Prof. Reich: In response to your urgent, and justifiable, call for action, I reply with an ambitious, yet workable, proposal that, in my view, would countermand the polarizing influences of a rising political class intent on undoing the very structures of government that were created to preserve representative democracy. Though I don’t imagine any of us would dispute that nearly everything disfunctional in our politics can be attributed largely to the Senate filibuster, still, neither abolishing the filibuster nor exempting it even to pass bills protective of our most basic rights currently has support from 50 Senators. Hence, I defer to Congressional Scholar Norm Ornstein who, for some time, has pressed for a Senate filibuster rule change I believe would provide an opening for the Senate to function as the deliberative body our Founders had sought to establish. This rule change that likely would pass (it would need support from only 50 Senators) would involve replacing the 60-vote threshold required to end debate with a 41-vote threshold to continue debate, thus shifting the burden from the majority to the minority, 41 of whom would have to be present, speaking nonstop solely about the issue at hand, to sustain a filibuster. I don’t imagine any Senator (as stated, we only need support from 50) could mount a credible opposition in defiance of this reform.
Consider the possibilities were this rule change enacted and Senate Democrats were able at least to have a shot at passing the Freedom to Vote Act, the PRO Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, criminal justice reform, gun safety legislation, and more. I expect Dems would be so mobilized that they likely could win enough seats in 22 to render the likes of a Manchin or a Sinema as virtually irrelevant.
In closing, I would note that all of us must prevail upon President Biden, as he did with the American Rescue Plan, to get the two coalitions in his Party together and united. Whether it be the Freedom to Vote Act, the Social and Climate Action package, or some other legislation, Biden must be mindful that the fate of the Democratic Party, and admittedly of democracy itself, ultimately, does not rest solely with individual Senators or with different coalitions within the Party. Rather it’s the Party’s leadership that must lead, come up with the deal, and get the job done.
Here is a Daily Kos article that quotes Senator Angus King’s excellent speech and works the numbers a few different ways, and shows that in important ways, only 5% ( ‘4.7%’ ) of the USA is yanking the rest of us around.
Senator Jeff Merkley has advocated for the standing filibuster many times; whether the intriguing plan above is the same I’m not clear.
One aspect I don’t look forward to is the venal grandstanding opportunities that this provides to the many traitorous members of the Senate to dominate the conversation with lies and ad hominem attacks, instead of reasoned alternatives in healthy debate.
Dream on, I’m hearing in my own head.
The traitor caucus has booked all their time for damage, so this proposal may enable more. Or it could be that in our current nightmare, where the elected terrorists sniping at progress only want one minute at the podium for a clip, but making them stand there until they drop would actually regulate this behavior.
( the Republican Party should be designated a domestic terrorist organization, even if that has no teeth, easy to find that text in our code )
Each alternative comes back to the insane abusive state of the Senate and the whole Congress, which holds hostage an overwhelming majority by backwards geographic minorities.
Senator Angus King spoke eloquently and said that 24% of the US population controls 41 Senate votes, and holds most of us hostage thereby. ( Even so, how could that block be so uniform in their backwardness??!! What country are they from?? )
That has to stop! ( yes, that’s the theme, I know )
Domestic terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.
I saw a presidential candidate invite a hostile foreign power to mount a cyber-attack on a domestic organization in the course of a campaign speech. Does that count?
Brad, Thank you for the Daily Kos piece. Aside from a brief mention, I was unaware of King’s deep dive, wherein he amplified the “out-sized influence” of “such a small proportion of the electorate.” As for Merkley, though I don’t believe he has spoken with as much precision, I would hope he would try to mobilize his colleagues to support a rule change that would restore regular order and that actually could pass. Regarding your final point, no one promised that democracy wouldn’t be messy and, at times, ugly. As compensation, at least in this case, we know eventually there’ll be a vote and the will of the majority will determine whether the legislation stands or falls.
This isn't a big secret. The question is why this hasn't been enacted. That's not rhetorical - why can't the Dems, Biden, see the urgency of action and this (or a few other worthy) proposals?
It seems clear that the forces within the Democratic Party impeding progress for democracy are the same forces driving the the Republican Party. Those who control the economy control the media, control our political Parties and control our leaders. There’s not much democracy left as it is. I think the powers that be are trying to ensure that true democracy never emerges.
John Mentzos, your response says it all in a nut shell. Nothing will ever change until we get new "Players" that care about the people first and can get a balance of power that works for the entire country. Our Military efforts need major adjustments. War is only a power play that only the causes death and destruction. It is a Corpruite money maker.
Psst! They are on the take! They allow us to have our Democrat 'President' and immediately hamstring him with treachery. That is what I have been watching for years! From stolen elections ( voter purges, Electoral college nonsense, closing polls, one poll open in Texas for over a million voters, and outrage after outrage even to the point of enacting LAWS THAT MAKE IT A CRIME TO GIVE WATER TO WAITING VOTERS WHO MUST STAND IN THE HOT SUN FOR HOURS!!!!
BK, Though I don’t have a definitive answer, contrary to John’s disturbingly sinister reply, I believe the Democratic Party overall, Prof. Reich included, hasn’t given up on either abolishing the filibuster entirely or, at the very least, creating carve outs to preserve basic rights. I also believe that Party leadership has pocketed proposals like Ornstein’s in the event all else fails to restore some semblance of regular order.
I don’t disagree you, but Manchin and others are receiving lots of money from major economic sectors and that influence within the Democratic Party is undermining democracy. That’s not conjecture.
John, I agree, especially considering that Manchin and Sinema, in particular, refuse, without support from Republicans, to pass Federal voter protection legislation, while GOP controlled state legislatures unilaterally pass bill after bill that restricts voting and nullifies votes. Accordingly, I’ve begun to press Senate Democrats to mobilize behind Ornstein’s Senate filibuster rule change, first, because it provides an opening for the Senate to function as a truly deliberative body and, second, because neither Manchin nor Sinema could use their supposed commitment to the filibuster as justification for blocking this reform. As originally stated, Schumer needs support from only 50 Senators to enact a rule change.
Ahh, Ms. Krieger, I agree that eventually the Dems will come to the collective conclusion that the filibuster in it's present form needs to go. My lack of faith in the Dems is in their assessment of the "enemy." Meaning: How far the GQP has gone in implementing their coup plans. Dems inept handling of the media doesn't help.
BK, I maintain it likely is not too late if Senate Democrats immediately heed the call to mobilize behind Ornstein’s Senate filibuster rule change. Please see my latest reply to John, wherein I justify my reasoning.
BK, Though your concerns clearly are understandable, still I urge all of us to acquire the knowledge we need to stay engaged and to remain hopeful if for no other reason than to stay in the fight.
White people are in denial as to the extremely racist nature and racist voting record of the U.S. Senate.
Every single Senator on both sides knows the Senate will act in a bi-partisan fashion to refrain from voting for significant, meaningful, election reform legislation that is absolutely needed to prevent red state legislatures from stealing the 2022 and 2024 elections via gerrymandering and over 400 bogus GOP red state election laws designed to suppress and even nullify the majority will of voters in those red states.
I call it THE GREAT WHITE BACKLASH against police reform, Black Lives Matter protests and agenda, against "wokeism" and progressive political momentum, policies and goals.
Joe Biden and moderate Democrats prefer to lose to Republicans in the mid-terms rather than empower blacks and people of color, rather than protect the right to vote.
