Senators- Are you happy now that you didn't force "the Nuclear Option" on Roberts and Alito noms?

[n2doc]

Because we are well and truely screwed now. And the Repubs are using the fillibuster option like never before:
From:
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/11270.html

The ‘Grand Obstructionist Party’


Does it seem as if every time the Senate is poised to consider an important measure, Republicans launch a filibuster? That the party that whined incessantly about Democratic “obstructionism” for the last several years is blocking everything that moves, hypocrisy be damned?

I knew it was bad; I didn’t know it was this bad.

* Senate Republicans have obstructed almost every bill in the Senate — even ones with wide bipartisan support.

* So far, in the first half of the first session of the 110th Congress, there have been THIRTEEN cloture votes on motions to proceed — each one wasting days of Senate time. (110th Congress, Roll Call Votes #44, 51, 53, 74, 129, 132, 133, 162, 173, 207, 208, 227, and 228)

* In comparison, in the first sessions of the 108th and 109th Congresses combined, there were a total of FOUR cloture votes on motions to proceed.

For literally years, Republicans, with a 55-seat majority, cried like young children if Dems even considered a procedural hurdle. They said voters would punish obstructionists. They said it was borderline unconstitutional. They said to stand in the way of majority rule was to undermine a basic principle of our democratic system.

And wouldn’t you know it; the shameless hypocrites didn’t mean a word of it.
Why hasn’t the Democratic Congress had greater success passing legislation in its first six months? Because 239 separate pieces of legislation have passed the House, only to find Senate Republicans “objecting to just about every major piece of legislation” that Harry Reid has tried to bring to the floor.


So...we get the worst of both worlds, no fillibuster for the fascist appointees, but fillibuster for progressive legislation. Ain't that just ducky?

[riqster]

1. We have to stop thinking of Reeps as a party

...and start seeing them as they are: a criminal enterprise.

[Bitwit1234]

2. It will make no difference whatsoever if we have a democratic president

bush has inserted far right wing conservatives into every facet of the courts. That means no matter what is decided or put forth it will eventually be ruled on in the republican favor. And as far as the subponeas go he knows darn well there is absolutely nothing congress or anybody in this country can do to stop what ever he wants to do. He has established himself as a dictator and the odds are he AIN'T GONNA give up in 2009. He will stay in power till he drops.

[northzax]

3. I think it is time

to bring back the real filibuster. Don't let people filibuster simply by saying they will do it. Make them read the fucking phone book for 24 hours, Strom-like. I respect someone who is so opposed to something that they will put their names out front as opposing it, and take everything down with them, even if they are wrong. Make them REALLY filibuster, let's get footage of them standing up on CSPAN and being obstructionist. I don't see why not?

[n2doc]

5. Agreed. It would be free advertising also

Regardless of how the MSM tried to spin it, there would be coverage on the repubs trying to stop legislation. They should have done this with someting very popular, like the min wage issue, early on to show just who is responsible for the lack of progress so far.

[tbyg52]

17. Well, yeah....!

If you just *say* you're gonna filibuster, that's just a *threatened* filibuster. Sorta like it's supposed to be *congress* that declares war.....

[DFW]

4. Working for a Democrat to be the next president

instead of all the "there is no difference" routine, is, among a
lot of other reasons, because of the "they serve at the pleasure
of the President" line that Gonzo & Co. had been trotting out to
justify the firings of uncomfortable US Attorneys. The pleasure
of the next Democratic President will be to see the backs of all
right wing hacks Bush's "pleasure" has dumped upon us. I just don't
know where the next Democratic president will find the time to undo
even that damage that a president CAN undo all on his/her own.

[n2doc]

6. It is pretty clear from today that we can't afford even one more repub supreme court nom.

On the school race issue, Kennedy was just barely on the conservative side. But it was clear the other 4 wanted to completely toss it all. One more "Scalito" and they can do whatever they want with nothing to stop them. And they will.

Not saying there isn't a difference between the parties in the OP, just that there is a huge difference in the way the two parties have been doing biz. And we need to be more aggressive.

[riqster]

7. Plus, the President holds a different office with different powers

If we put in a few more Senators AND take back 1600 from the Bushistas, we can expect (and damned well better get) proper action.

[blm]

11. We couldn't afford it in 2004, either, but that didn't stop some Dem elite from

sabotaging that election just so they could have their shot at 2008, did it?

[Fovea]

8. THis is the direct result of not pulling the trigger

and letting the Repugs get their way all the time. It caused our embarassing SCOTUS decisions. It caused our current Iraq policy to go onward into escalation instead of withdrawl.

We have been at war since 2000, and only a handful on our side showed up with a gun.
The generals are hard at work to make treaties with the enemy as soon as they can get them
to let them out of the stockade.

We need a party that is willing to fight.
Nancy, Steny, Harry, etc do not seem to be.

Let's see what Dennis and Teddy can do in their place.

[Totally Committed]

9. K&R

:kick:

TC

[Stinky The Clown]

10. It simply NEVER should have gotten to a filibuster

The seed of the problem was sown back in the 2000 election when St Ralph let his ego (once again) blow out of his ass and propel him to run against Gore in Florida when he FUCKING SAID he wouldn't.

Don't get all pissy about our Senate dwellers without stating the obvious: It should never have come to this.

[corkhead]

12. You have it wrong... When Dems do it , call it a Filibuster. When pukes do it...

you say that a 60 vote majority is required to pass legislation in the senate.

... that is the way the SCLM reports it.:mad:

[sabbat hunter]

13. the nuclear option

would have only covered nominees not bills before congress.

[n2doc]

14. As I understood it the N.O. would have remove the fillibuster as a tool for everything

Becuase they wanted to rule that it was unconstitutional. It was aimed at nominations but did not specify only that.

[xchrom]

15. perhaps our democratic party senators don't hold as dearly

some of the same issues as we do.

therefore it's a good deal easier on the to let a pair of candidates hit the benches like alito and roberts and take the heat later.

they know we have no real choices but them.

and it's obvious that they fear conservative backlash more than they fear ours.

[TnDem]

16. And that would have accomplished what?

The nuclear option would have created temporary discord and strife in the Senate, but would have then allowed the pugs to have their nominees by a 51 vote majority NOT a 60 vote cloture vote...

Explain to me what that would have accomplished? The Senate would be forever in a simple majority when it came to judicial nominees.

That would habe done nothing and the Democratic Senators knew it.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

18. Nevermind nt

[ljm2002]

19. Amazing, isn't it...

...when Dems were in the minority, they wouldn't use the filibuster because (a) it would make them look bad and (b) the Reps threatened to go all nuclear on them and remove filibuster powers altogether.

The Dems, instead of standing up to those threats, backed down. They didn't want to look bad by looking like "obstructionists". They went ahead and gave the Pres his "up or down vote".

So now the shoe is on the other foot. The Reps are filibustering all the time. The Dems aren't threatening jack shit as a result, and the Reps are succeeding in blocking progress on all fronts.

Well that worked out real good, didn't it.