Kevin McCarthy Wants Senate Republicans To Get Rid Of The Filibuster

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Huffington Post

Kevin McCarthy Wants Senate Republicans To Get Rid Of The Filibuster
The Huffington Post | By Sam Levine
Posted: 03/01/2015 3:31 pm EST Updated: 2 hours ago



The No. 2 Republican in the House said on Sunday that the Senate should exercise the "nuclear option" and get rid of the filibuster to resolve the standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Senate Democrats have used the filibuster to block legislation that would have funded the DHS while defunding President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration. Even though Republicans opposed getting rid of the filibuster when Democrats controlled the Senate, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the party should do so now.

"I don’t think going nuclear when you have 57 percent of the Senate voted for the Collins amendment that would take away the president's action," McCarthy said on NBC's "Meet The Press," referring to the amendment introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that would not fund the president's recently announced executive actions on immigration, but would leave in place the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

"That's not nuclear, when 57 percent of the American representation says it's wrong. That's not in the Constitution," McCarthy said. "I think they should change the rules."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/01/kevin-mccarthy-filibuster_n_6779456.html

[WinstonSmith4740]

1. Of course.

And how many of the over 400 filibusters the Rethugs have pulled over the last 6 years did this guy vote to support? The hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me. That and I'll bet not ONE reporter asks him the question I just did.

[Judi Lynn]

5. I'm sure you're right! We lose. What a shame. n/t

[navarth]

14. "...and I'll bet not ONE reporter asks him the question I just did..."

THAT'S the part that twists me up. These 'journalists' don't do any homework except makeup technology.

[samsingh]

15. repugs are stupid hypocrites

[DeSwiss]

16. Republicans own the media companies......

...and sign their paychecks.

- And so they prefer silence to unemployment. For now.

''It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!''

~Upton Sinclair

[Yupster]

23. Probably not many

since he's in the House, and the filibusters are in the Senate.

[WinstonSmith4740]

25. True that!

We all knew the rethugs would start whining as soon as the dems started using filibusters. I went to "red" immediately and totally missed the part about him being in the House instead of the Senate!

The level of hypocrisy is still mind-boggling, though. How much you wanna bet a Senate republican will pick this up soon?

[mac56]

2. Hypocrites.

SMH

[Omaha Steve]

3. It wasn't in the Constitution when we had 59 either

They never want to play by the same rules.

Without the filibuster think of all the things that could have been done for several years. EFCA comes to mind.

[JDPriestly]

4. I suspect that the filibuster rule exists because of these provisions in the Constitution:

(I could be wrong. If someone knows better, please post.)

U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 7

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A1Sec7.html

The filibuster rule prevents Congress from presenting a bill to the president to sign and then having to revote on the bill and get the required number of votes.

It the Republicans don't have enough votes to override a veto, why worry about the filibuster?

[former9thward]

21. It was Reid who got rid of the filibuster on judicial appointments

and cabinet appointments. The precedent was set.

[JDPriestly]

24. He could safely do that, limiting to judicial appointments because obviously

the President is not going to veto his own judicial appointments.

So Reid used his brain and read the Constitution before limiting his actions on the filibuster to the confirmation of judicial appointments.

The filibuster is frustrating, but it actually speeds the work of Congress in that it prevents bills that will be vetoed from going through the unnecessary process of the veto and then a failed vote in Congress following the veto.

The leaders of Congress have to know how to count their votes. There is no sense in sending a bill to the president to be vetoed and then having to hold a vote in Congress to override the veto if the votes are not there. Waste of taxpayer money.

Of course, a Republican Congress is a waste of taxpayer money anyway.

[cstanleytech]

6. I fully support anything that causes the republicans to cut their own throats. nt

[al_liberal]

7. The Republican position on anything is "heads I win tails you lose".

These fucking people are of the mindset that they are the sole legitimate rulers of this country election results be damned. If they win by one vote they've been given a mandate, if they lose by millions they were robbed.

I'm so fucking tired of the media in this country playing this game. Giving credence to the birthers, the racists, the very question that there is some sort of equivalence between the two parties because the pukes have nothing. Nothing to offer our country but hatred and fear, nothing to help make things better but to claim the only solutions are theirs, nothing to offer our country hope going forward and nothing but intransigence toward our party.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. "No. 2 republican"

That's redundant, but concise.

[Owl]

12. Yes for sure!

[DeSwiss]

17. !

[nakocal]

9. The minority in the Senate (the Democratic Party) represent millions more people than the majority

It is funny how this low life conveniently forgets that his party is actually representing a minority of Americans. But truth, honor, and integrity have nothing to do with republicans.

[Mass]

10. McCarthy is an idiot who has pledged total obedience to the tea party.

He also does not seem to realize that, even if McConnell pushes the nuclear option, Obama will veto and they do not have the votes to override the veto, so they need to push a clean bill, which they are too afraid to do.

I'd wished Hoyer had not apologized as he was right : McCarthy is a coward.

[Turbineguy]

11. They can always bring it back

when they are in the minority again.

[Chipper Chat]

13. Has McCarthy cleared this with the Speaker of the House?

Speaker Cruz, that is.

[DeSwiss]

18. ....

[madville]

19. Most here advocated the same thing

just a year or two ago when Democrats were in the majority. The majority party always finds the filibuster rules irritating.

[SansACause]

20. That's the difference

We could have had six+ years without the filibuster, but we didn't have the balls to do it. The Republicans are in power for two months, and they're already moving to eliminate it.

[former9thward]

22. Reid did eliminate it.

For judicial and pestilential appointments.