This racist U.S. Senate will NOT be voting on any meaningful, necessary election reform bills before the mid-term 2022 elections. James Clyburn is an ancient Uncle Tom who foolishly believes the Freedom to Vote Act, the PRO Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will be passed in the U.S. Senate. These acts will NEVER BE PASSED in the U.S. Senate because the U.S. Senate is comprised mostly of racist Senators on both sides. Virtually all Republican Senators are racist and their voting record and words prove the fact of their racism.
The White Establishment made a racist, bi-partisan effort to suppress the vote and return women to a subjugated status the Senate is comfortable with. It's a bi-partisan effort to return America to the Jim Crow era.
Ron, If memory serves, in 2005 the Senate voted for a third time, I believe unanimously, to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Though I lament the erosion of moral values since that last vote, particularly among Republicans, and, admittedly, cannot speak for all Democratic Senators, I find no evidence that confirms your all inclusive judgment of the entire Senate body. As for the filibuster, discounting Manchin and Sinema, I understand that increasingly more Democratic Senators support abolishing the filibuster entirely and that 48 are in favor of a carve out to pass both the Freedom to Vote Act and the VRAA. Furthermore, I find no evidence to confirm that even the more moderate of the two Democratic coalitions within the Senate is primarily racist. Might some so-called Corporate Democrats view the diminution of so-called Left-Wing Democrats favorably? Possibly.
I hate to agree with you but you're probably correct. There may be a few other reasons Dems seem content to cement themselves into permanent underdogs but this makes (sad, sad) sense.
Shara, Because we’re all so horrified by the extent to which institutions meant to protect the country are under such heavy assault, I, too, am eager to hear from Prof. Reich.
It's do or die! We cannot continue to pretend. Remember how tRump was laughed at at an international forum? He had made unsupported statements describing himself and his accomplishments in glowing terms. Everyone there laughed! That can happen again. Worse, it affects those who are subjects of this tyranny. U.S. We cannot peddle Democracy when we do not practice it ourselves!
The problem with the present filibuster rule is that it places the entire burden on the majority party in the Senate to find the 60 votes to end debate and vote on a bill. The minority party simply invokes the filibuster and does nothing else. This is wrong. The burden should be on the minority party to continue the filibuster by having to maintain 41 votes 24/7 to continue debate. This greatly increases the difficulty of maintaining a filibuster for any length of time. It also has the benefit of highlighting the issue at hand to the American people with increased publicity. The present rule provides almost no publicity concerning an issue. I think this could solve the filibuster problem without the political firestorm that would ensue if the filibuster was eliminated entirely.
I admire your determination! I wonder which party would be better in dealing with the firestorm? My guess is the Republicans. The Democrats have weaker leadership in my opinion (except for Pelosi).
An informed electorate can do things that may surprise. They can vote with their wallets and boycott those who support causes they disagree with. they can write congress or senators about bills they want to see supported. They can write to the local editors about things they see that are enjoyable or not so much. Pelosi is the Speaker, and, in her 80's is a tactician. I think she is Establishment type. She appears to get things done, but I can't help but wonder if she follows orders from corporate backers. She had to have support to be where she is today.
Give the masses some good information on how it all works and see what can happen! Why do they oppose teaching real history? They want to distort the truth!
If we remain rational for a moment, Democrats - notably, the president - apparently not on board the band wagon to bust the filibuster raises the question: "why are these Democrats breaking ranks on the issue?" Now, it's all too easy for >me< to draw certain conclusions concerning Manchin & Sinema. Anyone who has been paying attention to these posts should know I hold suspect those Senators' candor in even calling themselves Democrats. But the president?
Sample poll numbers seem to be looking bleak with regard to Democrats hanging on to their majorities. Now, regardless of whether anyone here or anywhere else takes stock in sample poll numbers, the politicians we elect certainly do. Hell! ol' Tweety even tried to invent and sell >his own< "sample poll" numbers! I'll conjure that the thought process goes something like this:
"We're likely to take a beating in the midterms. If that's the case, we'd be handing the Banana Republicans a filibuster-free Senate, thus reducing our own power to stop them from using that majority to legislate any crap they want."
Of course, at this juncture, I'd say that since the question has already been broached, and since - if memory serves - the Banana Republicans were pushing such an initiative several years ago in the first place, if the Republicans regain a majority in the midterms, they'll probably eliminate the filibuster anyway just to quash any Democratic opposition. I conclude that the president should get on board with the idea of busting the filibuster immediately, while the Democrats still have the power to succeed in their initiatives. That success may be the Democrats' >only< hope of preventing humiliation in the midterms - and ultimately, retain the presidency, itself!
Here's a model of what you're talking about that actually happened - in Australia. It's over a different, but just as important burning issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0FLsIzNxkI
I greatly admire the attitude of public service, rather than personal gain - something terribly lacking in American politics. I know that Australia likely has other problems I know nothing about, but those guys look pretty good, to me. That's all. I also have no reason to doubt Oliver's candor here, and his position on this issue is well-known.
But not being able to vote will actually kill Democracy everywhere with the vast majority being unable to vote! Not a Whoop di do at all! Like you said DZK, it is about a 'different' issue that will be 'burning' the place down it is such a burning issue!
DZK If they don't even try it is worse! I think the Republicans don't believe Democrats will even try. Maybe they are right. But don't believe for a minute they will get away with it! If the people don't fight back, Mother Nature will!
Dr. Reich - you have been and continue to be the strongest voice of reason and truth concerning the sad state of our democracy. But more than that, you’ve given the American people the knowledge we need to understand what needs to be done to save ourselves. Let’s hope your efforts will not have been in vain.
I agree but Biden will not have the guts to do what is necessay. He is a creature of another era when the Republicans were patriotic but conservative about spending, debt, and taxes. They fully embraced trickle down economics.
Well that dog don’t hunt. And Biden is still bought and paid for by the financial services industry.
Until Biden accepts that today’s Republicans are a party of unprincipled power mad anti-democracy terrorists, fascists, authoritarians, racists, and religious fanatics every bit as bad for America as Hitler’s Nazis were for Germany in 1932.
The Republican Party must be made irrelevant by a massive and overwhelming wave of Democratic wins at every level; local, state and federal.
I simply don’t see that happening. The war is over and the good guys lost.
Here’s a naive question. Why would a politician who’s as old as Biden care about money anymore? Shouldn’t he be more concerned with leaving the world in a decent state, in other words his legacy? The same could be said for McConnell and even Murdoch. They have what they want. Isn’t that more than enough already? Sigh.
Not naive at all, but very astute. Who really knows what drives these people, particularly McConnell and Murdoch, and even Milton Friedman whom Robert discussed in a previous newsletter? It's hard to even know what's driving me sometimes. I guess it comes down to different strokes for different folks, but in a nutshell, their words and actions are totally alien to me.
Appears according to NRCC, that members of Congress spend more than half their day campaigning, rather than legislating, surprise! Once in office, the job to stay in office has always been priority one, which might be what LB is referring to…
I was replying to NormG. His first paragraph specifically about an earlier era, when things were not so unpatriotic across the aisle. Versus what we have today, with no holds barred insanity and threats. They just want to dominate and win, even if the majority voted against them.
I'm suggesting that if President Biden made a bold move to end the filibuster or anything to block Republicans in a serious way, he could be in danger. They have been known to threaten to harm, even murder people (or their loved ones).
