Dangers to Democrats of End-Running Cloture

The American Thinker ^ | September 18, 2009 | Bruce Walker

[Scanian]

It is possible, but not yet clearly probable, that Senate Democrats may seek to ram through Health Care Reform without the sixty votes necessary to prevent a Republican filibuster. Although on paper Democrats had sixty Senate seats after Al Franken was admitted to the Senate that is not enough for the three fifths majority needed for cloture. Teddy Kennedy is no longer in the Senate and his seat will be filled either by hypocritical legislative action, or by a special election. Robert Byrd of West Virginia is almost 92 years old and in very frail health. His presence in the Senate can never be guaranteed.

Beyond that, Senate Democrats in conservative states are facing increasingly strong pressure from constituents not to follow blindly the Democrat leadership. Blanche Lincoln and Byron Dorgan of Arkansas and North Dakota respectively, are considered "safe" seats in 2010, but popular outrage at Obama's health care plans runs deep in these very conservative states (Arkansas has 43% of the electorate conservative and only 16% liberal; North Dakota has 45% of the electorate conservative and only 17% liberal.)

[iowamark]

Three years ago, Republicans had enough political muscle to pass any substantive legislation they wanted, if Republicans had used the Budget Reconciliation end run. What might Republicans have done with that sneaky parliamentary dodge? They could have opened up vast amounts of America to oil exploration and production. They could have passed tough tort reform. They could have passed a National Right to Work Law. They could have adopted a flat tax. They could utterly reformed the social welfare state that Democrats have carefully, encrusted layer by encrusted layer, built up in America over the last seventy years.

The dangers of making federal legislation easy to pass are much greater for Democrats than for Republicans.

Excellent commentary, well worth reading in the entirety.

[screaminsunshine]

They won’t do it. They then lose the health scam issue. They have already lost the racist issue. Obama will destroy the Democrat Party if the country can survive him. I look at Obama as a kind of Chemotherapy.

[InterceptPoint]

They won’t do it.

I'm not so sure. The stars are aligning for a go at Ramthrough Healthcare.

Clearly Pelosi believes she can support that objecive in the House by passing a Government Option version of the bill. In the Senate, the Rockefeller and general leftist reaction to the Baucus bill tells me that the Co-Op approach is DOA. The Libs want their Government Option and they are in control of the Congress right now.

OTOH, it will be political suicide for many Dems if they do it and there is some question as to whether they can muster the 51 votes. If they can't there will be no major healthcare bill this year or next - just a CYA bill to allow Obama to claim what will be a very hollow "victory". Hopefully the latter is the way it will go. We will know soon.

[screaminsunshine]

I do not think they can get 51 votes. I think the House will pass a public option and the Senate will pass one without. Then they will go to conference and sneak it in with some obscure legalese language. This will turn the Insurance Companies in to government agents. The funding for all of this will be insane. IRS agents will turn in to insurance debit collectors. This looming disaster is going to ruin the health care delivery system and cause many docs and providers to exit stage left.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

Filibuster and cloture have ALWAYS been the tool of Democrats to sucker Republicans. Before 1917, there was no cloture and any one or small group of senators could hold up legislation. In 1917, cloture was invented by Democrats to overcome a Republican filibuster of Wilson's plans to send arms to Europe prior to U.S. entry into WWI. When just over 1/3 of the Senate was racist Dixiecrats, the 2/3 cloture rule allowed northern Democrats to give them cover. But when Republicans numbered 35-38 in the mid-70s, the Dixiecrats switched to welfare-staters to keep Blacks on their political plantation and the bar for Republican filibusters was raised to 40 - and many Republicans were fooled to vote for the rule change, thinking it would expose the suddenly no-longer-existent Dixiecrats.

I have been saying for several years that a marginal Democrat-left majority would drop the pretense of the filibuster altogether when it served them and that Republicans should have for once beaten the Democrats to it. But NOOOOOOOO... Still complete ASSHATS after a century of this bull.

[TangoLimaSierra]

I look at Obama as a kind of Chemotherapy.

Pretty good analogy.

[Scanian]

They’ve gone so far down the road to oblivion already that only martial law and the suspension of elections can keep them in power. And their doing that would be so transparent that the military might tell Hussein to bleep off.

[Boiling Pots]

I doubt the Dems even have 50 votes for the public option. They may not even have 40.

[Jim Noble]

I do not think they can get 51 votes

They only need 50, plus Biden if Massachusetts appoints a Kennedy replacement.

[screaminsunshine]

I doubt they could get 50.

[screaminsunshine]

Never forget the Leftist Media. We should be protesting their malpractice.

[Jim Noble]

I doubt they could get 50

Why?

[screaminsunshine]

Well if it passes they will lose their jobs and the issue. It is so awful it will affect voters in the negative. Every health care problem will now be blamed on the Crats instead of them being able to blame the Republicans.

[arthurus]

Any sort of bill, CYA or substantive will probably bring us much or all of the original, including “public option” because every bill from then on will include amendments to add in provisions left out int he passage of the CYA. Regulators will effectively regulate more provisions into it ant the Courts will legislate more provisions into it. This thing must be prevented from passing completely. BNo CYA!

[bt_dooftlook]

To paraphrase John Francois Kerry, “Who wants to be the last Congressman to die for a lie?”

[Caipirabob]

Dangers to Democrats of End-Running Cloture

How about the danger of open rebellion and "open season"?

The American people don't want this. Should have been enough for the thinking congressman.

Says the Tree of Liberty: "I thirst..."

[Pistolshot]

I look at Obama as a kind of Chemotherapy

Funny, I look at him as a cancer we need to get rid of.

[Scanian]

Let the Dhimmis do a cramdown and they will lose any hope at a majority in either house for 10 years.

Of course, they may not have to use reconciliation. As I type this, I am receiving a phone call telling me that Olympia Snow has decided to vote with the Dhimmis.

All in the fulness of time.

[screaminsunshine]

I mean. He is in there and we have to deal with him. But hopefully when people see how horrible he is it will expose and destroy the Crats. Like Chemo you have to almost destroy your body in order to get rid of the cancer and survive.