I Hate To Rain On The Negative Parade, But 60 Senators Guarantees Plenty.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

Yes, it is clear to just about everybody that 60 dem senators does not guarantee 60 dem votes for cloture. We get that. We really do.

But stepping outside of our bubble a little bit it is clear to see that there are just as many on the other side of the aisle that vote with our side, as there are members from our side that vote with the other. Us getting to 60 Senators almost GUARANTEES that just about every single piece of legislation we have will be able to pass.

Don't believe me? Naysayers got you down? Have you been sucked into the negativity and constant cynicism about everything and truly believe 60 means nothing? Well then I ask you to educate yourself.

Go online and research the vote counts of every single piece of legislation in this past congress that was blocked via a filibuster. Know what you'll find? You'll find that almost EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM now would have enough votes to move on. Almost EVERY SINGLE ONE.

So please, don't let the naysayers get you down or let the negativity infect you. Understand that this number of 60 is huge because it means we'll have enough numbers on our side, DESPITE blue dogs, to pass just about every single piece of legislation that we want. Like I said; do your due diligence. Do your research. Look at the bills that failed due to filibuster. Look at the vote counts. What you'll see is that in just about every single instance there were enough repubs voting on our side (despite how many dems didn't) that when combined with our new Dem pickups, would now cause more than enough yes votes for the cloture motion to pass.

So technicality just for sake of negativity and cynicism only means so much and only serves to needlessly bring people down. Look at the facts, because FACTS MATTER. When looking at the facts of all the legislation that failed due to insufficient cloture votes, you'll feel pretty damn good as to how many, if not all, would now have the votes to pass if we pick up these other seats.

We are in a position to cause a WHOLE LOT of positive change here, and we dominated this election. That's an amazing thing and Obama should have a VERY cooperative congress to work with. Successful filibusters, in spite of what the naysayers say, will be quite a rarity.

[gollygee]

1. I'd feel better if Lieberman wasn't one of the 60

But I agree that it is a huge thing and will make a big difference if it comes to pass.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

3. What Difference Does That Make Though? His Vote Is As Meaningful As Anyone Elses.

And the fact is, he votes with us over 80% of the time.

He was also part of that number for the past 2 years of this current congress so his number would already be included on the vote tallies of the already failed legislations that have been filibustered. Look at the vote totals. Lieberman or not, blue dogs or not, with these pickups we'd have enough to pass just about everything.

[gollygee]

9. Yeah, it's just the other 20%

Which is why I said it is huge and it will make a big difference.

[Taverner]

2. Agreed - this is big

[kentuck]

4. Yes....if you're not counting on Democrats only...

60 votes is important. I would say it would be easier to get the 60th vote from a few Repubs, rather than a unanimous vote of all Democrats. I will wait to be surprised.

[onenote]

5. 60 is big but not magical.

58 is better than 57 and 59 is better than 58 and 60 is better than 59. There isn't any magic in getting to 60, its just that are ability to enact legislation is better the more Democrats we have.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. It Actually Is In Certain Real Ways.

If you go back through all the failed legislation, you'll see that the magic number that would bring almost every single piece of legislation past the 60 votes required, is about 9.

Many pieces of legislation required far fewer additional yes votes and many range from 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 votes short. But overall, regardless of how many dem no's or repub yes's there were, the magic number that would bring almost every single failure into compliance is 9. That's coincidental because that 60 doesn't equal OUR 60, but it is still the number that ensured almost every piece of successfully filibustered legislation would now pass.

And if we get to 60, that means we picked up 9. That's why it's so important. Not necessarily because of the magic 60 on our side number, but because 9 was the optimal number of pickups necessary to ensure that almost every single piece of legislation (or reasonable legislation, I should say) would now be able to pass.

[drm604]

6. Sixty is a big deal and would help us greatly, but I'm going to add one caveat.

Those Republicans who voted with us in the past did so when it didn't make a difference. In the new Senate they will be under MUCH greater pressure not to vote with us. It will take a greater effort to bring them over to our side.

This doesn't mean that 60 seats won't be a good thing, just that it's not quite the panacea that we would like it to be.

[conscious evolution]

7. Something else to keep in mind

We don't actually need 60 votes.Just 2/3 of the votes.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

8. Wrong. 3/5ths.

[conscious evolution]

14. You are correct. as pertains to a filibuster

Cloture does require 3/5 in favor stop a filibuster.
Votes on Bills require 2/3rd majority to override a veto.

Damn.Its going to take some getting used to to not worrying about Congress be able to override bush vetoes.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

15. I Know I Am.

:hi:

[madinmaryland]

12. Why 2/3's. Obama will veto something from this congress????

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

13. The Poster Was Mistaken.

[elocs]

10. I also understand that not all of those 60 Senators need to be Democrats.

It would be nice if they were, but getting all politicians to unanimously agree on something can be like herding cats. So I don't think that having 60 Democratic Senators for cloture is an all or nothing proposition.

[mainegreen]

16. There are two republican senators from Maine I expect to 'break ranks' quite a bit now.

Why? They have high approval ratings not just because they are perceived as moderate, but because they know how to use the system to bring home pork and promote issues that are very important to local Mainers. As potential swing votes, and as the extreme liberal end of the Republican party, they will often be the first ones approached with offers extended to entice them to vote with the dems on an issue. They are pragmatic politicians, without any real dogmatic positions, and will flip if the offer is good. They will also vote to confirm liberal, pro-choice supreme court judges with no problem.

Crossing 60 is going to be very easy during the next session, even if we only get 58 or 59 senators who caucus Democratic.