That is exactly what I am saying. There are comments made by experienced prosecutors who agree with this assessment. Our former 'leader' threatened his enemies by having his lawyer make bullying phone calls. 'Stormy Daniels' in a parking garage placing her young daughter into a car seat and being confronted by a man who suggested that harm could come to her mother. Another example is his statement (former 'leader's') that he could shoot a man on main street and get away with it. These folks are lawless and will subvert the rules openly. Mitch McConnell bragging about his 'grim reaper' status. They really don't care and they are not kidding!
Forgive me for shouting, but WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THIS??? We can analyze and wring our hands all day long but that won’t get us anywhere. What is the model we want to follow? When dictators take over, what has been successfully done to get rid of them? Must we have a civil war?
I doubt that the people of the united states will countenance another tRump 'Presidency', or one of his minions in power. I really believe there will be actual firestorms, unlike what our fake 'news' talks about. It will make Watts and Detroit and all other protests look like picnics, even Jan 6th. Even people without guns will push back. There are over 500,000 homeless (or houseless) in this country, and a lot of people in debt and hungry and angry. And like I mentioned before in this forum, Our climate destruction will not go away for the Republican 1%, if our resources are not managed more responsibly.
This is EXACTLY what the Republicans want. Rioting in the streets, looting and burning buildings. Don't be stupid. This knee-jerk reaction plays right into their hands and gives them the excuse to declare martial law and crack down hard.
Here's what will work. A NATIONAL STRIKE. One day a week, everyone stays home or just doesn't work. They use the day off to peacefully march, millions of people in the streets. Chanting, carrying signs, but PEACEFUL.
Meanwhile, businesses are losing money at the rate of 1/5 of their usual weekly revenue, and the stock market is crashing as a result.
You want substantive change? Elections are rigged by corporate and wealthy donors on both sides. Bring capitalism to its knees and you will win. The corporations cannot fire everyone and survive.
NormG. True that riots are just what they would want. Then martial law is imposed with curfews and it's downhill from there. But as others on this thread have pointed out, Covid would make mass gatherings unhealthy, but any marching is risky with so many armed people who will shoot those with whom they disagree, which seems to be anyone in their sights!
I hope you’re right about part of that and wrong about the rest, Laurie. Refusing to tolerate Trump sounds like a great idea. (He belongs in jail anyway.) A war would be terrible though.
I have been thinking a lot about what we could do to improve things in the country and the world. My preliminary conclusion is that the politicians are hopeless but corporations aren’t. I think the latter can be pressured effectively. Not all of them but maybe enough. Why couldn’t Amazon convert their fleet to electric vehicles, for example, and install solar panels on their facilities? Why can’t more workers unionize? Why can’t we vote with our wallets? Why can’t we get companies to subsidize training for disadvantaged people?
And while we’re at it, why can’t we all grow a lot more plants to help the environment and the food supply? Small but collective actions should be able to accomplish a lot. I’m still thinking but I’m starting to see some options.
I would not want to see something like Watts or any armed conflict. But I know people will not be happy. The clear majority voted against the former 'leader' for a reason. They don't want him. Who would? It would be better if President Biden could use the 14th amendment to keep him from running for office or holding any position in our government. I say this because some have mentioned that he could be named Speaker (! unspeakable!). It would be better still if he was brought before a judge that is not corrupt to face any of the several charges that would require jail time for him and no appeals! I go on FaceBook and try to engage in a way that gets people to see some facts. I often see that more and more people are getting informed and that's a high!
YES! It is time to end the Filibuster! Voting rights MUST be protected. We are skating on very thin ice in our political world right now. Trump has caused tremendous damage. We need to use every tool available to bolster up the Democratic Party.
In my view, Democracy is not about values, its a process for public selection of government representatives and leaders. It does mandate any belief system, any qualifications for candidates concerning experience, abilities, social values, integrity, most importantly, honesty (given recent prolific liars in high posts).
I think the Democrats win hands down when it comes to objectives and policies that work in the best interests of all our citizens. The trick is to explain the differences in a way that avoids tacking on political labels that invoke visceral passions. For example good, affordable, universal, health care is not "liberal" or "progressive" dogma, its what people need and want.
I think you'll find support for your observation here in this clip. Along with the Congressman, I have great respect for this young man's commentaries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyiwho-Z3rU
I'm afraid we may be past the point of no return on the issues of voting rights, women's rights (including Roe v. Wade), and climate change. These are all held hostage by what Thom Hartmann calls the Republican Death Cult, seemingly more interested in retaining power and wealth than stewarding our resources and protecting our people.
Our minority party wields unbelievable power, much like a petulant child who ruins family vacations through unthinking, selfish urges. How do we kill the filibuster forever? If we don't do that, a few miscreants with dark motives can ruin our people, our country, and even our world.
I see the two major parties as a binary star, with the smaller, hotter white dwarf being Republican, and the red giant being Democratic. Which would you rather be warmed by? ..
Root causes. A dominant root cause of the slow disappearance of democracy in the US is the power the very rich, the corporations, the financiers and the bomb makers. They have organized to regain power and take back Roosevelt's New Deal, since Reagan. They have succeeded. The Republicans serve the interests of the 1% exclusively, at the expense of the 99%. So do the corporate democrats, the "demoblicans." A huge obstacle to continue on this path are the elections, democracy itself. The Senators and the representatives (not of the people) still have to be elected by the people. Their visible and obvious situation is: "Vote for me so that I can serve the interests of the 1% at your utter expense." In order to be elected you must warp the rules, cheat, lie, distract, gerrymander, make the voting of those who are lucid as difficult as possible, own and run the propaganda machine, etc. The filibuster is one of a million tricks against democracy.
Now, look at it from the perspective of the 1%. Elections and democracy are a major threat to their power. Organizing to move to an authoritarian system would secure their hold on power and privilege. It look like we are moving that way.
The single country of hope for humanity after VWII is in a very bad way. Regrettably for the US and humanity..
It has become an accepted figure of speech. You know it really is the 1/10th of 1% that runs the show. What were the percentages under the Pharaohs? And under Louis XIV, who, in some years of his long reign, spent half the GNP of France on building Versailles. And we do have examples of ancient civilizations without apparent hierarchies: the burial of individuals are the same, their houses are the same. We gargle ourselves with the word "community." The last thing "the 1%" wants are citizens organized in true communities, networks of mutual trust, cooperation and mutual help. The conditions favorable to the rise of popular movements . . . against them.
D'accord. However, 1%-approved communities of mutual support and trust do exist. They are characterized in part by arms, challenging bellows, certain salutes, exasperating allegiances and are not queried at the polls over their right to vote ..
I guess the question then is "Why isn't Biden on board for democracy?" He's not stupid. I wonder what the heck is keeping him from pushing on the filibuster, at least to modify it so it's not as big a stoppage. Is he truly so in the dark or shielded from reality? It seems obvious what's happening to lots of folks, but particularly those high up in the political arena; folks that could actually talk to Biden and advise him. But we hear zip. Nothing, nada.
Is there some secret plan? Or has Biden given up because of some reason that's not evident? Has big money gotten to Biden too? If people that tend blue can't vote then he's certainly a one termer no matter how nice his BBB plan is.
We, as in U.S. democracy, are pretty much at the closing (and final) opportunity to save ourselves. But it's not me that's going to do it, no amount of my single vote will change things if the politicians don't have the interests of the public at heart.
