Jon Stewart is a brilliant comedian who rings truth so often! 🙂
His comment on the Massachusetts Senate race is that even without that seat in Democratic hands, still the Democrats have an 18 vote margin, which is larger than ever existed for the GOP under George W. Bush.
In fact, the last time a Republican President had that big a margin in the Senate was 1923, when Warren G. Harding was President!
In other words, it has been 87 years since the Republicans had such an edge, so it is time for the Democrats to stop feeling sorry for themselves and to go out and promote their agenda!
They need to stop the blame game and act assertively, as the Republicans always do, even in opposition!
One wonders if it is not time to do away with the filibuster rule. Yes, it has gone from 67 votes to 60 but even taking into account the Senate’s historical role of serving as a break for the House, with every Senator threatening filibuster when he or she doesn’t get his or her way ends up with a government at standstill, not just a breaking mechanism.
Does anyone know when a filibuster was used for actual good use that prevented some awful form of legislation through the Senate? Or has the filibuster been used exclusively as a block to civil rights or for some other nefarious purpose?
The filibuster is indeed a mechanism that allows a minority to block change that is progressive. It is always conservatives who use it to prevent what a majority wants or that which is a moral cause, such as civil rights.
The process of using a filibuster is important to our system of government because it ensures that the minority party (Democrat or Republican)is protected against an overwhelming majority. That is one reason why our constitution was created, to protect the status of the minority in the face of majority rule. Without these protections we risk running into mob rule, where a simply fifty one percent of the nation can dictate whatever rules and laws they want. A filibuster ensures that the will of the minority is at least accounted for and hopefully, implemented in some bipartisan compromise. However, I think we can agree the filibuster process is sometimes abused in today’s political climate.
During the Clinton administration, when the Democrats controlled the Senate, Republicans started using the filibuster to block Clinton’s judicial nominee. Democrats were outraged.
During the Bush administration, when Republicans controlled the Senate, Democrats used filibusters to block Bush’s judicial nominees. Republicans were outraged. This time Republicans were so outraged that they threatened to use the “Nuclear Optionâ€, which would allow them to stop a filibuster without having the 60 votes required for a supermajority. In defense of their right to filibuster, Democrats threatened to shut down the Senate if the Republicans used the “Nuclear Optionâ€.
During the first year of the Obama administration, Democrats enjoyed having a supermajority, which has freed them from having to worry about a Republican filibuster. After the election of Scott Brown, the Democrats no longer enjoy this privilege, and they are now trying to argue against the filibuster. Today, Senator Harkin (D-Iowa) proposed a bill to limit the filibuster, which shows how opposed the Democrats are now to the filibuster.
Both parties seem to care more about the effect of the filibuster on their own power than its effect on the democratic process.
If this were an argument on the playground, at least the Democrats could argue: “They started itâ€.