Force them to filibuster

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/16/force-them-to-filibuster/

Force them to filibuster.

Last week on the Young Turks, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) said a Republican colleague of his told him that a strategy has been adopted by the minority to “prevent any accomplishment” by the new Congress:

I think that we could do a better job making our points, and one part of that is to let the American people see just how obstructionist this Republican minority is being. The leader has had to file cloture now over 40 times already this year. And cloture, as you know, is a special procedure to stop debate, to stop filibusters, in order to reach conclusion on legislation. I had a Republican colleague tell me it is the Republican strategy to try to prevent any accomplishment of the Democratic Congress. That is set in their caucus openly and directly that they don’t intend to allow Democrats to have any legislative successes, and they intend to do it by repeated filibuster.

OpenLeft and Firedoglake call for Congress to call the conservatives’ bluff and force them to filibuster the Levin-Reed Iraq redeployment bill.

Video of Conrad:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x41279

[Snotcicles]

1. Why do republicans hate America. nt

[tridim]

3. Because it's not quite Nazi Germany yet. nt

[Bitwit1234]

2. That from the bunch who wouldn't let the democrats

so much as sneeze in the last congress unless they approved it. The democrats are a bunch of spineless assholes if they don't come back with this making them filibuster. The country thinks it is the democrats that are not passing bills. The republicans are making it look like that. SO if the democrats don't start doing something, THEY WILL LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF SPINELESS WIMPS.

[Snotcicles]

5. The Nu-cu-lar option bunch? nt

[AndyA]

4. The Democrats need to do a better job of getting the word out about this.

So many don't pay any attention to what happens in Congress, they just read the headlines. Reid and Pelosi need to be making statements that the GOP is intentionally blocking everything that would be good for Americans.

We have got to quit playing nice. The GOP certainly isn't going to, as evidenced by the last few years when they were in control.

[babylonsister]

6. And the media doesn't cover it when a filibuster is happening before

their eyes. Case in point, Webb's amendment to give the troops equal time at home, shot down by the rethugs.

[blondeatlast]

10. That was appalling to me--and barely a mention of the vote in the MSM.

Of course, there was a water main break on a Michigan highway at the same time.

With only TWENTY-FOUR HOURS a day to cover the news, they've gotta have sharp as a tack editors to prioritize... :eyes: :mad:

[babylonsister]

14. I'm still not over it, especially the fact that the rethugs actually got away

with NOT showing support, or that they'd even want to.

[rodeodance]

7. I do not think we had to know this secret that this was already occurring.

[blondeatlast]

8. OBSTRUCTIONIST.

LTTEs, water-cooler talk, other sites.

Use it loudly and often.

[stirlingsliver]

9. Vote To CHANGE the RULES

Why doesn't Reed just schedule a vote to change the rules of the Senate?

There is nothing "magic" about the filibuter -- it exists ONLY because it is a rule of the Senate.

I think a rule could be changed by a simple majority vote.

So why doesn't Reed just have all the Democrats vote to abolish the filibuster???

[MonkeyFunk]

12. you'd need 60 votes

they'd filibuster the attempt to end the filibuster.

[blondeatlast]

13. Changing Senate rules requires a 67% majority.

I'll let you do the math...

[OneBlueSky]

11. "the Republican strategy to try to prevent any accomplishment of the Democratic Congress" . . .

why bother, when the Democrats are doing such a masterful job themselves? . . .