I'm sorry but I just don't see any urgency to save democracy. Voting rights should have been Biden's #2 agenda (after cv19). I appreciate the efforts to shore up childcare and infrastructure but it really is secondary to insuring a functioning democracy. All those gains that Biden's achieved will disappear in a few months when Trump resumes his presidency.
I also see our Democracy as the first pressing issue. And I see us losing our Democracy more and more every day in every way. I don't hold out much hope for our Future, at all.
This binary choice has been obvious for so long and I hoped that the filibuster would die early in Biden's presidency. Now I dread what seems inevitable. I see no way out. It feels like a vortex, and we're spinning faster and faster. I can't see even a rule change happening as others have commented. The American public is blind to this predicament, and with Biden's determination to give an appearance of "normal" governance, without appealing to those much more powerful emotions of fear and anger (sole territory of the right), we're doomed.
We are all angry, those of us who know what is going on, and many who suspect things are getting worse. There are former 'Red' leaning folks who do not support the present GOP, but are confused and may not see what is ahead clearly. Major media sites don't go there. I don't see any warnings of what is at stake, even though they seem to thrive on drama. This should be the biggest freakout ever. Our Supreme Court is owned by the radical right, our votes are on the way to being even more compromised than they were, and even though we are in 'control' it seems a cruel joke!
The sleeping public will wake up and be in a different world. Why are they not being informed? We had protected public 'airwaves' that informed us. Now the privately controlled media can do whatever they want, I live in a progressive era and our local paper has been bought, eviscerated, filled with A.P. 'news' and costs three times more than it did. Ironically it has 'won' prestigious 'awards' the last few years as the best, most progressive Newspaper. No mention of the fact that the only other paper is 'The Springfield Republican'.
I'm not so sure that the American public is so blind about it. Some Republicans that I've spoken with are in favor of it. When I ask why, it's because it provides a check against what Joe Manchin deems an entitlement society, but they usually frame it as it keeps the give-away for votes government in check. Deep down, I think the main driver is, they want their say and they don't want you to have yours!
I really hope you are right. I live in a deep red region of Eastern WA, that went for Trump by 22 points in 2016. Lots of painful changes in the November election here...school boards now have new members who literally ran on anti-masking, anti-sex education and anti-CRT platforms, claiming they could change those policies (which they legally cannot, and now that they are in office they have had to admit as much). Turnout was a measly 28%, so basically the voters were the angry ones who are whipped up by Fox, OAN, etc. The rest of the population here is too apathetic to even vote, save for a bunch of us "communist liberals".
Both his inaction on voting rights and the filibuster are my main complaints! Maybe his caution is warranted, but I am growing more and more impatient with this quixote-like quest for bipartisanship.
Whether the people are conscious of the details or not, they know what isn't working! But the 'approval polls' can be bought too! Someone should tell Joe it's time to wake up and do his job. Ignore the bought and paid for polls, and do what the thugs don't want him to do.
Do any of the invited countries have the quirky minority rule “filibuster” in their democratic governance? The filibuster makes a mockery of any democracy, a real leader would work endlessly to dispose of it!!
Yes, it's a perversion of the ideal of Democracy. How can we form 'a more perfect union' when one side dominates the other so completely? Why do we always seem to have a weaker Democrat President? Our whole system is out of balance, with a persistent minority pulling the strings. We have a Nation in a perilous coup and a Commander in Chief who seems totally powerless to do anything to stop it. Isn't there enough evidence? If we had an invading army would there not be a swifter response? Is Biden Conscious?
If you recall, part of Biden's platform was to unify. I remember thinkin' at the time: "Yeah! That'll happen!" Nevertheless, no matter how misguided and idealistic I think it is, I think that may be what's behind Biden's staying his hand. Let me hasten to add, that's pure conjecture. It's just that's it's the only way his reluctance to act makes sense to me. I think he's trying to make good on that campaign promise. I think it's a little like extending a hand of friendship to a crocodile's open maw!
I think he is s very sincere person. And it’s entirely possible that he thinks goodness will prevail. He’s not so naive that he doesn’t have someone working behind the scenes in a more aggressive manner. It just makes me so nervous to see how long they’re taking to indict on such an egregious crime. They may want to make Trump sweat by watching his comrades fall first.
Makes sense to me. But will someone please, please tell them to get on with it with ol' Tweety's gang, then? You've clearly demonstrated - first hand - that they're sweating a lot more folks than just ol' Tweety - and the gang! Just sayin'.
Laurie, It seems the entire Democratic party is screaming for indictment. We hear that “they” are diligently working on it. Why aren’t there daily reminders of what Biden is trying and what Republicans have blocked. I fear in part we cannot hear all we need to hear because we do not have news other than right wing bias. BUT….
The airlines are enacting severe consequences for Maskholes throwing tantrums on airplanes. Why the hell can’t we arrest the ringleader of an attack on our country? It makes me worry that there is no one we can rely on. (Military, FBI, CIA, POLICE).
(One request… please do not use the right wing term Democrat party or Democrat president. When referencing the party, it’s Democratic. We have a Democratic party president who is a Democrat.)
With the wankers they've been gettin' elected, it's a wonder the Banana Republicans can even spell "Democrat," let alone something so sophisticated as Democratic! It's clear their constituency neither notices nor would even care, even if - in the unlikely case - they did.
Never would have imagined we’d have high school flunkies in the legislature. Republicons push through everything and everyone. Dems get caught up in the quagmire when they should be kicking the door down. Republicons destroy in minutes what Democrats have to build back in years.
Seeking Reason: Sometimes I type so fast I get sloppy. But who is taught that there is a difference in the terms? It is the form clearly. Democratic being an adjective and Democrat being a noun. It has been years since I have studied grammar.
Your analysis is 'spot on' and the partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court just proved your point by allowing the gerrymandered map of the state to assure Republican's remain in control of the legislature.
I haven't seen any reporting on direct conversations with Manchin. If This question were put to him (democracy or filibuster) would he actually say filibuster? Surely he must be thinking that the choice is not as stark as this? What does he think? It will all work out that state republicans are cancelling voters and putting in place the mechanism to change the majority vote to elect their losing candidates?
I agree that Biden needs to get involved - call out Manchin directly. Ask why the DOJ is moving so slowly. Address the hate speech and question the money in politics. Ask about the politics in the Supreme Court. There is lots of stuff he could be more vocal about.
Prof. Reich: In response to your urgent, and justifiable, call for action, I reply with an ambitious, yet workable, proposal that, in my view, would countermand the polarizing influences of a rising political class intent on undoing the very structures of government that were created to preserve representative democracy. Though I don’t imagine any of us would dispute that nearly everything disfunctional in our politics can be attributed largely to the Senate filibuster, still, neither abolishing the filibuster nor exempting it even to pass bills protective of our most basic rights currently has support from 50 Senators. Hence, I defer to Congressional Scholar Norm Ornstein who, for some time, has pressed for a Senate filibuster rule change I believe would provide an opening for the Senate to function as the deliberative body our Founders had sought to establish. This rule change that likely would pass (it would need support from only 50 Senators) would involve replacing the 60-vote threshold required to end debate with a 41-vote threshold to continue debate, thus shifting the burden from the majority to the minority, 41 of whom would have to be present, speaking nonstop solely about the issue at hand, to sustain a filibuster. I don’t imagine any Senator (as stated, we only need support from 50) could mount a credible opposition in defiance of this reform.
