Ignoring the rules

[Algorem]

BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL

"...the tyranny of the majority ...GOP's hypocritical argument ...the ugly tactics ...nothing less than piracy...witch's brew of parliamentary tricks..."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/05/20/ignoring_the_rules/

May 20, 2005

SENATE RULES require that 60 members agree to end debate and force a vote on an issue.

And the rules themselves are supposed to be firm: They can only be changed by a two-thirds majority -- 67 votes.

Yet the Republican leadership in the Senate, supported by President Bush, is seeking to give lifetime judgeships to right-wing nominees by a simple majority vote, after changing Senate rules by a simple majority vote.

No one claims the maneuver is unconstitutional, but each part constitutes an assault on time-tested institutions of the Senate. It is the tyranny of the majority that James Madison, Alexis de Tocqueville, and countless others have warned against...

[rodeodance]

1. great one--"witch's brew of parliamentary tricks..."

[Algorem]

2. Reminds me of that quote-"This is from the new Bernstein biography of

Jefferson. Jefferson sent the letter in 1798 after the passage of the Sedition Act:

"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake." "

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2604461

[rodeodance]

3. according to GOP mentality--rules do not exist for them.