Democrats, use the constitutional option and end the DADT filibuster and all this other filibustering once and for all!
If DADT isn't repealed in the lame duck session, it may be a decade before we get another chance. Republicans are filibustering every single bill, requiring a supermajority to do anything at all, and just signed a letter saying they won't let us vote to end discrimination until we pass tax cuts for multimillionaires adding hundreds of billions to the national defecit.
Do you think democrats shied away from civil rights legislation in the 1960s just because it was unpopular in the south?
No, they did the unpopular thing, and they did so without fear of reprecussions, no matter what it took, because it was the right thing to do.
Even as the law was being signed, it was predicted that signing it will destroy the democratic party in the south once and for all.
Let the republicans try and filibuster the repeal of DADT, as they just promised to do, and use the constitutional option when they try to do so in order to end this discriminatory practice.
It will be a great moment in US politics.
In U.S. politics, the nuclear option allows the United States Senate to reinterpret a procedural rule by invoking the constitutional requirement that the will of the majority be effective. This option allows a simple majority to override precedent and end a filibuster or other delaying tactic. In contrast, the cloture rule requires a supermajority of 60 votes (out of 100) to end a filibuster. The new interpretation becomes effective, both for the immediate circumstance and as a precedent, if it is upheld by a majority vote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Now with this letter from senate republicans, saying they will filibuster every damn bill until they get a nice fat tax cut for millionaires, the time for sitting still has passed.
Let the republicans try and filibuster the repeal of DADT, and use the constitutional option when they try to do so. Get the government moving again, and do so in order to end discrimination.
Similar to the 1960s, the GOP are standing against the tide of history and they will be judged harshly for it, but only if the democrats fight back right now, and use the nuclear option to end DADT.
It will be a great moment in US politics. Democrats will be rewarded for doing the right thing, atleast with the youth and the homosexual population.
The elections have passed, two years is a long time for gridlock. And most importantly, if DADT isn't repealed now, it may not be for decades.
The fact is, which ever party is in charge, democrats, or republicans, the filibuster was NEVER meant to be used this in this fashion.
With this threat by the republicans, is it possible to use the nuclear option, for the senate to quickly work through some of the 1000+ bills passed in the house awaiting a senate vote.
We can also end DADT once and for all. By getting rid of the filibuster, the senate can bring to the floor to vote on a new bill or two that the House already passed, every single day for the next 30 days. That should help do some good.
Doing this will end this filibuster nonsense once and for all. And for that, I say, good riddance. All requiring a supermajority to do every single thing accomplishes is grind the govt to a halt.
If this isn't an option for some reason, I would rather just let the tax cuts expire in whole. Letting them expire will overnight shave the national defecit in half, over night. Giving a $200 tax cut to the middle class isn't worth giving $100,000+ dollars to each multimillionaire, all while doubling the national deficit.
An Associated Press-CNBC poll released Tuesday indicates that half questioned wanted tax cuts to be extended only for families making under $250,000 a year, with 34 percent saying they should be extended for all Americans, and 14 percent calling for the cuts to sunset for everyone at the end of the year.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...
Likewise, it's ludicrous that the military is allowed to discriminate.
The filibuster is worth ending. It's used these days on every freaking bill, a few decades ago, that was unheard of.
If you opposed something, you voted against it, you didn't filibuster it to prevent it from even being voted on in the first place.
The constitution explicits states that you only need a simple majority to pass legislation. This is why I am quite certain that the senate parlimentarian will approve the constitutional option.
The fact is, discrimination in the military MUST be ended, here and now. If it's not done before the new session, it may not be for a decade or more.
Almost just as critically, the government needs to be allowed to function again.
We have seen the GOP grind the Senate to a halt using the filibuster.
The filibuster was blatantly abused the past decade (by both parties). And every sign shows that it will continue to be abused.
It's time we ended the filibuster and get the govt functioning again as it was always supposed to.
Citing wikipedia...
The nuclear option is a potential response to a filibuster or other dilatory tactic. A senator makes a point of order calling for an immediate vote on the measure before the body, outlining what circumstances allow for this. The presiding officer of the Senate, usually the vice president of the United States or the president pro tempore, makes a parliamentary ruling upholding the senator's point of order. The Constitution is cited at this point, since otherwise the presiding officer is bound by precedent. A supporter of the filibuster may challenge the ruling by asking, "Is the decision of the Chair to stand as the judgment of the Senate?" This is referred to as "appealing from the Chair." An opponent of the filibuster will then move to table the appeal. As tabling is non-debatable, a vote is held immediately. A simple majority decides the issue. If the appeal is successfully tabled, then the presiding officer's ruling that the filibuster is unconstitutional is thereby upheld. Thus a simple majority is able to cut off debate, and the Senate moves to a vote on the substantive issue under consideration. The effect of the nuclear option is not limited to the single question under consideration, as it would be in a cloture vote. Rather, the nuclear option effects a change in the operational rules of the Senate, so that the filibuster or dilatory tactic would thereafter be barred by the new precedent.
Another option is to pass these measures via reconciliation ASAP. Tag it onto the defense bill and be done with it.