Consider the possibilities were this rule change enacted and Senate Democrats were able at least to have a shot at passing the Freedom to Vote Act, the PRO Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, criminal justice reform, gun safety legislation, and more. I expect Dems would be so mobilized that they likely could win enough seats in 22 to render the likes of a Manchin or a Sinema as virtually irrelevant.
In closing, I would note that all of us must prevail upon President Biden, as he did with the American Rescue Plan, to get the two coalitions in his Party together and united. Whether it be the Freedom to Vote Act, the Social and Climate Action package, or some other legislation, Biden must be mindful that the fate of the Democratic Party, and admittedly of democracy itself, ultimately, does not rest solely with individual Senators or with different coalitions within the Party. Rather it’s the Party’s leadership that must lead, come up with the deal, and get the job done.
Here is a Daily Kos article that quotes Senator Angus King’s excellent speech and works the numbers a few different ways, and shows that in important ways, only 5% ( ‘4.7%’ ) of the USA is yanking the rest of us around.
<https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2021/10/27/2060502/-24-How-many-are-in-control>
Senator Jeff Merkley has advocated for the standing filibuster many times; whether the intriguing plan above is the same I’m not clear.
One aspect I don’t look forward to is the venal grandstanding opportunities that this provides to the many traitorous members of the Senate to dominate the conversation with lies and ad hominem attacks, instead of reasoned alternatives in healthy debate.
Dream on, I’m hearing in my own head.
The traitor caucus has booked all their time for damage, so this proposal may enable more. Or it could be that in our current nightmare, where the elected terrorists sniping at progress only want one minute at the podium for a clip, but making them stand there until they drop would actually regulate this behavior.
( the Republican Party should be designated a domestic terrorist organization, even if that has no teeth, easy to find that text in our code )
Each alternative comes back to the insane abusive state of the Senate and the whole Congress, which holds hostage an overwhelming majority by backwards geographic minorities.
Senator Angus King spoke eloquently and said that 24% of the US population controls 41 Senate votes, and holds most of us hostage thereby. ( Even so, how could that block be so uniform in their backwardness??!! What country are they from?? )
That has to stop! ( yes, that’s the theme, I know )
best luck to US — b.rad
They should get them on RICO. Organized crime!
<https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism >
. . .
Domestic terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.
. . .
Say something if you see something . . .
I saw a presidential candidate invite a hostile foreign power to mount a cyber-attack on a domestic organization in the course of a campaign speech. Does that count?
Brad, Thank you for the Daily Kos piece. Aside from a brief mention, I was unaware of King’s deep dive, wherein he amplified the “out-sized influence” of “such a small proportion of the electorate.” As for Merkley, though I don’t believe he has spoken with as much precision, I would hope he would try to mobilize his colleagues to support a rule change that would restore regular order and that actually could pass. Regarding your final point, no one promised that democracy wouldn’t be messy and, at times, ugly. As compensation, at least in this case, we know eventually there’ll be a vote and the will of the majority will determine whether the legislation stands or falls.
This isn't a big secret. The question is why this hasn't been enacted. That's not rhetorical - why can't the Dems, Biden, see the urgency of action and this (or a few other worthy) proposals?
It seems clear that the forces within the Democratic Party impeding progress for democracy are the same forces driving the the Republican Party. Those who control the economy control the media, control our political Parties and control our leaders. There’s not much democracy left as it is. I think the powers that be are trying to ensure that true democracy never emerges.
John Mentzos, your response says it all in a nut shell. Nothing will ever change until we get new "Players" that care about the people first and can get a balance of power that works for the entire country. Our Military efforts need major adjustments. War is only a power play that only the causes death and destruction. It is a Corpruite money maker.
John Mentzos: It is a mirage at best, our Democracy.
It's a mirage at best.
Psst! They are on the take! They allow us to have our Democrat 'President' and immediately hamstring him with treachery. That is what I have been watching for years! From stolen elections ( voter purges, Electoral college nonsense, closing polls, one poll open in Texas for over a million voters, and outrage after outrage even to the point of enacting LAWS THAT MAKE IT A CRIME TO GIVE WATER TO WAITING VOTERS WHO MUST STAND IN THE HOT SUN FOR HOURS!!!!
BK, Though I don’t have a definitive answer, contrary to John’s disturbingly sinister reply, I believe the Democratic Party overall, Prof. Reich included, hasn’t given up on either abolishing the filibuster entirely or, at the very least, creating carve outs to preserve basic rights. I also believe that Party leadership has pocketed proposals like Ornstein’s in the event all else fails to restore some semblance of regular order.
I don’t disagree you, but Manchin and others are receiving lots of money from major economic sectors and that influence within the Democratic Party is undermining democracy. That’s not conjecture.
John, I agree, especially considering that Manchin and Sinema, in particular, refuse, without support from Republicans, to pass Federal voter protection legislation, while GOP controlled state legislatures unilaterally pass bill after bill that restricts voting and nullifies votes. Accordingly, I’ve begun to press Senate Democrats to mobilize behind Ornstein’s Senate filibuster rule change, first, because it provides an opening for the Senate to function as a truly deliberative body and, second, because neither Manchin nor Sinema could use their supposed commitment to the filibuster as justification for blocking this reform. As originally stated, Schumer needs support from only 50 Senators to enact a rule change.
Ahh, Ms. Krieger, I agree that eventually the Dems will come to the collective conclusion that the filibuster in it's present form needs to go. My lack of faith in the Dems is in their assessment of the "enemy." Meaning: How far the GQP has gone in implementing their coup plans. Dems inept handling of the media doesn't help.
In other words, I think it's too late.
BK, I maintain it likely is not too late if Senate Democrats immediately heed the call to mobilize behind Ornstein’s Senate filibuster rule change. Please see my latest reply to John, wherein I justify my reasoning.
I hope you're right - I fear you're wrong.
BK, Though your concerns clearly are understandable, still I urge all of us to acquire the knowledge we need to stay engaged and to remain hopeful if for no other reason than to stay in the fight.
I strongly concur and suggested the same filibuster change in my post.
White people are in denial as to the extremely racist nature and racist voting record of the U.S. Senate.
Every single Senator on both sides knows the Senate will act in a bi-partisan fashion to refrain from voting for significant, meaningful, election reform legislation that is absolutely needed to prevent red state legislatures from stealing the 2022 and 2024 elections via gerrymandering and over 400 bogus GOP red state election laws designed to suppress and even nullify the majority will of voters in those red states.
I call it THE GREAT WHITE BACKLASH against police reform, Black Lives Matter protests and agenda, against "wokeism" and progressive political momentum, policies and goals.
Joe Biden and moderate Democrats prefer to lose to Republicans in the mid-terms rather than empower blacks and people of color, rather than protect the right to vote.
This racist U.S. Senate will NOT be voting on any meaningful, necessary election reform bills before the mid-term 2022 elections. James Clyburn is an ancient Uncle Tom who foolishly believes the Freedom to Vote Act, the PRO Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will be passed in the U.S. Senate. These acts will NEVER BE PASSED in the U.S. Senate because the U.S. Senate is comprised mostly of racist Senators on both sides. Virtually all Republican Senators are racist and their voting record and words prove the fact of their racism.
