| Lately, a lot of rhetoric coming out of the U.S. Senate has been about the need for 60 votes to pass anything.
Why? The filibuster of course.
And it is true that it takes 60 votes to end a filibuster. But the truth is that we haven't had a filibuster -- not a real one anyway -- in quite some time.
Now, this is not a new idea. Some GOP grassroots suggested the same with some judicial appointees. GOP leadership ignored the clamoring, but I don't think they did so because it was bad strategy, but because they knew the more the American people heard about their anti-privacy, anti-civil-liberties, pro-corporate nominees, the less likely they were to support confirmation.
We face no such bind. Our issues are actually popular. Let's change the game.
Update: I should note -- this is one of those issues where it may be worthwhile to contact our Senators. Sen. Kent Conrad, from Montana's neighbor state of North Dakota, is applauding the strategy -- noting that the current Republican strategy is simply to stop any policy achievements whatsoever. If Kent Conrad is on board, Jon Tester and Max Baucus should be as well:
Contact Info for Sen. Jon Tester
Contact Info for Sen. Max Baucus
Update 2 -- Well, that was quick. Reid has announced that the Senate is going Oxford-style -- they'll be open 24/7 if necessary and at 4am, it won't be pretty as Mitch McConnell tries to defend the President's war policies. |
