The 60 vote misnomer?

[Ruby the Liberal]

Why are we counting Joe Lieberman as an automatic on the 60 vote count? I thought he was against the public option.

Is this just a cloture vote count that matters? I think it is disingenuous to count him with the Democrats as if there was a filibuster-proof majority.

[elocs]

1. 60 is just a number and Liebermans is not a Democrat.

There are really only 58 Democrats in the Senate and you cannot depend upon Byrd being there. If there is not a dependable 60 votes, then what does it matter being a few votes away from 60. The Republicans will vote lock-step against anything anyways.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. So why is everyone trumpeting "60" as if it was some mystical magical barrier?

I do count Senator Sanders in standing with the Dem Caucus, but you make a good point about Senator Byrd given his age/health.

[elocs]

3. I heard Al Franken himself say that when he was declared the winner that he was not the magic #60,

but he considered himself to be the second senator from MN.

It's the media that likes to trumpet the #60 as the unassailable protection against a filibuster. That's not reality.

[endless october]

4. we don't need 60 votes.

let them filibuster. it's not worth losing the public option to prevent it.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. It is just frustrating to keep hearing this meme

trotted out as if it were a given. I know a room of big-tenters couldn't organize a pot luck, but do we really need the additional pressure of this misnomer?

[NightWatcher]

5. they started using the "60 vote" meme because they never thought they'd get it

it was a copout and will continue to be one. I'm surprised they havent changed legislation to 80 by now to kill a fillibuster.

Dems who dont want to vote for the progressive thing to do will always look for a copout.

[Selatius]

7. The funny thing was that the Founders who wrote the Constitution never included that 60 vote rule.

Neither did they include the filibuster. Those were things that the US Senate invented out of whole cloth. My guess is that it was a way to let a bunch of senators escape accountability by blaming it on something else besides their selfish want to hold onto power or their moral cowardice.