The White Establishment made a racist, bi-partisan effort to suppress the vote and return women to a subjugated status the Senate is comfortable with. It's a bi-partisan effort to return America to the Jim Crow era.
Ron, If memory serves, in 2005 the Senate voted for a third time, I believe unanimously, to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Though I lament the erosion of moral values since that last vote, particularly among Republicans, and, admittedly, cannot speak for all Democratic Senators, I find no evidence that confirms your all inclusive judgment of the entire Senate body. As for the filibuster, discounting Manchin and Sinema, I understand that increasingly more Democratic Senators support abolishing the filibuster entirely and that 48 are in favor of a carve out to pass both the Freedom to Vote Act and the VRAA. Furthermore, I find no evidence to confirm that even the more moderate of the two Democratic coalitions within the Senate is primarily racist. Might some so-called Corporate Democrats view the diminution of so-called Left-Wing Democrats favorably? Possibly.
I hate to agree with you but you're probably correct. There may be a few other reasons Dems seem content to cement themselves into permanent underdogs but this makes (sad, sad) sense.
Shara, Because we’re all so horrified by the extent to which institutions meant to protect the country are under such heavy assault, I, too, am eager to hear from Prof. Reich.
It's do or die! We cannot continue to pretend. Remember how tRump was laughed at at an international forum? He had made unsupported statements describing himself and his accomplishments in glowing terms. Everyone there laughed! That can happen again. Worse, it affects those who are subjects of this tyranny. U.S. We cannot peddle Democracy when we do not practice it ourselves!
So true!
The problem with the present filibuster rule is that it places the entire burden on the majority party in the Senate to find the 60 votes to end debate and vote on a bill. The minority party simply invokes the filibuster and does nothing else. This is wrong. The burden should be on the minority party to continue the filibuster by having to maintain 41 votes 24/7 to continue debate. This greatly increases the difficulty of maintaining a filibuster for any length of time. It also has the benefit of highlighting the issue at hand to the American people with increased publicity. The present rule provides almost no publicity concerning an issue. I think this could solve the filibuster problem without the political firestorm that would ensue if the filibuster was eliminated entirely.
Let's have the firestorm! Better than nothing. No guts, no glory!
I admire your determination! I wonder which party would be better in dealing with the firestorm? My guess is the Republicans. The Democrats have weaker leadership in my opinion (except for Pelosi).
An informed electorate can do things that may surprise. They can vote with their wallets and boycott those who support causes they disagree with. they can write congress or senators about bills they want to see supported. They can write to the local editors about things they see that are enjoyable or not so much. Pelosi is the Speaker, and, in her 80's is a tactician. I think she is Establishment type. She appears to get things done, but I can't help but wonder if she follows orders from corporate backers. She had to have support to be where she is today.
Give the masses some good information on how it all works and see what can happen! Why do they oppose teaching real history? They want to distort the truth!
Excellent points, and ones that hadn’t occurred to me.
If we remain rational for a moment, Democrats - notably, the president - apparently not on board the band wagon to bust the filibuster raises the question: "why are these Democrats breaking ranks on the issue?" Now, it's all too easy for >me< to draw certain conclusions concerning Manchin & Sinema. Anyone who has been paying attention to these posts should know I hold suspect those Senators' candor in even calling themselves Democrats. But the president?
Sample poll numbers seem to be looking bleak with regard to Democrats hanging on to their majorities. Now, regardless of whether anyone here or anywhere else takes stock in sample poll numbers, the politicians we elect certainly do. Hell! ol' Tweety even tried to invent and sell >his own< "sample poll" numbers! I'll conjure that the thought process goes something like this:
"We're likely to take a beating in the midterms. If that's the case, we'd be handing the Banana Republicans a filibuster-free Senate, thus reducing our own power to stop them from using that majority to legislate any crap they want."
Of course, at this juncture, I'd say that since the question has already been broached, and since - if memory serves - the Banana Republicans were pushing such an initiative several years ago in the first place, if the Republicans regain a majority in the midterms, they'll probably eliminate the filibuster anyway just to quash any Democratic opposition. I conclude that the president should get on board with the idea of busting the filibuster immediately, while the Democrats still have the power to succeed in their initiatives. That success may be the Democrats' >only< hope of preventing humiliation in the midterms - and ultimately, retain the presidency, itself!
Ramming through Biden's agenda sparking a renewed America is worth sacrificing the mid-terms.
Here's a model of what you're talking about that actually happened - in Australia. It's over a different, but just as important burning issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0FLsIzNxkI
I loved it! Couldn't stop laughing!
Sorry, as an American-Australian, I'm not able to connect the dots here, DZK.
I greatly admire the attitude of public service, rather than personal gain - something terribly lacking in American politics. I know that Australia likely has other problems I know nothing about, but those guys look pretty good, to me. That's all. I also have no reason to doubt Oliver's candor here, and his position on this issue is well-known.
But not being able to vote will actually kill Democracy everywhere with the vast majority being unable to vote! Not a Whoop di do at all! Like you said DZK, it is about a 'different' issue that will be 'burning' the place down it is such a burning issue!
Of course, if they bust the filibuster and fail to achieve their legislative goals anyway, well, quite simply, >they're doomed!<
DZK If they don't even try it is worse! I think the Republicans don't believe Democrats will even try. Maybe they are right. But don't believe for a minute they will get away with it! If the people don't fight back, Mother Nature will!
Dr. Reich - you have been and continue to be the strongest voice of reason and truth concerning the sad state of our democracy. But more than that, you’ve given the American people the knowledge we need to understand what needs to be done to save ourselves. Let’s hope your efforts will not have been in vain.
The more readers/learners and participants on this forum, the merrier! Clarity is helpful!
I agree but Biden will not have the guts to do what is necessay. He is a creature of another era when the Republicans were patriotic but conservative about spending, debt, and taxes. They fully embraced trickle down economics.
Well that dog don’t hunt. And Biden is still bought and paid for by the financial services industry.
Until Biden accepts that today’s Republicans are a party of unprincipled power mad anti-democracy terrorists, fascists, authoritarians, racists, and religious fanatics every bit as bad for America as Hitler’s Nazis were for Germany in 1932.
The Republican Party must be made irrelevant by a massive and overwhelming wave of Democratic wins at every level; local, state and federal.
I simply don’t see that happening. The war is over and the good guys lost.
Here’s a naive question. Why would a politician who’s as old as Biden care about money anymore? Shouldn’t he be more concerned with leaving the world in a decent state, in other words his legacy? The same could be said for McConnell and even Murdoch. They have what they want. Isn’t that more than enough already? Sigh.
Not naive at all, but very astute. Who really knows what drives these people, particularly McConnell and Murdoch, and even Milton Friedman whom Robert discussed in a previous newsletter? It's hard to even know what's driving me sometimes. I guess it comes down to different strokes for different folks, but in a nutshell, their words and actions are totally alien to me.
You are describing statesmen. Biden is one, but wants to stay alive, no doubt. Wouldn't you?
Taking money from corporations keeps him alive? I’m not following you.
Appears according to NRCC, that members of Congress spend more than half their day campaigning, rather than legislating, surprise! Once in office, the job to stay in office has always been priority one, which might be what LB is referring to…
There is that too. We know that to get high up in office you need money; lots of it.
I was replying to NormG. His first paragraph specifically about an earlier era, when things were not so unpatriotic across the aisle. Versus what we have today, with no holds barred insanity and threats. They just want to dominate and win, even if the majority voted against them.
