Harry Reid and the filibuster

[Blarch]

First some history ...

Republicans say that Democrats have abused the filibuster by blocking 10 of the president's 229 judicial nominees in his first term -- although confirmation of Bush nominees exceeds in most cases the first-term experience of presidents dating to Ronald Reagan. Describing the filibusters as intolerable, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has hinted he may resort to an unusual parliamentary maneuver, dubbed the "nuclear option," to thwart such filibusters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59877-2004Dec12.html

Republicans last night broke the all-time Senate record for filibusters in a two-year term when they forced the 62nd cloture vote of this session on the omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 2764.

The previous record of 61 cloture votes in a two-year term was set in 2001-2002, the last time the GOP comprised the minority in the Senate.

The fact that the new record for legislative obstruction was set in less than one session would be similar to Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs before the mid-season break for the all-star game, instead of during the 162 game baseball season.
http://www.cwa-legislative.org/news/republicans-break-all-time-filibusters-record.html

Some more information on the filibuster issue ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgGxGEhn2SY&feature=related


What I don't understand is WHY THE FUCK doesn't Reid make them do a traditional filibuster ? ...It seems he lets them off the hook every time.

Can someone tell me WTF is going on ? ...I have developed a pretty deep hate for Reid, and need to know the whats and whys of his actions...anybody ?

[hisownpetard]

1. I love the 'special effects' of the exclamation point above Reid's head...

[rateyes]

2. I don't care what he calls himself. Harry Reid is a Blue Dog.

He's such a jellyfish.

[Phred42]

6. Correct! . And he wears double secret underware

The DLC and Blue Dogs will continue to sell us out

[rateyes]

7. I love that first graphic. I think I'll mail to my DINO piece of crap

Congressman, Jim Marshall.

[gateley]

3. Biden: I'm so embarrassed to be standing behind this fucking idiot. nt

[monmouth]

29. It is obvious that the good senator from Delaware is not amused...n/t

[trof]

4. Harry Reid = Caspar Milquetoast

[Selatius]

5. Maybe he privately agrees with those who levy the filibusters.

That seems most plausible.

[Phred42]

8. ......and Maybe he agrees with Bush and the Cons......

Actions speaking louder than words - do a review .... try again

[Selatius]

17. Personally, I think he's on the payroll of somebody on the right wing. I dunno who though.

It's somebody with a lot of strings to pull, though. I dunno how else Reid would introduce the FISA bill package with the telecom immunity amendment attached when he always had the power to strip that out.

[warren pease]

34. He's on EVERYBODY'S payroll; an equal opportunity depository for corporate bribes...

And here's the list of the ones who love him most.

Surprisingly, he's not among the telecom industry's most expensive dates. But golly gee... look who is.

So yeah, other than Kucinich in the House and maybe Boxer in the Senate (I haven't looked either of them up for this post), I doubt very seriously that there's a single damn one of these swine who so much as take a piss without consulting with their sugar daddies.

If this kind of overt bribocracy went on in any other allegedly democratic country, the hypocritical bastards would run sniveling to the UN and bleat and yammer about how money had corrupted the entire process and there's no free and fair elections possible and blah, blah, blah...

Then they'd hurry back home to see if there's a little something extra in their pay envelope.

Loathsome bastards and corrupt demonspawn, nearly the entire damn lot. Remove and replace asap.


wp

[tritsofme]

9. There is a 60 vote hurdle to invoke cloture. That's the bottom line.

It takes 75 votes to change the rules.

[Phred42]

10. He didn't have to even bring it up for a vote in it's current configuration

Neither did Pelosi

[Blarch]

12. true and true.

[tritsofme]

21. Its more of a problem for Pelosi than Reid.

Pelosi and Democratic leaders in the House have almost absolute power to do what they wish with legislation. And there is very little the minority can do to retaliate.

However if Reid refused to bring a popular Republican bill to the floor, they could grind Senate business to a halt.

[Blarch]

11. But why doesn't he make them do a ...

traditional filibuster ?

[Phred42]

14. BINGO! THAT is THE question

[tritsofme]

18. Its the same question Republicans asked of their leaders in the 109th Congress.

Its just not tenable.

There is no Mr. Smith goes to Washington type of hurdles in the Senate these days. Its just not the way the rules work anymore.

