Posted on 11/12/2016 12:24:14 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
As Democrats strategize on how to stop conservative legislation from making its way to Donald Trump’s desk in the White House, Republicans have a little-known rule in their toolbox that would allow them to pass legislation, including a repeal of Obamacare, with a simple majority.
Democrats were able to keep 48 seats in the Senate after Tuesday’s election, giving the party the power to filibuster legislation and effectively prevent conservative policies from being enacted.
But Republicans can turn to a seldom-used Senate rule that would allow them to pass legislation by a simple majority vote—legislation that has a greater chance of earning Trump’s signature after he assumes office Jan. 20.
Called the two-speech rule, the tool limits senators to giving only two speeches in one legislative day on a question before the Senate. A legislative day, which differs from a calendar day, ends when the upper chamber adjourns.
Once a senator gives those two speeches, he or she is not allowed to speak again.
The Senate then would vote on the bill up for debate when there aren’t any more senators who are permitted to speak.
Senators don’t often use the two-speech rule, a December 2014 report from the Congressional Research Service states. However, the report acknowledged that senators may choose to invoke the rule “as a means of attempting to overcome a filibuster.”
Republican senators explored using the two-speech rule earlier this year, when both the House and the Senate were focused on passing 12 individual appropriations bills to fund the government for 2017.
A memo early this year from a Republican Senate aide, James Wallner, urged conservative senators to enforce the two-speech rule to avoid filibusters by Democratic colleagues.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
Go nuclear. Senator Harry Reid set the precedent!
PING!
I would nuke it for executive and lower court nominees, just like Reid did. For the other subjects, just go back to old-style filibustering: constant speechifying on the Senate floor, which can be overridden by a 2/3 vote.
With a bit o’ luck and some continued deep digging...
By the time The Donald is officially sworn in, attempts at filibuster and GOP saboteurs both can be put to the question. “Just what is your involvement in the pedophile sex slavery ring?”
Even better: a one-speech rule.
Harry Reid passed Obamacare by 51 votes and SCOTUS appointments by 51 votes, so if McConnell isn’t prepared to use this tactic, he should be replaced as Leader by someone who will.
You really don’t need gimmicks here, just enforce the thing as written. As long as you talk, there’s no movement. Once they shut up, it’s time to vote. There’s no way they can talk forever. I don’t know how we got to a point where one side can simply threaten a filibuster and everything just stops.
Mushroom cloud time.
Go nuclear. Senator Harry Reid set the precedent!
When the MSM starts to scream, President Trump will use the “Bully Pulpit” to remind the public that the Democrats started it.
Nuke it.
If we don’t nuke it, it will “come back and haunt us” in 2 years when voters punish us for doing nothing. And when the Dems next have both houses and the Presidency, they will nuke it themselves.
Bingo. They turned the feared “filibuster” into a Uniparty gentlemen’s agreement. I’m reminded of that Star Trek episode where the big Battle Computer decided your city was nuked, so everybody had to go to the disintegration chamber.
One of many things on the Republicans are Spineless list.
The filibuster, as a legislative tactic, has much outlived its usefulness, and should only be permitted when the filibuster includes the actual taking to the floor and talking until either the 2/3 majority of the remainder of the Senate quorum votes on cloture, or the Senator collapses from exhaustion. They want the filibuster, make them work for it, no more of this folding and collapsing on the mere THREAT of a filibuster.
Why would the Turtle want to change the filibuster rules?
That will be his excuse to stoping Trumps agenda.
If the Turtle hinders Trumps agenda, there will be pitchforks in DC.
Yep. I want to see Bernie Sanders trying to stand on the Senate floor in his twelfth hour of reading the phone book during a filibuster. No more of the Republicans surrendering before the Dems even get to the "B" in filibuster.
Let do it. Hey, The Donald has a PHONE AND A PEN ALSO! The muslim used them, so can Donald.
No doubt in my mind the left would get rid of it if they had full control of Congress and executive. They recently said they hated obstruction, so let’s stop the obstruction.
Trump doesn’t need congress. He has Obama’s phone and pen.
I agree about going nuke. No one who voted for Trump would object. He can also issue executive orders. His supporters did not elect him to play nice. He will be graded by results.
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