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Senate Math Where else is 41 greater than 59?
opinonjournal.com | March 15, 2003 | ZELL MILLER

Posted on 03/18/2003 2:56:25 PM PST by LavaDog

A portly British statesman once famously said that "democracy is based on reason and fair play." But there's nothing reasonable or fair about what's been happening in the Senate recently. The filibuster against Bush nominee Miguel Estrada is not just an expensive waste of time and taxpayer money, it's also an affront to majority rule, the principle that democracy operates on everywhere.

Everywhere, that is, but the Senate.

The Senate is the only place I know where 59 votes out of 100 cannot pass anything because 41 votes out of 100 can defeat it. Last week, and again on Thursday, 55 senators--a clear majority--voted to end a filibuster against Mr. Estrada and still lost the day. Try explaining that at your local Rotary Club or to a constituent in the Wal-Mart parking lot or, for that matter, to the college freshman in Poly Sci 101. You can't because it stands democracy on its head.

The word filibuster comes from a Spanish word for "pirate," and that is exactly what the filibuster does; it hijacks the democratic process. The way it is being used in the Senate gives the minority an absolute veto on everything. James Madison, the father of the Constitution, feared some future political leaders would pervert the legislative process in just this way. And he warned in Federalist No. 58 that when it happened, "the fundamental principle of free government would be reversed. It would be no longer the majority that would rule. The power would be transformed to the minority." I'm sure Madison is today turning in his grave.

Some constitutional lawyers have argued that any kind of supermajority vote is unconstitutional, other than for those five areas specified in the Constitution itself: treaty ratification, impeachment, override of a presidential veto, constitutional amendments and expelling a member of Congress.

Perhaps it is time for someone to test its constitutionality. That's one possible remedy. There are others. We could abolish Rule XXII, which protects this travesty, and let the Senate operate under rules like every other democratic legislative body in the world. That's about as likely as a day dawning in Washington without 10 fund-raisers.

Or we could modify what I call the Two Track Trick, installed a few years ago, which allows a "filibuster lite" to proceed without any heavy lifting while another piece of legislation is being considered at the same time. With this devious device the Senate avoids the inconvenience and pain of a real filibuster. Powder-puff 16-ounce gloves are used instead of bare knuckles, but it still can go on and on ad nauseam. It's just that the public doesn't notice it as much. And that's the point--public debate is turned down real low.

Over the years, many respected veterans of the Senate, not newcomers like me, have expressed dismay with the process. Henry Clay did before the Civil War and the process then was nothing like it would become late in the 20th century. Barry Goldwater and even the loquacious Hubert Humphrey expressed misgivings from time to time. In the mid-1990s, a bipartisan group of distinguished citizens called "Action, Not Gridlock" came together with great ballyhoo, intent on reforming Senate rules. They had the shelf life of a ripe banana. And in 1995, Sens. Tom Harkin and Joe Lieberman, both Democrats, introduced a rule change that I believe is the best that's been proposed. It still kept 60 votes on the initial cloture vote, but decreased it by three votes with each of the next three cloture attempts until finally it got down to the majority of 51. They argued, logically I believe, that this would preserve the Senate tradition while still giving the minority plenty of time to plead its case without blocking the majority forever.

All of this came to naught, however, after the Republicans solidly opposed it and Sen. Robert Byrd enlightened his fellow Democratic senators with the story of how Cato II, in 60 B.C., got the floor in the Roman Senate at midday and spoke until sundown, the time of adjournment, in order to thwart one of Julius Caesar's proposals. And that was the end of the Harkin-Lieberman filibuster reform bill.

Never mind that Caesar was not thwarted and 14 years later, in 46 B.C., Cato committed suicide while Caesar was at the height of his power and still going strong. Perhaps it is worth noting that the first filibusterer in history ended up taking his own life. He made his point--as senators love to do--but ended up killing himself. Now that, my filibustering friends, is a history lesson worth pondering.

Mr. Miller is a Democratic senator from Georgia.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: zellmiller

1 posted on 03/18/2003 2:56:25 PM PST by LavaDog
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To: LavaDog
Anybody have the remotest idea why the pubbies don't make them speak all night long?
2 posted on 03/18/2003 3:00:32 PM PST by MonroeDNA (Leave the monkeys alone.)
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To: LavaDog
Perhaps it is worth noting that the first filibusterer in history ended up taking his own life.

I think this would be a good reform: require the filibusterer, after, say, a month of filibustering, to take his own life.

3 posted on 03/18/2003 3:02:36 PM PST by My2Cents ("...The bombing begins in 5 minutes.")
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To: MonroeDNA
They should. Mr. Smith goes to Washington. They should start with Sr. Byrd.
4 posted on 03/18/2003 3:03:01 PM PST by farmfriend ( Isaiah 55:10,11)
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To: LavaDog
Thank you Zell,

Let's keep bringing this up for a vote every day. Maybe several times a day while the camera's blare. It's not surprising that the liberal democrats are suspending judge selection at a time of war. Not surprising when you put that together with dashole's comments yesterday. It is however, disappointing to think how far they have fallen.

We need to see these politicians for what they really are: opportunists with an agenda.
5 posted on 03/18/2003 3:13:46 PM PST by Only1choice____Freedom
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To: LavaDog
Senate math
6 posted on 03/18/2003 3:36:10 PM PST by SMEDLEYBUTLER
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To: LavaDog
Frist is a pussy just like Lott! A real Republican leader would have thrown a Stalin Birthday Beer Bash. Had all the Democraps drink their fill, then lock the chamber doors until the Filabuster ended!
7 posted on 03/18/2003 4:57:05 PM PST by Bommer (Dashit is a Domestic Enemy!!!)
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To: MonroeDNA
One of several reasons the Pubbies would have to remain there indefinitely, all of them. I read this last week. To make that kind of commitment and still not know whether they would prevail, they could be the focus of ridicule, and they just won't take that chance. They are calculating that they are getting a record of how many times the Dems are voting down a worthy minority, and they may not get any more from the exercise than that, before they are forced to withdraw the name.
8 posted on 03/18/2003 5:35:26 PM PST by RJayneJ
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To: LavaDog
That's DemonRat math... the same math that says spending 5% more on a program than last year instead of 10% more is a cut.
9 posted on 03/18/2003 5:37:50 PM PST by Keith in Iowa (get the US out of the UN & the UN out of the US)
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To: RJayneJ
Freepers, rather than waiting to see what happens with Estrada, we need to take the lead. That means presuring Senators, special interest groups, media organizations, etc. This thread is meant to be an ongoing effort to get this man confirmed. For too many years liberals have had their way on the courts. Now, President Bush is in a position to move the courts to the right. The election of '02 showed that the country is with the President. I think it's time to let Daschle, Hillary, and Pelosi know this is Bush country. Are you with me! Let's FREEP these people.

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=847037%2C132
10 posted on 04/02/2003 2:02:01 PM PST by votelife (FREE MIGUEL ESTRADA!)
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To: RJayneJ
I gave the wrong link:

PRO ESTRADA ACTIVIST THREAD

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/847037/posts
11 posted on 04/02/2003 3:42:25 PM PST by votelife (FREE MIGUEL ESTRADA!)
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