Blocking by Not Voting

It's Time to End Gridlock In Washington – YouTube.

I’ll start this post with a few old sayings not to be cheesy but to make a broader point. That you should be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. That something you think want at the time so much and then you finally get it and realize you never wanted. This in the first place because it causes you more problems than you had before. Another one would be short-term gain can turn into long-term pain. That you may think you have an advantage now but when the shoe is on the other foot so to speak and not the other side has. That advantage they can now use that against you. The U.S. Senate is a perfect example of that because it operates in precedent. Things are done based on how they’ve always been done so in that sense the U.S. Senate is a conservative institution. The U.S. House of Representatives sets new precedents all the time so in that sense its a more liberal. Institution and when new precedents are set in the Senate by the majority or minority. Those come back and are used again when again the shoe is on the other foot so to speak.

I say all of this because Senate Leader Reid is seriously considering the so-called nuclear-option. That is eliminating the Senate filibuster when it comes to judicial nominations and perhaps other executive appointments. Something that of course he was against back in 2005 when he was Minority Leader and we had a Republican President. So if Leader Reid gets what he wants there will be serious consequences to be paid the next time there’s a. Republican President and a Republican Senate, which I believe could be a long time considering the. State of the Republican Party when they are able to appoint anyone they want to office. And as a Democrat I’m frustrated with all of the Senate Republican obstructionism on some of. President Obama’s appointments but this is not the way to do it and there are better ways to do it. That doesn’t wipeout minority rights in the Senate and still leaves the Senate as the ultimate check on absolute power.

I’m not going to explain the meaning of each rule here but hopefully the rules I want to eliminate and changed. Will explain them self by how I mention them. But the Senate should eliminate holds so individual Senators could no longer hold up nominees or bills by. Themselves and eliminate the objection rule as well no longer Senators could block amendments. Nominees and bills on their own that these things could only be done by the Leader or Minority Leader if by anyone. Eliminate the motion to proceed rule which has basically already been done. No longer sixty votes needed to start debate on bills or nominees. Once committees clear bills and nominees. The Leader can bring them to the floor and schedule debates and votes on them. I would prefer eliminating the filibuster all together and replace it with a tabling motion that could only be made by the. Leader or Minority Leader at the end of debates. These things would empower the majority to govern and still protect minority rights.

You think the Senate is stuck in Washington gridlock now. ELiminate the filibuster on nominees and watch Minority Leader Mitch McConnell block everything from coming up for a. Vote by refusing to agree to any unanimous consent agreements that the Senate has to have to conduct its business on the floor. And Leader Harry Reid is smart enough to know this because he made the same threat back in 2005 when then Leader Bill Frist considered doing the same. Thing in eliminating filibusters on nominees as well. This is not something that should be done.