Posted on 12/29/2010 1:13:21 PM PST by La Lydia
The Democrats are trying to change the Senate rules so that they can ram through their agenda when their majority shrinks next week from 59 to 53 seats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has been scheming behind closed doors to use his slim majority to vote on January 5 for the most drastic rules changes since 1975.
"Democrats lost the election. Their power has been weakened significantly. So they are trying to do a Washington-insider tactic to try to grab power, even though the voters told them very clearly in the election that they didn't like them, and didn't like their policies," said a Republican Senate aide.
In a closed-door meeting last week, Reid told the Democrats that he may outright break the rules on the first day of the 112th Congress in order to pass his audacious changes without bipartisan support.
"If Reid endorses the rules change, it would be the first time in history that a Majority Leader has opted to cut off debate on a Senate rules change by a majority vote," said Marty Gold, a long-time Senate leadership aide and now an attorney at Covington and Burling.
Currently, the Senate needs 67 votes to end debate on a rule, then 51 votes for the rule itself. Since Reid's rules do not have Republican support, he will need to do a historic end-run around the 67-vote bar (two-thirds of the Senate) to pass them.
Reid’s plan is backed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y), the ambitious operator who is Chairman of the Rules Committee. Schumer held six hearings in 2010 alone on the filibuster and Senate rules changes. Backed by Schumer and Reid, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) drafted three major rules changes, which he will bring up for a vote on January 5.
First, the Democrats would make the unprecedented move to change the Senate rules each time a new Congress is elected. Throughout its history, the Senate rules have carried over in a new Congress. The Senate is a "continuing body" because its members are elected every six years, on a staggered basis. So for each new Congress, two-thirds of the Senators are continuing their terms, thus the rules stayed intact.
"The Senate has always changed its rules by regular order," said Gold, referring to getting the 67-vote threshold. "So for Udall to do this now would be take that history and turn it on its head. This would be an extraordinary step that makes the Senate like the House of Representatives, with respect to how it treats its own rules."...
Second, the Senate Democrats are trying to change the filibuster process so that bills can get voted on with only 51 votes, rather than 60 votes (three-fifths of the Senate). A filibuster on a bill involves debate without a time limit. The filibuster is a stalling tactic used by the minority so it can affect debate and votes.
Under the current rule adopted in 1975, the Senate can end a filibuster by getting 60 votes for cloture, which would end the debate. After the 60-vote cloture hurdle, the legislation goes to the floor for a vote. Udall wants to change the process so only 51 votes are needed to vote on legislation, which would take away the power of the minority party to prevent passage of a bill.
“Dems thought 60 was too big a lift when they had 59 votes,” said a GOP aide of votes needed to end cloture. “Now that their ranks are reduced we fully expect them to try and turn the Senate into a version of the House so they can continue to ram through their partisan, unpopular agenda.”...
They get the Friday 31 off, not Monday.
Thanks, I fixed my mistake earlier.
What does that have to do with it? All I said was that the Senate, without the House, confirms judge and ratifies treaties. You are right appointments aren’t filibustered; they have holds placed on them. Those holds are used as bargaining chips on other matters. Under the new rules they will be able to do even more mischief.
Look, grasshopper. The FR surrender monkey doom and gloom parade is unusually long tonight.
I know that, and you know that, but...frogjerk was confused.
“Appointments are never filibustered “
Miguel Estrada, Priscilla Owen, Charles W. Pickering, Carolyn Kuhl, David W. McKeague, Henry Saad, Richard Allen Griffin, William H. Pryor, William Gerry Myers III, Janice Rogers Brown...
I’m amazed at what the media can accomplish in a very short time!
Usually just the threat of a filibuster works, but sometimes the Senate plays it’s hand out.
Clearly time for the 7.69 cure with a judicious application of the ground-temperature prophylactic...
I agree, this must be what that dirty rat bast*rd Reid is up to. Otherwise why would he do anything that would appear to lessen the minority power when their progressive train wreck is about to become the minority party.
They proclaimed, in 2006, after running a campaign based on homophobia against 2 closeted Republican homosexuals, that there was a “culture of corruption” that rose to the top ranks of the GOP (even though it was proven in one of those instances, that the US media AND the DNC knew more, earlier, and chose to do “nothing” to protect the aides, rather admitting that they would sit on it to capitalize on it during the October campaign season).
Reid and Pelosi claimed they were going to have the most ethical congress ever. How did that s&it work out?
Ok, if you say so, like, whatever.
Guess I don’t understand the complexities of a Lame Duck or rather what could be called the Limp D*ck Session as far as the upcoming majority party is concerned.
Do you ever recall such a session where bills not brought forward during the pre election regular session were tabled and passed with dozens of incumbents voting who would not be part of the next congress.
Why not a simple sentence to ReidPelosiObama -
The American people have refudiated your agenda, and your party and candidates, and hence, we will not allow any legislation to move forward until the representatives of the people have been seated during the next Congress.
Thank You, and Have a Merry Christmas.
—OK, two sentences.
Happy New Year to Harry Reid in Hell.
PING!
Nope - with their 51+ votes, right before they lose power, they change it back to 60 for cloture
[Mr] T
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