Friday, April 08, 2005

Filibuster

Between reading about this fisticuffs during the 1916 filibuster and all the coverage lately, it's worth mentioning. I think the Repugs are extremely wrong on this one. They absolutely should leave this alone. It's a fantastic tradition that should be, if anything, reinvigorated. What's largely glossed over in this, otherwise good and accurate, article is that the new filibuster basically consists of standing up and saying the word and then whatever was on the table is removed from the floor unless a vote 60 overturns the filibuster. What's up with that? I'd love to see a rules change all right. Let's go back to the old days. Let's see "Iron Man" Teddy (known in our house as "The Tick") Kennedy stand out there blocking the legislation until all the alcohol leaks out of his pores. Keep the filibuster, just make it tough like it used to be. Keep it in place, but make them earn it.

1 comment:

Nylarthotep said...

I've been having problems with the whole nuclear option. Just shouting filibuster and going for the vote strikes me as more unfair than forcing the vote to bounce the filibuster and actually vote on the topic.

If they did the filibuster honestly, as it was done historically, I'd be against the nuclear option.

If the dumocrats are going to scream about fairness, they shouldn't mind playing fair themselves.