RESTORE THE ORIGINAL FILIBUSTER !
I'm going to try to catch up on some theme posting today. If I can finally recover enough brainage. I dreamed of two extension chords shorting each other and melting together. That was obviously about the glitch in a particular area of my brain. The night before, it was massive, far-off lightning bolts. Trying to recover when my room fills up with second-hand smoke all through the night is very difficult, even with my inadequate purifier. I've had heart and background anxiety probs which can spiral with the slightest shock. Getting oxygen to the area(s) in the brain that need to repair is not so easy when that area, and/or the blood/brain barrier, ("BBB"), is closing up and/or spasming in response to the incoming toxins. Found a tiny amount of remaining vitamin C this morning and this, with a few other things, is slightly helping. Sleep is the best, but I believe sleep may open up the BBB(!). What was I saying - oh...
Just popping in to ask all you Libs and Progressives - and CONSTITUTIONALISTS - to contact your Senators and demand that Reid takes up HARD CHANGES in the Senate Filibuster Rule, closer to it's original form. Presently, Reid is considering, (Blue-Dog Dem), softer changes which are more similar to what GOP Mitch McConnell is proposing. McConnell, and the Blue Dogs, have NO INTEREST IN EFFECTIVELY REFORMING THE RULE - it is just another BS move. For example, even the new female Democratic Senator from, what, South Dakota(?), ND(?), is strongly in favour of the ridiculous and vastly destructive KEYSTONE PIPELINE - with all its campaign money and perks (and future jobs for Senators). Making only SOFT changes in the filibuster rule will only make a majority of Senators LOOK like they voted "progressively", but will allow the same problems to continue - which means that the MINORITY GOP (with the Dem Bluedogs) will continue to hold the Senate hostage, by the balls, and block most future Democratic legislation, other than Keystone, or Military-Security-State legislation, including pro-Israel-vs-Iran WAR.
Why is it important to restore the original Rule, through HARD CHANGES? Because the present absurd version of the rule has allowed the GOP to filibuster every damn piece of legislation it wanted to block, then placing blame on Obama, and/or the Dems, for, "failing to cooperate." It is a pathetic farce, that could easilly be fixed, if only the American people were paying attention, and the media was not diverting news into stories more lucrative or sensational/emotional or along a POLITICAL-CORPORATIST OLD-BOYS-NETWORK AGENDA.
By a simple 51 majority vote, the hard changes can take place, and then it could be required that less than the current 60 votes would be required to break any filibuster.
ANY ONE Senator is currently allowed to veto ANY LEGISLATION, by invoking the current corrupt filibuster rule. Legislation can be blocked from even getting out of Committee, for a full vote by all Senators. In fact, legislation can even be blocked from getting to Committee in the first place! In order to break any filibuster, it takes an unconstitutional, full 60 Senators, making it very difficult to break. Many times, sheepish Senators ride the fence and just go along to get along, and have their palms greased. The Senate is now no longer where ANYTHING is deliberated.
In addition, Senators currently can "filibuster" without the public, OR THEIR CONSTITUENTS, even knowing that they are doing it!!!!!! It is absolutely CRIMINAL.
And yet, in the current window of opportunity, to change this rule back to what was intended, it only takes a majority vote in the Senate of 51 votes. We have the chance to reform the Rule for a limmitted time only!
When Americans think of a "filibuster," they think the phenomenon is a uniquely good, American tradition. Like in, "Mister Smith Goes to Washington." - Just like when Wisconsin voters were convinced by KOCH and external PROPAGANDA, that the Walker RECALL EFFORT was "Un-American", and so they shouldn't mess with Walker's stated term - (EVEN THOUGH TO DO SO WAS TO VOTE AGAINST THEIR OWN INTERESTS, AND VOTE AGAINST REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY) - many Americans now think that we shouldn't mess with such a nice American tradition like Jimmy Stewart and his FILIBUSTER RULE. Wrong. The truth is this: The filibuster rule, (which was never in the constitution), has been MUTATED so that toady, NO ONE HAS TO GO AND TALK ON THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE. No one has to hold out for their cause. And all the GOP has to do, to block almost ANY legislation, is simply to say, "Yeah, well, actually, we're filibustering than," and then they win! Legislation: officially dumped! How representative is THAT - other than representing the corporations and banks who line their pockets?! It's the whole reason why we keep getting this debt ceiling crap, moves to dismantle unions and social programmes, pro-bank and monopoly bills, and so on. In the six years when LBJ was Senate Majority leader, there was only one filibuster. Cuz it wasn't easy back then. Now it's as easy as wiping your ass, and in the last 6 years THERE HAVE BEEN ALMOST 300 FILIBUSTERS IN THE SENATE, virtually all of them from the GOP.
