I'm not nearly one of the people in the DKos community who is closest to Chris Bowers, but I do like Chris and his great work, so if someone came up to me and said "hey, it's Chris's birthday -- could you contribute $3 for a present?" I would probably do it. So, even though I may not be the logical person to do this, I'm going to ask: can you spare $3 for a present to Chris? I even know what he wants.
Today is Chris's birthday, as I understand it. Despite that, he sent me an e-mail today; maybe you got it too. He said:
Greg, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has sent an ultimatum to Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, giving McConnell until Thursday to agree to a watered down filibuster reform package. The idea is that Reid and McConnell would jointly pass a few small-bore reforms with overwhelming bipartisan support.
However, if McConnell does not agree to the watered down package of reforms, then Sen. Reid has threatened to pass a much stronger filibuster reform package, and to do so with only 51 Democratic votes. Further, according to the Washington Post, this stronger package would include one of our two primary demands—flipping the burden on filibusters to the minority party:
Right now, the majority needs to supply the 60 votes to break a filibuster. The minority only needs one vote on the floor. Under Reid’s backup plan, the burden would be reversed: The minority would have to supply the 41 votes required to keep a filibuster going, while the majority wouldn’t have to do much of anything. That means that if the minority only had 38 votes present in the room, the filibuster would end. It also means the minority could be forced to muster all their people to vote at times of the majority leader’s choosing: say, 3 a.m. on a Saturday. It would make filibustering a much more unpleasant experience.
This would be a pretty dang big deal, and we need to let Senator Reid know that he would have our support if he decides to go that route.
Please sign our petition to Senate Majority Leader Reid, letting him know that you support him if he decides to pass the powerful "flipping the burden" filibuster reform with only Democratic votes. We will email the signatures to his office early tomorrow morning as the final decision is being made.
Keep fighting,
Chris Bowers
Campaign Director, Daily Kos
That's good stuff to know. I appreciate it. So, what the heck, I'd chip in a small amount for a present. But what should it be? Wait -- there was a P.S.!
P.S. Please help keep Daily Kos strong by chipping in $3.
Well ... OK, Chris. After all, it
is your birthday! I'll click that link right now. Have a happy one! Anyone out there with me on this?