for how long now? Two years? Longer? Every few months, he puffs himself up, makes some stern remarks on the Senate floor, then...nothing.

Really, Harry? Again? Still? Quit talking about it and just do it already. People are sick of the threats, and we're sick of nothing getting done. Deal with it. Fix it. DO. YOUR. JOB. (For a change).

[groundloop]

10. Not "Old News", but rather Monthly News

And of course it's pointless, Harry won't do squat.

[AAO]

4. No McCain, you and Lindsey broke the senate with a little help from a turtle.

[TrollBuster9090]

25. Not to worry. I guarantee the Republicans will 'fix' it next time they're in the majority.

Five minutes after Turtleface becomes the new Majority Leader in the Senate, we'll be back to the traditional talking filibuster, I have no doubt about that. It's only the slack-assed, country club Democrats in the Senate who don't realize this.

[totodeinhere]

5. Reid has threatened to do this several times only to back off.

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Helen Borg]

18. They know too well...

That if they do it, then it can be used against them in the future.

[TrollBuster9090]

27. As I said above, it WILL be used against them in the future. Anybody who thinks the

Republicans will hesitate to reform the filibuster rules next time they've got the Senate majority is a complete idiot. (And by 'complete idiot' I'm obviously referring to the Senate Democrats who don't support filibuster reform on the grounds that it'll allow THEM to prevent the GOP from implementing their radical agenda next time they're in the majority.)

[A Simple Game]

43. I think the Republicans will hesitate to reform the filibuster. Demographics are not on the

Republican's side. They can't gerrymander Senate seats like they do House seats. In the unlikely event the Republicans gain a majority in the Senate they know they will likely never hold it for long. The trend is for more blue states not more red states. The filibuster is all they have in the Senate.

[truebluegreen]

51. I disagree. Of course they will change the rules when they can or "have" to.

Republicans don't believe they are in trouble because of their policies or demographics, they just think they need to express themselves better. And at the state level keep all those undeserving un'Murican people from voting.

If they get the Senate, and Democrats attempt a filibuster, the Republicans will be the victims. They will shriek and stomp their feet and claim that we started it when we hit them back. And they will change the rules whenever it suits them. Remember the stories during the Bush years of them turning off the lights when Democrats were trying to hold hearings they didn't like? Or just the other day when they twisted the rules to break Wendy Davis' filibuster in Texas? And all the new voter ID laws to allegedly prevent something that doesn't exist? It's what they do.

The liberal / progressive / Democratic side of the World's Greatest Deliberative Body needs to wake TFU, stop worrying about what might happen next election and instead focus on what's happening (or not happening) right now.

Which, in my judgment, would be the best way to prevent the Republicans from taking the Senate next year.

[TDale313]

29. Problem with that logic...

Is that it assumes (wrongly, IMO) that if Republicans gained control in the Senate, they wouldn't make getting rid of the filibuster one of their first acts.

[totodeinhere]

66. The last time they controlled the Senate they did not get rid of the filibuster. However,

as the party gets crazier and crazier it wouldn't surprise me if they try it next time if they get the chance.

[Volaris]

61. Only if they fuck around, don't govern effectively, and get themselves voted out of Majority..

If they actually did the business of WE THE PEOPLE, the "future" would be a good long while off.
And yes, it WILL happen eventually anyway, but if they are so afraid of having it used against them in the future, they are cowards and don't deserve to be there in the first fuckin' place, let alone have any more power to do the bidding of thier corporate masters (see fucking the rest of us over).

Just my 2 cents. Harry won't do it, we've heard this wolf story before.

[tblue]

71. We need a new Senate Majority Leader!!!!

Reid is worse than useless. Don't get me started about the last time he said he was going to. He is.....no, I am not gonna cuss. Can we start a petition to REPLACE HARRY REID

[Renew Deal]

6. "Obama's Democrats?"

[Brigid]

48. Yeah, I noticed that too.

[Enrique]

56. me too

[totodeinhere]

67. Right. Obama does not own Senate Democrats nor does he control them.

The Senate is part of a separate and co-equal branch of the government.

[bemildred]

7. Do it or shut up about it. nt

[Brigid]

49. We have our winner.

[OregonBlue]

8. It's already broken and McConnell and your GOP buddies broke it.

[CanonRay]

9. Blah, Blah, Blah

In the end, Harry Reid won't do shit. You heard it here. Please Harry, make me eat my words.

[BornLooser]

11. Hey Harry, woof woof!, just shut up and drive the damned bus please.

[BlueNAlabama]

12. Yeah, Sure Harry

Do you honestly expect Harry Reid will have the nerve? I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.
Wake up people. Real Democrats are as extinct as Goldwater Republicans.

As I see it, we have one party, The Money Party. Just change the blue "D" and the red "R" to blue and red dollar signs respectively.


Our "leaders" will always obey their corporate owners.

[A Simple Game]

45. When your Democratic President openly admires Ronald Reagan, well that says a lot, doesn't it.

Yes we have few real Democrats any more. Look at the tea party, for it's size you could still say it set the tone for the direction the country was heading. The Progressive caucus is larger than the tea party caucus. Why are they so toothless? Why couldn't they at least see how the tea party bent things their way? Why didn't they emulate them?

And welcome to DU BlueNAlabama.

[WilliamPitt]

13. "Obama's Democrats"?

[phleshdef]

22. LOL I know, its like Charlie's Angels or something.

[Brigid]

50. Now that's a cute pic!

[Major Hogwash]

63. In the old days, they used to refer to "FDR's Democrats" and more recently, to "Kennedy's Democrats"

They were known as Senators that stood with the President when he took the high ground.

