If we were serious about winning in November we would

[county worker]

end the rule requiring 60 votes in the Senate and pass the 400 bills the House has passed before the election.

In the tradition of "New Deal", "Give'em Hell" and the "Great Society."

[MadHound]

1. And then when the Democrats are in the minority,

And we know they will be at some point, we will watch in horror as the 'Pugs ram through legislation after piece of terrifying legislation with no chance at all of fighting back or preventing disaster.

Rather than continuing to wring our hands about sixty votes, let's work with majorities we have. Force the 'Pugs to carry out a real live talk all night, pee in a bottle filibuster while the Dems, including Obama, use the bully pulpit to beat them about the head and shoulders for their obstructionism. It has worked before, it can work now, and if the Dems do this a couple of times, I guarantee you that 'Pugs will suddenly be less obstructionist.

[groovedaddy]

2. Or is it all a smokescreen, covering for corporate/monied dominance of the system? n.t

[peace frog]

3. Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! We have a winnah!

Plausible deniability, and it works every time:
"Golly, we just couldn't get our progressive legislation through with 60 votes, so we had no choice but to toe the RW line."

[QC]

5. BINGO! n/t

[county worker]

4. People need help now!

[Pab Sungenis]

7. We didn't use the filibuster

when we were in the minority, so what's the point of preserving it if we're not going to use it?

If we had any intentions of using the filibuster, then Alito would not be on the Court right now.

[groovedaddy]

10. That's different. When Dems use it, it's a commie/pinko/liberal plot. When Repubs use it

it's for protection of God and country.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. Um--what?

http://www.slate.com/id/2244060/

[rucky]

12. We'd have the veto.

Not the ideal situation, but not the worst case scenario, either.

[gophates]

16. If we grew a pair and smacks these bastards in the face

like they deserve, we'd never be in the minority again.

[KharmaTrain]

6. The Senate Is Totally Dysfunctional...

...and the House isn't far behind. From now til the elections they won't go near anything that is controversial and if current trends continue I see the next two years of gridlock and temidity. The Democrats can barely get 50 votes for most bills in the Senate yet alone the 60 or 67 needed for any major legislation. While it'd be great to bust the fillibuster, many here may feel a lot different should the GOOP win control of the Senate and start trying to push bills with 51 votes.

It's too late in the game to try any changes...the corporate media would be all over it (faux having a shitstorm supreme) and we saw with the "success" of health insurance reform and semi-bank regulation how slow things move and how many hands try to get into the pie. With all the corporate money corrupting the political system, it's only a "great" society if you write big checks.

[county worker]

11. Here's what I don't get, we are so f..king afraid of what the repubs will do to us

yet we won't do the same to them. You know damn well they aren't afraid of us. We are effectively neutered by our own thinking!

We could get a ton of progressive legislation pasted before Nov and show America we have care about the economy and jobs and education. We could then maintain control and keep on doing the same.

What we will get is watered down bills and then repubs passing their shit like the last 8 years.

I will never understand the willingness to do nothing!

[Pab Sungenis]

8. Have Reid call the Senate into session.

Bring each of the 400 bills up for a cloture vote.

After that, bring up each one that got filibustered a second time.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Then a fifth.

Let the people see where the fault lies.

[glitch]

9. +best answer. nt

[EC]

13. And if by chance the repubs do win...

then we'll be stuck with majority rules in the Senate full of repubs...do you really want that?

[county worker]

15. Funny, we fear the right so much we sit on our asses and cower in the corner.

We have the White House, the Senate and the House. History will note that during this time the Dems could do nothing about unemployment, the economy, real health care reform, real education reform, the deficit, tax reform because though they controlled the government the opposition party was more powerful out of office!

[EC]

17. Yeah I know

they should be doing what the repubs do when they can't get something through...look for little used rules or legal loopholes...they always seem to find ways...