Senate Democrats Threaten To Reignite Filibuster Reform

[Tx4obama]

Senate Democrats Threaten To Reignite Filibuster Reform

The Senate’s leading champion of filibuster reform called for renewing the effort to weaken the minority’s obstruction power, concluding that a modest rules change enacted in January has failed to discourage Republicans from grinding the chamber to a halt.

In an interview on Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the author of a proposal to place more of the burden of sustaining a filibuster on the minority party, including forcing filibustering senators to speak on the floor, echoed remarks by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) earlier in the day about the need to revisit filibuster reform.

“Senate Republicans have demonstrated that they have absolutely no intention of ending their assault on the ability of the U.S. Senate to function,” Merkley told TPM, saying he had hoped the bipartisan rules change would ease gridlock. “Many of my colleagues are absolutely beside themselves with frustration, and that frustration is rapidly turning to fury.”

Senate Republicans have unleashed a string of filibusters since the rules reform deal, which did not change the 60-vote threshold, and was enacted in January. They include the first-ever filibuster of a secretary of defense nominee (Chuck Hagel), a letter by 43 senators vowing to filibuster any nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the filibuster of a bill to avoid sequestration, and the filibuster of judicial nominee Caitlin Halligan. It was the Halligan filibuster Wednesday morning that set off Durbin and Merkley.

-snip-

Full article here: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/jeff-merkley-calls-for-reigniting-filibuster-reform.php?ref=fpb

[lob1]

1. The complaints are a little late.

I don't understand why fixing the filibuster hasn't been done already. Thanks Harry Reid.

[cntrfthrs]

13. Agree...

The term 'crocodile tears' comes to mind... That wuss Harry Reid needs to go...

[Kablooie]

2. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And yer mother wears army boots.

[Tx4obama]

3. Patience is a virtue or Good things come to those that wait :)

Take yer pick

[Kablooie]

4. And army boots last a long time.

[Scuba]

5. OFFS, why don't the "Democrats" just resign? We'd get about the same result.

[boomerbust]

6. Good luck with that.

With a loser like Harry Reid running the show in the Senate didn't we hear this right before the election? It's all a game to these people.

[snooper2]

10. Who's your favorite person in the Senate?

You ever respond to anybody or you just post and run...



That's like low level trollin if that's the case LOL. Like on a scale of 1-10, it would be rank 1.75...

To get to rank 6.0 you have to at least respond 43.5% of the time FYI

[boomerbust]

12. Bernie Sanders

[samrock]

7. Good luck with that

It is my understanding that the ONLY time to chage these rules needing just 51 senators is at the beginning of a session.. i.e. once every 2 years.. otherwise a motion to change the rules would need at least 60 votes.. soooo the next chance to change the rules will be January 2015.. assuming of course the democtrats have 51+ senators at that time..

[Redfairen]

8. Haven't we heard this before? *

[Jamaal510]

16. Yes.

[beerandjesus]

9. Key word is "threaten"

Can't actually remember a Congressional Democrat following through on such a threat at any time in the last several years....

*sigh*

[quakerboy]

11. Now, Can they get that reform past a fillibuster(lite)

Anyhow, I thought the accepted storyline was that these things can only be altered at the start of the session, and then the opportunity was gone until the next time round.

[MurrayDelph]

14. No, the only time one can change the rules is on the first day of Congress

after that, it becomes possible to fillibuster the attempts to reform the fillibuster.


(or at least that was the way I remember Senator Merkley explaining it).

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Supposeldy yes, but technically you can do anything with a simple majority

Remember Bill Frist and the nuclear option, or as I like to call it, the brute force option. The President of the Senate is a Democrat, as are the majority of its members. The senate floor staff is all answers to the Majority Leader, including the Sargeant at Arms who is the chief law enforcement officer.

Technically, they can do anything with 51 votes and the courts would almost certainly not get involved because it's an internal Senate dispute. But they would be breaking a great deal of precedent and drastically change the Senate by doing so.

[MurrayDelph]

17. Ah. You're talking about the real "Nuclear Option"

as opposed to what the Republicans call any time the Democrats actually try to stand up for what's right.