[WilliamPitt]

64. But without the apostrophe-s

Kinda changes the tone of the statement.

[Major Hogwash]

68. So what? If they took the bones out of the frogs, they wouldn't be crunchy frogs, would they?

It's just an old-timey politick thing of identifying those who are loyal to the President.
That's all it is.

[WilliamPitt]

70. Obama Democrats = Loyalty...Obama's Democrats = Ownership

C'mon, Hog...this is easy. The former is a compliment, the latter absolutely isn't.

[mountain grammy]

14. Just do it Harry!

but John McCain is "worried," OMG back off.

[ashling]

15. McCain is a supercillious ass whose ignorance is exceede only by his own verbosity

Last edited Wed Jul 10, 2013, 04:04 PM - Edit history (1)

You party has already destroyed the senate, you pompous old windbag!

[Teamster Jeff]

17. Shut up Reid and just fucking do it!

[heaven05]

20. i'll

believe this headline only when it happens. bullshit.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

21. I'm sick of Harry making idle threats.

Fucking do it or shut the fuck up.

As for Gramps McCain, tough shit, asshole. You're part of the problem.

[progressoid]

23. Yawn.

I won't hold my breath

[TrollBuster9090]

24. Harry Reid Threatens to Reform Filibuster Rules (for the 10th time in 6 years).

[davidpdx]

69. That says it all

We've had the football pulled from in front of us continuously and keep thinking it won't happen again.

It's come to a point where on the changing the filibuster, I'd actually bet against my own party on it happening.

[Warpy]

28. Oh, Harry, stop threatening, threats don't work on zealots

who would love to parade themselves around as martyrs.

Just DO IT. Also write it so that ending it is automatic whenever a party filibusters more than 30 bills and appointments and during times of national disaster like natural disasters and war.

In other words, make the nuclear option temporary and only going into force when a bunch of obstructionists refuse to do their jobs.

[pinto]

30. This could be a good initial tack, if he follows through ->

Democratic aides say Reid is considering only changing the rule on filibusters for nominations, not legislation. But once a precedent is set, both sides note, it could be extended.

[lastlib]

34. "IF" is the largest word in the English language...............

it needs to be bolded, italicized, and printed in a 64-point font.

Wake me up WHEN it happens......................

[Doctor_J]

38. like he did the first 10 times?

gawd, you're gullible. Just like they need you to be

[pinto]

40. Not gullible. "If" is the operative caveat. My post is more about the mentioned approach,

and doesn't assume it is or will be a done deal. *If* done, it would break up the Repub log jam on nominations for a start.

[rateyes]

31. Well, you can bet that when Harry Reid says he is going to do something, then by golly

it won't be done. He is a worthless fuck when it comes to leading the Senate.

[Lifelong Protester]

32. I hate to go all Nike on your butt, but

JUST DO IT!

[NoOneMan]

33. That takes a lot of excuses away for inaction

So might not be the best political move.

[frylock]

35. and this time, they really really mean it..

really.

[apnu]

36. Yawn, call me when they actually do something. (NT)

[Doctor_J]

37. Is this the fifth time we've heard this now?

I am really sick of the leaders of our own party lying every day. This is how parties become irrelevant - Obama, Reid, and the rest of the "leadership" get absolutely nothing done.

[Spirochete]

39. Yeah, right, Harry

please tell us you're NOT going to jump off a freeway overpass...

[awoke_in_2003]

41. Sure Harry....

I bet you will do something this time. I am holding my breath. Really, I am, Chicken Little.

[East Coast Pirate]

44. Vaudeville.

[Android3.14]

46. Sure, and my cat coughs up golden hairballs

whatever.

[Lil Missy]

53. My cat farts rainbows.

Yeah! She really does!

[Rstrstx]

47. How about a swap?

Ditch the Hastert rule in the House and the filibuster will go back to the way it used to be, where a member of the opposition would have to stand and talk for hours on end. That would put an end to the filibuster abuse, which should be reserved for extreme measures only and not piss ant day to day stuff. It'd also let the House start moving again, it should give Boehner some political cover for those who threaten to dethrone him if he breaks the Hastert rule. I really wish we could be done with the obstructionism but it's coming from both houses of Congress and right now the repubs have no reason to ditch Hastert. So perhaps a threat is in order.

[djean111]

52. Are there other Senate Democrats who are not "Obama's Democrats"? n/t

[Jefferson23]

57. Here's hoping.

You can do this Harry.


K&R

[Kablooie]

58. Good god. How many times will Harry perform this farce? It's a waste of time.

Reid has proven he's not going to change a damn thing.
He's proven this over and over.

Think up something new, Harry.
This dead horse is really harried.

[Politicub]

59. The GOP's obstructionism is paralyzing our system of government

I'm with Reid on this one. McCain is a douche and a liar to boot.

Time to get things moving again and get Obama's appointees confirmed. ALL of them.

[truthisfreedom]

60. Do it, Harry. I still believe in you.

Even if a lot of DU members think you're weak-kneed.

[LumosMaxima]

62. Why do Republicans constantly claim that X is going to destroy Y?

It's utterly absurd to claim that ending filibusters would "destroy" the Senate. It makes no more sense than the claims that "Obama is trying to destroy the country!" (And I've actually heard people say that in real life, as if any politician ever set out to destroy his own country.)

I can't imagine looking at the world in apocalyptic terms and seeing every little thing as the beginning of the end.

[Ash_F]

65. Just in time to get slaughtered in 2014 after 6 years of timidity?

That ship has sailed.

[indypaul]

73. Talkin' ain't doin' n/t