By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Newly elected Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has a radical idea — words should mean what they mean. Take for example the word “filibuster.” Most of us have the quaint notion that a filibuster is a rarely used exhausting oration by a principled senator to stop devastatingly wrongheaded or corrupt legislation in its tracks. From the time of Cato, the legislative maneuver was used as the last gasp effort to do the right thing even as the forces of corruption were circling. It was essentially a plea for good men and women to think long and hard before passing ill-considered law. Think Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
But alas, in the Orwellian world of “government speak” the new filibuster means simply that a senator makes a telephone call to the senate majority leader threatening to stand before senate and protest a particular bill. Magically, the bill now requires 60 votes (for the cloture motion needed to end the phony filibuster) to pass instead of that old-fashioned formula for representative democracy — the favoring of one half of the members present plus one. No speech, no reason, no passion, and no democracy. It’s too damn easy to gum up the people’s business with that slimmest and slimiest of minorities — the ego of one.
The rule has permitted the “Nattering Nabobs of No” — also known as Senate Republican Caucus — to use the filibuster 380 times since 2006 to stop such menacing bills as those appointing judges or heads of government agencies, ending subsidies to Big Oil, and to open government processes to the public. That, according to Warren, spells abuse and government gridlock.
Oh, and what about that merit of allowing a sincere senator to try by the sheer force of his words to stop bad legislation from becoming law? According to Warren that’s as phony as the new filibuster, too. “We’ve seen filibusters of bills and nominations that ultimately passed with 90 or more votes,” she says. Senator-elect Warren has had enough of “government speak” and now calls for a majority to just be a majority.
On her first week on the job in January, Elizabeth Warren, joined by several freshman senators, will propose that the Senate rules to be changed to make language meaningful again. She’ll ask that exclusive club, by a simple majority vote, to make a filibuster mean what the word implies. If she gets her way, senators will no longer hold a cell phone veto over the will of the majority and will have to actually stand in the well of the Senate to speak their piece. Maybe they’ll read aloud the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence or even the telephone directory. Maybe they’ll tell us about their childhood growing up in idyllic East Bumbletuck or about their favorite cat or about the time they caught the winning touchdown pass. But maybe –just maybe — they’ll feel compelled by logic or honor or just plain ol’ manners to explain to us all why the manifested will of the world’s greatest nation takes a back seat to their petty wants.
Source: Huffington Post
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
High five
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/9TH_Drew_Storen_and_Wilson_Ramos.jpg
You go girl!
Great job Mark. This abuse of the filibuster has actually caused the do nothing media to claim that bills failed when the vote was merely the cloture vote that did not obtain the 60 vote threshold needed to end the filibuster. I would pay money to see Sen. McConnell actually have to stand for hours and actually tell the American public why he is holding up the majority’s business.
While they are at it, get rid of the “hold” that a single senator can put on a bill.
As I have often had to remind Dems the racist crack cocaine laws were implemented by a Dem Congress. And, the current fillibuster rules were implemented by a Dem Senate.
Darren,
Like I’ve said and will say agin…. Unless you are part of the solution…. You are the problem….
Elaine,
I hope she proves to be as much as a maverick as Barbara Jordan…… It’s good to know that you have the honor of having warren in a key seat….. Money well spent….
Go Liz, …. Make it Happen ….!!!!
The filibuster mechanism needs repair, but not abolition IMO.
The old format described by Mark E points out the structure it had when it was intended to not have a minority of views be railroaded and bulldozed over.
It was perverted into a mechanism that allows even the best majority views to be railroaded and bulldozed over by the tiniest quantity of the few.
Frankly, I was a supporter of his when he ran for State Auditor.
Frankly, I had the pleasure of meeting with Senator Wellstone a few times. He was the best.
The last real filibuster I can remember was the ’64 Civil Rights Act. The forces of darkness stood and talked for 57 working days and delayed the passage. During that time they had to actually hold the floor & the tiny handful of Dixicrats like Strom Thumond worked in shifts sleeping in their offices and taking their turns.
