Mitch McConnell’s five biggest whoppers on the filibuster
Mitch McConnells five biggest whoppers on the filibuster
Senate majority leader Harry Reid and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell just had an heated, lengthy exchange on the floor of the Senate over Reids intention to use the so-called constitutional option at the beginning of the next Congress to change the rules of the filibuster using only 51 votes.
The specific changes Reid envisions arent particularly dramatic: He wants to be able to make the motion to debate a bill but not the vote to pass it immune to the filibuster; he wants the time it would take to break a filibuster to be shorter; and he wants whoever is filibustering to have to hold the floor of the Senate and talk. None of these changes would alter the basic reality of the modern U.S. Senate, which is that it takes 60 votes to get almost anything done. In my view, that means they wouldnt do much to fix the Senate at all.
Nevertheless, McConnell is furious. But many of the arguments he was making on the floor Monday dont hold up to even the barest scrutiny.
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Full article with the 'five whoppers' listed here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/26/mitch-mcconnells-five-biggest-whoppers-on-the-filibuster/
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