Sunday, April 4, 2010

End the filibuster!

Here is a copy of a letter I sent VP Biden (and also Ed Shutz and Rachel Maddow):

I am a strong supporter of this administration and President Obama. I have a suggestion on how to finally end Republican obstructionism: End the Senate filibuster by changing the rules.
As you well know, the filibuster is a rule made by the Senate and is not in the Constitution. There was a Supreme Court Ruling in 1892 - United States versus Ballin - which found that changes to Senate rules could be achieved by a simple majority. Changing the rule to a simple majority would restore democracy to the US Senate and allow elections to have some meaning. This is necessary since the Republican Party plans to stop any legislation from passing the Senate.
I remind you of the rules to change the filibuster:
(from Wikipedia)
A senator makes a point of order calling for an immediate vote on the measure before the body, outlining what circumstances allow for this. The presiding officer of the Senate, usually the vice president of the United States or the president pro tempore, makes a parliamentary ruling upholding the senator's point of order. The Constitution is cited at this point, since otherwise the presiding officer is bound by precedent. A supporter of the filibuster may challenge the ruling by asking, "Is the decision of the Chair to stand as the judgment of the Senate?" This is referred to as "appealing from the Chair." An opponent of the filibuster will then move to table the appeal. As tabling is non-debatable, a vote is held immediately. A simple majority decides the issue. If the appeal is successfully tabled, then the presiding officer's ruling that the filibuster is unconstitutional is thereby upheld. Thus a simple majority is able to cut off debate, and the Senate moves to a vote on the substantive issue under consideration. The effect of the nuclear option is not limited to the single question under consideration, as it would be in a cloture vote. Rather, the nuclear option effects a change in the operational rules of the Senate, so that the filibuster or dilatory tactic would thereafter be barred by the new precedent.
It is time to change this rule and return the Senate to a real democracy. Only then can President Obama's initiatives be made into law.

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