I'm suggesting that if President Biden made a bold move to end the filibuster or anything to block Republicans in a serious way, he could be in danger. They have been known to threaten to harm, even murder people (or their loved ones).
So now the Mafia is running the country? (No criticism of you, Laurie. Just outrage.)
That is exactly what I am saying. There are comments made by experienced prosecutors who agree with this assessment. Our former 'leader' threatened his enemies by having his lawyer make bullying phone calls. 'Stormy Daniels' in a parking garage placing her young daughter into a car seat and being confronted by a man who suggested that harm could come to her mother. Another example is his statement (former 'leader's') that he could shoot a man on main street and get away with it. These folks are lawless and will subvert the rules openly. Mitch McConnell bragging about his 'grim reaper' status. They really don't care and they are not kidding!
Forgive me for shouting, but WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THIS??? We can analyze and wring our hands all day long but that won’t get us anywhere. What is the model we want to follow? When dictators take over, what has been successfully done to get rid of them? Must we have a civil war?
I doubt that the people of the united states will countenance another tRump 'Presidency', or one of his minions in power. I really believe there will be actual firestorms, unlike what our fake 'news' talks about. It will make Watts and Detroit and all other protests look like picnics, even Jan 6th. Even people without guns will push back. There are over 500,000 homeless (or houseless) in this country, and a lot of people in debt and hungry and angry. And like I mentioned before in this forum, Our climate destruction will not go away for the Republican 1%, if our resources are not managed more responsibly.
This is EXACTLY what the Republicans want. Rioting in the streets, looting and burning buildings. Don't be stupid. This knee-jerk reaction plays right into their hands and gives them the excuse to declare martial law and crack down hard.
Here's what will work. A NATIONAL STRIKE. One day a week, everyone stays home or just doesn't work. They use the day off to peacefully march, millions of people in the streets. Chanting, carrying signs, but PEACEFUL.
Meanwhile, businesses are losing money at the rate of 1/5 of their usual weekly revenue, and the stock market is crashing as a result.
You want substantive change? Elections are rigged by corporate and wealthy donors on both sides. Bring capitalism to its knees and you will win. The corporations cannot fire everyone and survive.
NormG. True that riots are just what they would want. Then martial law is imposed with curfews and it's downhill from there. But as others on this thread have pointed out, Covid would make mass gatherings unhealthy, but any marching is risky with so many armed people who will shoot those with whom they disagree, which seems to be anyone in their sights!
I hope you’re right about part of that and wrong about the rest, Laurie. Refusing to tolerate Trump sounds like a great idea. (He belongs in jail anyway.) A war would be terrible though.
I have been thinking a lot about what we could do to improve things in the country and the world. My preliminary conclusion is that the politicians are hopeless but corporations aren’t. I think the latter can be pressured effectively. Not all of them but maybe enough. Why couldn’t Amazon convert their fleet to electric vehicles, for example, and install solar panels on their facilities? Why can’t more workers unionize? Why can’t we vote with our wallets? Why can’t we get companies to subsidize training for disadvantaged people?
And while we’re at it, why can’t we all grow a lot more plants to help the environment and the food supply? Small but collective actions should be able to accomplish a lot. I’m still thinking but I’m starting to see some options.
I would not want to see something like Watts or any armed conflict. But I know people will not be happy. The clear majority voted against the former 'leader' for a reason. They don't want him. Who would? It would be better if President Biden could use the 14th amendment to keep him from running for office or holding any position in our government. I say this because some have mentioned that he could be named Speaker (! unspeakable!). It would be better still if he was brought before a judge that is not corrupt to face any of the several charges that would require jail time for him and no appeals! I go on FaceBook and try to engage in a way that gets people to see some facts. I often see that more and more people are getting informed and that's a high!
YES! It is time to end the Filibuster! Voting rights MUST be protected. We are skating on very thin ice in our political world right now. Trump has caused tremendous damage. We need to use every tool available to bolster up the Democratic Party.
In my view, Democracy is not about values, its a process for public selection of government representatives and leaders. It does mandate any belief system, any qualifications for candidates concerning experience, abilities, social values, integrity, most importantly, honesty (given recent prolific liars in high posts).
I think the Democrats win hands down when it comes to objectives and policies that work in the best interests of all our citizens. The trick is to explain the differences in a way that avoids tacking on political labels that invoke visceral passions. For example good, affordable, universal, health care is not "liberal" or "progressive" dogma, its what people need and want.
Sherm
I think you'll find support for your observation here in this clip. Along with the Congressman, I have great respect for this young man's commentaries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyiwho-Z3rU
Great link! I subscribed.
"It does mandate any belief system. . . " Embarrassing typo - should read: "It does NOT mandate any belief system . . . . ".
I'm afraid we may be past the point of no return on the issues of voting rights, women's rights (including Roe v. Wade), and climate change. These are all held hostage by what Thom Hartmann calls the Republican Death Cult, seemingly more interested in retaining power and wealth than stewarding our resources and protecting our people.
Our minority party wields unbelievable power, much like a petulant child who ruins family vacations through unthinking, selfish urges. How do we kill the filibuster forever? If we don't do that, a few miscreants with dark motives can ruin our people, our country, and even our world.
I see the two major parties as a binary star, with the smaller, hotter white dwarf being Republican, and the red giant being Democratic. Which would you rather be warmed by? ..
True! they will eat their own!
Oh you of little faith! All things must pass. I'm sure there are surprises ahead!
Root causes. A dominant root cause of the slow disappearance of democracy in the US is the power the very rich, the corporations, the financiers and the bomb makers. They have organized to regain power and take back Roosevelt's New Deal, since Reagan. They have succeeded. The Republicans serve the interests of the 1% exclusively, at the expense of the 99%. So do the corporate democrats, the "demoblicans." A huge obstacle to continue on this path are the elections, democracy itself. The Senators and the representatives (not of the people) still have to be elected by the people. Their visible and obvious situation is: "Vote for me so that I can serve the interests of the 1% at your utter expense." In order to be elected you must warp the rules, cheat, lie, distract, gerrymander, make the voting of those who are lucid as difficult as possible, own and run the propaganda machine, etc. The filibuster is one of a million tricks against democracy.
Now, look at it from the perspective of the 1%. Elections and democracy are a major threat to their power. Organizing to move to an authoritarian system would secure their hold on power and privilege. It look like we are moving that way.
The single country of hope for humanity after VWII is in a very bad way. Regrettably for the US and humanity..
I must ask: Has there ever been a socio-economic cleavage other than 99/1, or 1/99? ..
It has become an accepted figure of speech. You know it really is the 1/10th of 1% that runs the show. What were the percentages under the Pharaohs? And under Louis XIV, who, in some years of his long reign, spent half the GNP of France on building Versailles. And we do have examples of ancient civilizations without apparent hierarchies: the burial of individuals are the same, their houses are the same. We gargle ourselves with the word "community." The last thing "the 1%" wants are citizens organized in true communities, networks of mutual trust, cooperation and mutual help. The conditions favorable to the rise of popular movements . . . against them.
Larry Fink, Joseph Hooley and Mortimer Buckley specifically!
D'accord. However, 1%-approved communities of mutual support and trust do exist. They are characterized in part by arms, challenging bellows, certain salutes, exasperating allegiances and are not queried at the polls over their right to vote ..
I agree with you.