Once a cloture motion is filed, there is a vote on that motion as soon as three days later. It is the onus of the majority to find 60 votes, not the other way around.

Thwarting minuscule majorities from running roughshod over the legislative process, like they do in the House, is probably a good thing.

[tritsofme]

15. What does that mean?

It is the majority that is trying to accomplish something through invoking cloture.

It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture, and one objection to scuttle it. You don't need 41 votes to kill a bill, just one.

[Selatius]

20. A senator can signal an intent to filibuster ahead of an actual filibuster. Reid folds when...

a senator has communicated an intent to filibuster a certain bill instead of seeing if there is a bona fide filibuster waiting. A traditional filibuster would be the actual filibustering of the bill on the Senate floor, not merely the signal to attempt one at a later time.

[tritsofme]

24. Debate cannot end on a bill until cloture is invoked.

That's the bottom line.

If the 60 votes aren't there, they aren't there.

The mysticized romance about filibusters in the Senate simply don't exist.

[Blarch]

23. The repubs would have to talk it through.

Thats what it means.

[tritsofme]

25. What exactly would you have Reid do?

Frist kept the Senate open for 24 hours straight or some other sort of nonsense in response to Democrats filibustering certain judicial nominees.

But at the end of the day, he could not invoke cloture on those nominees, and they were held in legislative limbo.

You need 60 votes to end debate and bring the bill to the floor.

[Blarch]

27. What ?

When the repubs threaten to filibuster ...he should make them filibuster...not just shelf the bill, and cave.

[tritsofme]

28. Its not caving. Its the way the Senate works.

Without 60 votes, the bill cannot come to floor.

You can have all the feel good dramatics you want, but if you don't have 60 votes you can't invoke cloture, period.

[Blarch]

31. What ?

You only need 60 if there is a filibuster.

And if there IS a filibuster ...Reid should make them actually do a filibuster ...not just cave at their threats.

[tritsofme]

35. Petitions for cloture are filed on all legislation before they are voted upon, however they are

usually passed by unanimous consent.

But any time a cloture motion fails, the bill will not get a floor vote.

[warren pease]

13. It should never even get to that point...

If he was even remotely interested in acting like a majority leader instead of a one-man sink hole, he would never have brought the damn thing up for a vote. Just toss it in the shredder and go on to something a little less unconstitutional.

And he's concerned that Fux Nudes is going to talk bad about him.

Well Harry, if you haven't noticed by now, they're going to talk bad about anything you do. Doesn't matter what; they're going to trash anything any democrat does -- even a Vichy one like yourself. They're just doing their jobs.

So if you were doing yours, you'd at least give them a reason to drag your name through the mud. This way, you get it from both sides, you fucking complicit craven dipshit.

Other than that...


wp

[backscatter712]

16. It's how he handles filibusters.

When the Repukes filibuster something, he caves - he just tables the bill when he figures there's not enough for cloture.

When Dodd and other fellow Democrats filibuster, he forces them to actually do the filibuster, and proceeds with ten thousand parliamentary dirty tricks that were mysteriously not seen for Republican filibusters to force Dodd and progressive Democrats to the sidelines.

That shows what side this quisling is really on...

[Blarch]

19. That shows he is a scumbag.

Fuck Reid.

[Selatius]

22. The Democratic Party is in a sad state of affairs when the top tier leadership is rotten.

The structure is rotten at the head, and it appears to be spreading down the body.

[VP505]

30. It will be interesting when they get back from

their 4th of July break. I heard Senator Landrieu (D-LA) while in the well late in the week announce that she will introduce some legislation to fund more relief for Katrina victims. She made a point to say and repeat that she was putting the Senate on notice that she intends to hold up any legislation that Bu$h wants passed until her funding for Katrina relief get passed and signed by Bu$h. Should be interesting to see how that plays out, that is if she stands by what she said and doesn't get forced to fold.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

26. He obviously doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks

So I doubt he cares what Fox says about him or the Dems. I think he secretly agrees with the Neo-Cons.

[AndyTiedye]

32. OWN3D!

They surely managed to find or fabricate something to blackmail him on.

[Individualist]

33. I trust DLCers about as far as I can throw them.

Subversives!

[spanone]

36. complicity