Posted on 03/23/2017 8:11:43 AM PDT by PghBaldy
As the Senate Judiciary Committee was hearing from witnesses for and against Judge Neil Gorsuch, his Supreme Court nomination was delivered a critical blow: Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would join with other Democrats in filibustering Gorsuch — a move that would require at least 60 senators to vote to end debate on the nomination.
To quote the Beatles: It won't be long, yeah, yeah! It won't be long!
They really should get rid of the two-track rule, which instituted today’s non-filibuster filibuster. A true filibuster should shut down everything in the Senate, the way it used to prior to that rule. Let Schmucky Schumer stand in the floor of the Senate and read from Green Eggs and Ham to stop an eminently qualified judge from ascending to SCOTUS.
Without the two-track rule, there would be far fewer filibusters as well. The people desiring to filibuster will always have to wonder: should we really die on this hill by shutting down the Senate?
Apparently, you didn’t read the post just above in #231 that connected repeal of the 17th with rendering the filibuster ineffective.
Yes, there is a strong connection when one party controls so many statehouses and the US Senators they elect, very strong connection that makes the filibuster seem inconsequential.
Thanks for the additional comments.
> “Now..., if we have a super-majority doesn’t that eliminate the ability to filibuster, and wouldn’t that also deliver us into a Democracy situation according to your thoughts.”
No, because a super-majority is a de facto representation of the nation as a whole. A super-majority is thus treated differently.
A simple majority, on the other hand, is not allowed to run roughshod over the nation for the limited time they exist. That is why the filibuster has existed for 200+ years in Congress.
In this case of Schumer and his filibuster, there should be 60 votes to invoke cloture.
McConnell stated unequivocally “Judge Gorsuch will be confirmed”. Say what we will about the shortcomings of McConnell, he does indeed know how to count votes and I suspect that is why it took him so long to schedule hearings for Judge Gorsuch. He knows there will be 60 votes for cloture.
This thread then has been a gift to the undeserved attention seeking of Schumer.
But it has hopefully been a good education for the many lurking.
Thanks.
My idea of Democracy is that the majority rules, no matter what.
My idea of a Republic is that representatives may not conform to popular opinion, and go ahead and do what is right anyway.
For this reason, I don’t see a super majority as any less of a Democracy than a simple majority. Majority (super) still rules, and that majority may still be absolutely wrong.
I shudder to think if the Democrats had a super majority, because I’ve seen what that has done to my state.
They need to stay in session 24/7 when the filibuster starts, and let it run as long as needed. But I know McC wouldn’t dare do that.
Something Schmucky this way comes.
Get rid of the two-track rule and let Schmucky hold up all business to talk an eminently qualified SCOTUS nominee to death. I dare him!
PING!
Of course, this doesn’t consider that they could just get 8 Democrats to cave (particularly those who are vulnerable in 2018, and there are at least 15 of them) and cloture occurs anyway...
Pretty much everything ‘they’ have said this century is turning out to be fake.
“They” is the left in this case. I don’t see our side being any more accurate. Right now we have Trump and his sheer force of will. What do we have after him? A whole lot of nothing.
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