Kansas Republicans concerned that Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., gives Democrats a potential filibuster-proof majority might be surprised to learn that a former one of their own played a key role in making this possible. Former Kansas GOP Sen. James B. Pearson, who died this past January, spent the better part of two Senate terms collecting enough support to lower the votes required for cloture from 67 to 60, former Kansas Rep. Bill Roy noted. And that’s a good thing. Llowering the vote requirement has greatly helped the Senate function in recent year. “If today cloture required 67 votes, it is unlikely the Senate would get much done,” Roy wrote. “It would make it extremely difficult to confirm judges, particularly Supreme Court nominees, in this era of extremism at both ends of the political spectrum.”
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7 Comments
Big deal.
If Senator Robert KKK Byrd and Senator Edward Bubbles Kennedy can hold on until the 2010 election the dems still only have 58 Senators able to attend sessions without drooling and filling their depends.
After the 2010 elections their so-called fillibuster-proof majority will be a thing of the past.
There is need to further rewrite the rules so that Republicans can never again do the damage they have done. They must be marginalized out of power permanently.
Advise and consent of the Senate implies the whole Senate, not just part of it. Being as they make their rulings by vote, I suppose that the Blue state representation will way heavily.
2010 will be an interesting election year…
I am opposed to the rule at all. Legislation should require 51 votes in the Seante. That is what the Constitution requires.
ONCE AGAIN…… THERE YOU GO…… BLAMING THE REPUBLICANS!
BROWNEE YOU JUST CAN’T STOP CAN YOU?
I agree with Bill Roy that much less would get done with a two-thirds rule–that’s absurd–but “in this era of extremism at both ends of the political spectrum”?? What has Roy been smoking?
Sure, these days one can find extremist nutbars of any variety among the politically engaged. That has always been the case. But if you look at the circles of power, we are still suffering from a severe Bush hangover.
Yes, the violent, authoritarian, monarchist state Bush set up is being slowly modified into something kinder and gentler (without habeas corpus for some). But if you look at the circles of power, what is generally considered right-wing extremism has had, and still has, powerful advocates in Washington, whereas genuine liberals–let alone hardcore leftists–are a distinct minority. What passes for left-wing extremism in Washington these days can be summed up by such mundane concepts like single-payer healthcare insurance. On the rightwing end of things, we have minor things, like indefinite detention, lying to Congress, official torture, and covering up war crimes.
Roy is displaying the typical Beltway Centrism Disease, where the “center” is defined as the Beltway consensus, rather than in terms of what can actually be called moderate by reasonable people. That same type of faux-centrism is what gave us horrors like Gitmo and Abu Garaib in the first place.
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