The filibuster debate defines what being a "liberal" truly means.

[Clarkie1]

When reading Senator Reid's speech just now, I suddenly realized that I think I know the answer to that perennial DU question, "What is the definition of 'liberal'?" or "What is the most important quality of being a 'liberal'?"

The constitution calls for the senate's "advice and consent." Consent, Mr. Frist, is not "an up or down vote." Consent comes from the same root as Consensus.

Discussion and give-and-take leading to consensus. That's what the framers of the Constitution meant by "advice and consent." And that, I believe, is the answer to what is the most important quality of truly being "liberal."

"I am a liberal. We live in a liberal democracy. That's what we created in this country. That's in our Constitution ... I think we should be very clear on this. You know, this country was founded on the principals of the Enlightenment. It was the idea that people could talk, reason, have dialog, discuss the issues. It wasn't founded on the idea that someone would get stuck by a divine inspiration and know everything right from wrong. I mean, people who founded this country had religion, they had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, in dialog, in civil discourse. We can't lose that in this country. We've got to get it back." -Wes Clark

I didn't realize back then that one of the things Clark was defending when he spoke those words was something called a filibuster, but he was.

[Big Kahuna]

1. The filibuster debate defines what being an "AMERICAN" truly means.

As Republicans have always been fond of pointing out, until recently... Our nation is not a democracy, it is a republic. Our forefathers wisely forged this republic safeguarding the rights of the minority and the individual, against the tyranny of the majority.

The filibuster is a wise and nescessary safeguard against abuse of power by the majority.