Their mission is known: to further castrate the Dems; destroy the government; privatise the Commons; force austerity upon we the innocent people, and do anything and everything to contradict and handicap Obama. This is all a matter of record. And you can speculate as to whether some of them do so out of their own racism, but you'd probably be correct. Sexism. Greed. Stupidity. They don't even read bills, or offer alternate bills. Sometimes, they'll come up with a joke bill, for a laugh. And, what does it take to break this dysfunctional filibuster rule today - these past 6 years? 60 votes. That means that only 41 Senators have been running the country, into the ground. Harry Reid is not a saint who naturally wants to make the needed HARD CHANGES. Believe me, he has private connections and an agenda conflicting with that. We need to stop making these assumptions that everything is good, politicians will do what they promise, and the SYSTEM WORKS. gheeeeeeezzzzzzz... Look at how Walker lied about dismantling unions. Look at how they so often lie.
Remember that I predicted this possibility, of addressing the reform, or of disappearing the need to make hard changes to the rule. (With largesse, kicking their manufactured can down the road). After all, that would allow "entitlements" to be continued to be eaten away, for wars to grow, for Americans to be cheated. And...
When I heard that the House of Representatives had agreed to postpone the unconstitutional DEBT CEILING debate, by kicking it down the road, I immediately knew that a deal had been struck on something else, somewhere else. I quickly guessed that it was in the Senate, on the Filibuster Rule. Sure enough, it is announced the next day, (via Ed Schultz), that Senator Reid was going for Dem SOFT CHANGES legislation on the rule. Schultz was surprised and infuriated, again disappointed that Reid had been so stupid and weak and afraid. No. Its because the Dems no longer have Unions as a backbone, they have the same bribes and perks from corrupting CORPORATIONS that make the GOP so overtly craven. See, this is why the decrepit, Rahm Emanuel, has called Progressives, "F**cking retards!" And in this, I agree. Many, if not most, progressives - the ones more properly called Liberals, or Democratic Partisans, (not Blue Dogs, who are as deliberate as GOPpers) - are simply naive and perpetually forgetful, constantly fractured and bickering over identity-politics issues, like race, as well as party, so they never keep an eye on the actual shell game being played right in front of them by the larger powers that be.
Remember back to the YEAR of stalling out on Health Care Reform. What happened to it? Because of GOP intransigence, and failure of Dems to bargain or act boldly, we mainly ended up not with Single-Payer, and not even with a Public Option, but with INSURANCE CARE benefitting Big Pharm and Big Med. And we walked away glad we could take what we could get. This sloppy shell game will never stop unless we intervene actively. Look at what's happening now, under the cover of more GUN CONTROL stories, etc. The GOP has been, under the radar, moving to Gerrymander the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, state by state, so that it will be possible for their upcoming Presidential candidates to win, even if they significantly lack a MAJORITY VOTE BY THE PEOPLE. What continues to go on here is a SILENT COUP by the GOP, on behalf of destructive, dysfunctional CORPORATIST interests. This is the way to fascism, in the NAZI sense.
It is important to address this Achilles Heal ASAP! Why? The Senate Dems are in Caucus about this NOW. And the issue can only be addressed within these first weeks of this Senate - meaning it won't be until January 2016(?) until the chance is ALLOWED to come around again. So, time is of the essence. The fastest way is to send phone calls (and emails) to your Senators. These are not effective as letters - but letters are also TOO SLOW. They are diverted in a lengthy security-checking process. But POSTCARDS get there right away, and are as effect as you can get. Just a few words, sensibly placed, can help change policy, and change the world. Stop talking and do something real. Just fixing the Filibuster Rule, through "HARD CHANGES", is one of the easiest, most effective ways you can exert your power today, even above voting. SO PLEEEEEEESE! Contact your Senators! (It is referred to as, "The Constitutional Option". The GOP refer to this as, "The Nuclear Option," as in, "Oh NO! You are THREATENING to BLOW US UP with a NUCLEAR BOMM!!!"). And tell Obama that you want him to veto any legislation that might result in insufficient changes. And, please study this issue more, and pass along your thoughts to others. Thank you so much. My migraine also thanks you. My dog wants to poop. But you can't have everything.
End the dysfunctional Senate! Wake up the older Senators, and the conservative Senators who simply just don't get it! And get the Dems off their f**cking asses!
Please see Ed Schultz tonight on MSNBC.