Filibuster Busters

[Drince88]

One thing that's had me confused is that it sure looks like they're getting a lot done on the Senate floor during these filibusters, and we haven't been hearing about what obscure book they're reading from to keep the filibuster going, and how long Senator X spoke, etc.

Oh yea, that's right, they aren't REALLY filibustering as I was taught (in the dark ages) a filibuster was supposed to be. If you're going to filibuster, DO IT - but don't change the rules so it's not so hard on you to do!

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Drince88

Oh yea, that's right, they aren't REALLY filibustering as I was taught (in the dark ages) a filibuster was supposed to be. If you're going to filibuster, DO IT - but don't change the rules so it's not so hard on you to do!

Hear, Hear!!!

The filibuster was supposed to be hard to do. That way it would only be done when the strenght of the convictions of the minority was so strong that they were willing to go thru with it.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Drince88

One thing that's had me confused is that it sure looks like they're getting a lot done on the Senate floor during these filibusters, and we haven't been hearing about what obscure book they're reading from to keep the filibuster going, and how long Senator X spoke, etc.

That is because, at least to my understanding, that there has been no filibuster yet. There has only been a threat of one, up to this point. Again though, I could be wrong. Last I had read, there was a compromise in the works.

Here is an interesting article that explains the changes in the filibuster over the course of time.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Motorboat Cruiser

That is because, at least to my understanding, that there has been no filibuster yet. There has only been a threat of one, up to this point. Again though, I could be wrong. Last I had read, there was a compromise in the works.

This is true. In all fairness it is the Republicans that are letting the Dems do this. Maybe instead of getting rid of the fillibuster for judicial nominees they should just make the dems actually and for true really fillibuster.

[wendybeth]

Be careful what you wish for, SJ. They might get up there and read Hillary's "It Takes a Village" book, or Bill's autobiography.

[Scrooge McSam]

To those trying to follow this story...

Keep in mind the New York Times is counting Bush's nominees twice in arriving at their figures, since Bush re-nominated his failed nominees in another session.

The authors of the New York Times study explain their method thusly...

[J]udicial confirmation rates include nominees who are renominated in a subsequent Congress. Thus, a nominee who is not confirmed in one Congress, and is then renominated during the next session, is counted twice. We debated reporting the proportion of individuals who were confirmed. We opted not to do this since we think the proportion of nominations that are confirmed gives a better feel of the obstacles presidents and their nominees encounter.

Their full explanation can be found here

Gathering their statistics in this manner insures that Mr. Bush's record with Congress looks worse than it actually is.

Carry on

[Gemini Cricket]

Santorum retracted his statement:

quote:
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said he didn't mean to compare Democrats to Adolf Hitler while defending the GOP's fight to ban judicial filibusters in Washington.

http://www.nbc6.net/news/4512783/detail.html

[Gemini Cricket]

I like this gem from GOP Senator Cornyn who sounds like he's advocating violence against judges...

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence." [Senate Floor, 4/4/05]

[Ghoulish Delight]

Violent criminals are comitting violent crimes against judges who make decissions that affect their lives? Clearly it must be because of the judges' political views.

[scaeagles]

We can play the stupid politicians quote game all day - one of my personal favoites was when Sheila Jackson Lee asked if the Mars Observer could point the camera to the location where "the astronauts planted the American flag."

Fail to see the point when we are discussing the use of the filibuster, but that's OK.