Filibusted
Back when the Republican's controlled the Congress, the filibuster used to be this outmoded thing, deserving only to be nuked if ever invoked by the Democrats. But now that the tables have turned, the GOP has taken to using this procedural option with gusto. I recall but cannot find a quote from one GOPer saying that the filibuster has worked quite well for the Republicans this session.
And indeed it has. They haven't even had to actually filibuster anything. All the bills that have been blocked or voted down in the Senate have all been the result of the mere threat of a filibuster. And the hesitancy of the media to call it that makes one wonder if the word itself has in fact been banished from the Beltway lexicon.
Thankfully some remember what it means.
Many are talking about this and rightly so. It's good that Sen. Reid is taking his job as Majority Leader seriously in telling the Repubs that if they want to turn the 110th into another Do-Nothing Congress, they're going to have to work for it.
Update: Joe Gandelman has much more with prominent linkage to yours truly.
(Filed at State of the Day)
And indeed it has. They haven't even had to actually filibuster anything. All the bills that have been blocked or voted down in the Senate have all been the result of the mere threat of a filibuster. And the hesitancy of the media to call it that makes one wonder if the word itself has in fact been banished from the Beltway lexicon.
Thankfully some remember what it means.
Forcing his Republican colleagues to put up or shut up on the notion of an up-or-down vote, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) just moments ago announced that he will immediately file a cloture motion on the Reed-Levin troop redeployment bill and, if Republicans follow through with a filibuster, will place the Senate in a prolonged all-night session Tuesday to force a true continuation of debate.
Many are talking about this and rightly so. It's good that Sen. Reid is taking his job as Majority Leader seriously in telling the Repubs that if they want to turn the 110th into another Do-Nothing Congress, they're going to have to work for it.
Update: Joe Gandelman has much more with prominent linkage to yours truly.
(Filed at State of the Day)
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