Common Cause Seeks End to Republicans’ Use of Filibuster

[Purveyor]

By Jonathan D. Salant - Tue May 15 04:00:01 GMT 2012

Common Cause, a Washington-based watchdog organization, is asking a federal court to overturn the Senate filibuster, which Republicans have used more since Democrats captured the chamber in 2007.

The group, in a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Washington, cited the Senate’s inability to muster 60 votes to clear legislation allowing children of undocumented immigrants to become legal U.S. residents if they go to college or join the U.S. armed forces, and to pass legislation requiring nonprofit groups that run political ads to disclose their donors. Both bills passed the House and received a majority of votes in the Senate.

“While the Senate can set its own rules, they can’t be unconstitutional,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar, a former Democratic U.S. representative from Pennsylvania. “This is an unconstitutional provision. A minority of senators representing a minority of the population of the nation can in fact rule with the current system.”

Requiring a supermajority of 60 votes on legislation rather than 51 votes has become more commonplace.

MORE...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-14/common-cause-seeks-end-to-republicans-use-of-filibuster.html

[Bok_Tukalo]

1. Sauce for the goose

I prefer to have the filibuster available.

As far as this part:

“While the Senate can set its own rules, they can’t be unconstitutional,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar, a former Democratic U.S. representative from Pennsylvania. “This is an unconstitutional provision. A minority of senators representing a minority of the population of the nation can in fact rule with the current system.”


A majority of senators represent a minority of the population of the nation.

We are a republic. Work it out.

[Woody Woodpecker]

4. No. The Republicans have long abused the rules.

For over 35 years. It's time to end the minority ruling over the majority.

The Republicans are now going to face the destruction of their party now. Romney is the last straw.

It's time for Democratic Party to set the ground rules that will wipe the Republican's platform out and put the Republicans into a corner, permanently - while we fix the country's ills.

[dkf]

2. Will they feel the same way if we lose the Senate?

[unblock]

3. overall, filibusters are a more useful tool for republicans

filibusters work to prevent new legislation, but cannot create new legislation.
as a result, those seeking to preserve the status quo like the filibuster and those preferring to change it don't like it.

obviously, who's in the majority matters as well, but overall, those fighting to preserve the status quo win whenever they have 41 votes, whereas those fighting for change need 60 votes.

although there are exceptions, of course, republicans, for the most part, like preserving the status quo, especially when they can undermine laws they don't like through negligent enforcement and stacking the courts.



having said that, filibusters come in many forms, and even if the cloture-based filibuster were to go away, obstructionists would find other ways to delay and derail reform.


in any event, i see the probability of a court meddling in the senate's rules as vanishingly small.
the senate might change the rules themselves, of course, but a court doing it? extremely doubtful.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. What is a judge going to do? The Constitution states each house sets its own rules. n/t

[PoliticAverse]

6. And on the first day of each new Senate it only takes 51 votes to change the rules. n/t

[tritsofme]

7. Entirely frivolous.

Each house of Congress may set its own rules.