Going Nuke!

Well we could talk about the deal, tentative deal, that has been seemingly agreed to between the world and Iran on the nuke thingy……but I did that yesterday and redundancy has not been my thing lately….nope today’s nuke post is about the Dems going “nuclear” on the Senate filibuster rule, the 60 vote super majority…….is this worthy of labeling it a success?

(Newser) – Today’s vote in the Senate to curb the use of the filibuster has turned what was shaping up to be an “inconsequential” Congress into exactly the opposite, writes Ezra Klein at the Washington Post. “Indeed, this might prove to be one of the most significant congresses in modern times,” he argues. “Today, the political system changed its rules to work more smoothly in an age of sharply polarized parties.” If our political system is to avoid “complete dysfunction,” we’ll need more changes like it. Speaking of polarized parties, the move is generally getting rave reviews on the left and slams on the right:

  • Boo: “If Republicans went nuclear first in order to ‘ram through right-wing judges,’ how would breaking the rules have played in the media?” tweeted Matt Lewis.
  • Blame Mitch: “Any claim that the Senate’s current minority is simply following past practices is not credible,” writes Ian Millhiser at ThinkProgress. “The filibuster existed before the Age of McConnell, but McConnell made them commonplace.” (He’s got a chart to make the point.)
  • Risky precedent: Democrats allowed the filibuster to remain in effect for legislation and Supreme Court nominees, notes Allahpundit at Hot Air. “The possibility of a Republican president and a Republican Senate pushing through pro-life justices is too horrifying to the left for them to risk changing the rules on SCOTUS appointments too.” Of course, now that the precedent of weakening the filibuster has been set, that might change, too.
  • Good move: “There is ample precedent for this kind of change, though it should be used judiciously,” write the editors at the New York Times. “Today’s vote was an appropriate use of that power, and it was necessary to turn the Senate back into a functioning legislative body.”

And now the Dems are celebrating quietly….HA…I lied….they are walking around like the cat that ate the mouse…..so the question now is….is this a good thing?

Best answer is yes and no…..a bit of a cop out I know but we have to look at bother sides of this thing…….it is good for Obama and his nominating process…..but keep in mind that eventually the GOP will return to prominence in the Senate and this will come back to bite the Dems in the ass……but for now they, the Dems, can strut around like they have accomplished something…..but personally, I think it will be more harmful than good…..but we shall see…..right?

I am positive that some of my readers will have an opinion….voice it!

6 thoughts on “Going Nuke!

  1. “so the question now is….is this a good thing?”

    It is what it is … or should have been. If this rule had never been in place we wouldn’t have thought about it one way or the other. In a democracy the majority rules. Minorities need to learn how to compromise, not engage in intransigency. Majorities are more willing to be flexible when they’re working with reasonable people on the other side of the aisle.

      1. “but I see a GOP majority approaching and it will not be pretty…”

        True but we have to take the bad with the good and hopefully compromise will be re-instituted in the near future. Besides, this wasn’t a blanket nuclear option. It still left room for the filibuster for higher appointees and policies issues.

      2. Prsonally, I think the GOP will work hard to re-introduce the super majority….it is what they do…they loved it before and that has not changed….

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