Somewhere along the line it was decided that this was too hard on the Dukes and Duchesses of the Senate. The result is that there is no effort to filibusters and they have them by the dozens. The Senate was designed to slow change and it does that, just much too well the last 30 years & getting worse. If politicians were honorable and more interested in the country than their party this rule would not be necessary but sadly the rule needs to be made. Make them actually hold the floor!
With Paul Wellstone gone I thank Pasta for Ms. Warren. Senator Franken is doing a good job but we need someone that can light a fire like Senator Wellstone did and she may be in a better place to do that.
lk, Most of the dino”s are up in 2014 in states like NC LA AK AR. if we lose those seats, the repubs are back in control.
We now have 20 women in the senate. A couple are republican. We fought the GOP war on women and won. I contributed to Elizabeth Warren. It was a great election.
I am all in favor of the employment of more buster. Democracy means 51 of 100 votes, i.e. majority rule. This new Senator is demonstrating that there is as much Cherokee in her as there is Warren. No pun intended if that is her married name.. Cloture is close to vulture and minority should not be the majority. No pun intended Jesse, I have been defending you all week. Be there there with Lizbeth when cloture gets voted on. Ban cell phones in the Halls of Congress.
I’m glad to see it but they still have to get 51 votes. Letting the new kids on the block introduce the change and having it fail would save face for sitting Senators as well as serve as an object lesson for some of the new Senators that have come to Washington as reformers. How many DINO’s will be left?
How about our elected officials just dispense with the parliamentary gaming and actually do something worthwhile for the benefit of the voters instead of themselves, their party, or whatever controls them.
The phony filibuster should have ended long ago! I have great hopes for Elizabeth Warren. So glad she beat Scott Brown and will serve as a senator from my state of Massachusetts.
This is an important issue, perhaps one of the most important to appear in recent years, that actually ca be solved in a relatively easy way. The filibusters I remember from my youth primarily were done by Southern Senators standing up to block legislation that would be counter to “Jim Crow”. Even without the presence of camera’s in the Senate, the reports in the press of them reading the D.C. phone book to kill time would eventually take the wind out of their sails and make their efforts seem ridiculous. The oral filibuster publicized the minority caused while leading to a public discussion of its validity.
The rules change to allow one anonymous Senator to phone in their blockage of debate came upon the country silently in the sense of little, or no publicity. It certainly shocked me, a political junkie, when its effect became known. “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” was a movie I saw in my childhood and Capra’s idealistic film certainly shaped my political philosophy. Then suddenly this method was supplanted by one that allowed anonymity and in its wake the Senate was reduced to an ineffectual part of the Legislative Branch of government.
The first time I became aware of Elizabeth Warren was an interview on the Bill Maher show and I found her impressive intellectually and a superb communicator as well. She is one of the few people in politics today that I believe will stick with her ideals and in doing so will be a dynamic force for positive change. I hope she and her allied Senators will prevail in ending the silent filibuster, which has done so much harm recently. In the critiques of the first Obama Administration for its failures, too many have ignored the fact that this “tool” was used an unprecedented amount of times, specifically as a roadblock to the Senate’s functioning. Blame must go to Harry Reid too, for not having the courage to do this much earlier. His opponents proved consistently that power must be wielded boldly or else it is lost. Harry, seemingly imbued with Senate tradition didn’t seem to recognize that this rule had stopped the democratic process in the Senate.
About time we had a Senator with cojones! It doesn’t say much for the rest of the guys who want to keep the clubby atmosphere at our expense. Glad to see more women in the Senate. I hope it makes a BIG difference and this is a good start.
I love the fact that the lobbyists and the GOP worked so hard to keep her out of government and they got her in the Senate where she can really screw them up!
When has tyranny not been itself-justification?
When has truthfulness not been the antidote for tyranny?
Great article mark….. I hope she lives up to her words….DC can corrupt even the incorruptible ….
Yay Elizabeth Warren….