I guess the question then is "Why isn't Biden on board for democracy?" He's not stupid. I wonder what the heck is keeping him from pushing on the filibuster, at least to modify it so it's not as big a stoppage. Is he truly so in the dark or shielded from reality? It seems obvious what's happening to lots of folks, but particularly those high up in the political arena; folks that could actually talk to Biden and advise him. But we hear zip. Nothing, nada.
Is there some secret plan? Or has Biden given up because of some reason that's not evident? Has big money gotten to Biden too? If people that tend blue can't vote then he's certainly a one termer no matter how nice his BBB plan is.
We, as in U.S. democracy, are pretty much at the closing (and final) opportunity to save ourselves. But it's not me that's going to do it, no amount of my single vote will change things if the politicians don't have the interests of the public at heart.
I'm sorry but I just don't see any urgency to save democracy. Voting rights should have been Biden's #2 agenda (after cv19). I appreciate the efforts to shore up childcare and infrastructure but it really is secondary to insuring a functioning democracy. All those gains that Biden's achieved will disappear in a few months when Trump resumes his presidency.
I also see our Democracy as the first pressing issue. And I see us losing our Democracy more and more every day in every way. I don't hold out much hope for our Future, at all.
This binary choice has been obvious for so long and I hoped that the filibuster would die early in Biden's presidency. Now I dread what seems inevitable. I see no way out. It feels like a vortex, and we're spinning faster and faster. I can't see even a rule change happening as others have commented. The American public is blind to this predicament, and with Biden's determination to give an appearance of "normal" governance, without appealing to those much more powerful emotions of fear and anger (sole territory of the right), we're doomed.
We are all angry, those of us who know what is going on, and many who suspect things are getting worse. There are former 'Red' leaning folks who do not support the present GOP, but are confused and may not see what is ahead clearly. Major media sites don't go there. I don't see any warnings of what is at stake, even though they seem to thrive on drama. This should be the biggest freakout ever. Our Supreme Court is owned by the radical right, our votes are on the way to being even more compromised than they were, and even though we are in 'control' it seems a cruel joke!
The sleeping public will wake up and be in a different world. Why are they not being informed? We had protected public 'airwaves' that informed us. Now the privately controlled media can do whatever they want, I live in a progressive era and our local paper has been bought, eviscerated, filled with A.P. 'news' and costs three times more than it did. Ironically it has 'won' prestigious 'awards' the last few years as the best, most progressive Newspaper. No mention of the fact that the only other paper is 'The Springfield Republican'.
I'm not so sure that the American public is so blind about it. Some Republicans that I've spoken with are in favor of it. When I ask why, it's because it provides a check against what Joe Manchin deems an entitlement society, but they usually frame it as it keeps the give-away for votes government in check. Deep down, I think the main driver is, they want their say and they don't want you to have yours!
I really hope you are right. I live in a deep red region of Eastern WA, that went for Trump by 22 points in 2016. Lots of painful changes in the November election here...school boards now have new members who literally ran on anti-masking, anti-sex education and anti-CRT platforms, claiming they could change those policies (which they legally cannot, and now that they are in office they have had to admit as much). Turnout was a measly 28%, so basically the voters were the angry ones who are whipped up by Fox, OAN, etc. The rest of the population here is too apathetic to even vote, save for a bunch of us "communist liberals".
And this is exactly Why Biden has a Low approval rating.
Both his inaction on voting rights and the filibuster are my main complaints! Maybe his caution is warranted, but I am growing more and more impatient with this quixote-like quest for bipartisanship.
Whether the people are conscious of the details or not, they know what isn't working! But the 'approval polls' can be bought too! Someone should tell Joe it's time to wake up and do his job. Ignore the bought and paid for polls, and do what the thugs don't want him to do.
Do any of the invited countries have the quirky minority rule “filibuster” in their democratic governance? The filibuster makes a mockery of any democracy, a real leader would work endlessly to dispose of it!!
Yes, it's a perversion of the ideal of Democracy. How can we form 'a more perfect union' when one side dominates the other so completely? Why do we always seem to have a weaker Democrat President? Our whole system is out of balance, with a persistent minority pulling the strings. We have a Nation in a perilous coup and a Commander in Chief who seems totally powerless to do anything to stop it. Isn't there enough evidence? If we had an invading army would there not be a swifter response? Is Biden Conscious?
If you recall, part of Biden's platform was to unify. I remember thinkin' at the time: "Yeah! That'll happen!" Nevertheless, no matter how misguided and idealistic I think it is, I think that may be what's behind Biden's staying his hand. Let me hasten to add, that's pure conjecture. It's just that's it's the only way his reluctance to act makes sense to me. I think he's trying to make good on that campaign promise. I think it's a little like extending a hand of friendship to a crocodile's open maw!
I think he is s very sincere person. And it’s entirely possible that he thinks goodness will prevail. He’s not so naive that he doesn’t have someone working behind the scenes in a more aggressive manner. It just makes me so nervous to see how long they’re taking to indict on such an egregious crime. They may want to make Trump sweat by watching his comrades fall first.
Makes sense to me. But will someone please, please tell them to get on with it with ol' Tweety's gang, then? You've clearly demonstrated - first hand - that they're sweating a lot more folks than just ol' Tweety - and the gang! Just sayin'.
Laurie, It seems the entire Democratic party is screaming for indictment. We hear that “they” are diligently working on it. Why aren’t there daily reminders of what Biden is trying and what Republicans have blocked. I fear in part we cannot hear all we need to hear because we do not have news other than right wing bias. BUT….
The airlines are enacting severe consequences for Maskholes throwing tantrums on airplanes. Why the hell can’t we arrest the ringleader of an attack on our country? It makes me worry that there is no one we can rely on. (Military, FBI, CIA, POLICE).
(One request… please do not use the right wing term Democrat party or Democrat president. When referencing the party, it’s Democratic. We have a Democratic party president who is a Democrat.)
With the wankers they've been gettin' elected, it's a wonder the Banana Republicans can even spell "Democrat," let alone something so sophisticated as Democratic! It's clear their constituency neither notices nor would even care, even if - in the unlikely case - they did.
Never would have imagined we’d have high school flunkies in the legislature. Republicons push through everything and everyone. Dems get caught up in the quagmire when they should be kicking the door down. Republicons destroy in minutes what Democrats have to build back in years.
Seeking Reason: Sometimes I type so fast I get sloppy. But who is taught that there is a difference in the terms? It is the form clearly. Democratic being an adjective and Democrat being a noun. It has been years since I have studied grammar.
Your analysis is 'spot on' and the partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court just proved your point by allowing the gerrymandered map of the state to assure Republican's remain in control of the legislature.
And to Robert's point, where is the Justice Department?
I haven't seen any reporting on direct conversations with Manchin. If This question were put to him (democracy or filibuster) would he actually say filibuster? Surely he must be thinking that the choice is not as stark as this? What does he think? It will all work out that state republicans are cancelling voters and putting in place the mechanism to change the majority vote to elect their losing candidates?
I agree that Biden needs to get involved - call out Manchin directly. Ask why the DOJ is moving so slowly. Address the hate speech and question the money in politics. Ask about the politics in the Supreme Court. There is lots of stuff he could be more vocal about.
Lee Lefaivre : It looks like the 'Ive got mine' crowd is moving to keep its status. Not even our highest courts seem to care.
Political 'Justices" will not render Justice.