The Filibuster’s Days May be Numbered

[corbe]

The Filibuster’s Days May be Numbered
By David Thornton  |  November 9, 2016, 03:05pm  |  @captainkudzu

http://theresurgent.com/the-filibusters-days-may-be-numbered/

Many are assessing the future after last night’s Trump victory, an outcome that few expected. There are many questions about the future and the upcoming Trump Administration. One question involves the future of the filibuster.

The Senate filibuster rule requires a majority cloture vote to end debate on legislation before it can take a final vote on a bill. The filibuster rule is not specified in the Constitution but has been a part of Senate rules since 1841 according to the Senate website. In 1917, the Senate passed a rule requiring a two-thirds vote for cloture to end debate on a bill. The requirement was reduced to three-fifths, 60 votes, in 1975. Majority Leader Harry Reid ended the filibuster on many presidential appointments in 2013.

Since Republicans took control of the Senate in 2014, Democrats have successfully used the filibuster rule to deny cloture on a number of Republican bills. There were 54 Republicans in the Senate, six short of the 60 vote requirement to end debate and move a bill forward. This Democratic road block led many conservatives to call for an end to the filibuster. Under President Obama, this would have been a strategic error because Republicans still would not have had the votes to override President Obama’s veto.

In 2017, when Donald Trump becomes president, he will have a Republican majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Even with those majorities, Democrats still retain enough votes to block cloture on Republican bills. The road block will still exist.

To avoid Democrats bottling up legislation, the new Republican Senate may invoke the “nuclear option” and choose to eliminate or weaken the filibuster rules. Since the filibuster is not specified in the Constitution, it can be easily changed at the beginning of a Senate session by the majority party.

Democrats had already signaled a change to the filibuster if Hillary Clinton had won the election. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told Talking Points Memo, “If the Republicans try to filibuster another circuit court judge, but especially a Supreme Court justice, I’ve told ’em how and I’ve done it, not just talking about it. I did it in changing the rules of the Senate. It’ll have to be done again.”

Opinions of the filibuster vary depending on which party is in power. The filibuster protects the minority party so Democrats, who were critical of Republican use of the filibuster, can be expected to defend it fiercely with Republicans in the majority. The reverse is also likely to be true.

After six years of Democrat obstructionism in Congress, the temptation to eliminate the filibuster may be too much for Republicans to ignore. With a broad mandate and angry Republicans eager to start rolling back President Obama’s legacy, the filibuster’s days are likely numbered.

http://theresurgent.com/the-filibusters-days-may-be-numbered/

[Fishrrman]

Bring on the nuclear option.

Let's get down to business...

[libertybele]

Bring on the nuclear option.

Let's get down to business...

I think we need to keep in mind that in reality, we lost seats in both the House and the Senate and our majority in the Senate is even narrower than before.  We've had a majority in the Senate and House for the past two years.  The only thing that is changing power wise is we will now have a president under the GOP umbrella.  As Cruz stated it is the leadership that is faulty.  McConnell pandered to the left and if that doesn't change; nothing will continue to get done especially since our majority is even thinner.  Ryan still will lead the House.  His song and dance today that we're finally going to be able to get things done is a farce.  Obama was one man.  We had 535 members of Congress of which the GOP had the majority that FAILED!!  Trump is certainly no conservative and neither is Congress. The only other element that has changed in this scenario is that the people voted in Trump to take us in a different direction than where Congress was allowing this country to head.  Time will tell.

[corbe]

Scott Walker: It’s time to get rid of the filibuster in the Senate

The Right Scoop    Nov. 9, 2016 4:55 pm

CNN – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprising victory that Republicans should get rid of the Senate filibuster.

“I firmly believe that he wants to work — he wants to get things done,” Walker told radio host Charlie Sykes on WTMJ, describing a phone call this week with Trump’s running mate Mike Pence.

“He wants to be able to say we won and that best way to do that is to allow Paul (Ryan) to help lead the way in the House. I think the Senate, people like Ron Johnson for sure, Ron wants to help Paul in that regard. My biggest is concern that they not allow, some of these arcane rules that have nothing to with the Constitution.”

Sykes inquired if Walker wanted to get rid of the filibuster, which would allow Republicans to pass bills with a simply majority in the Senate.

“Yeah, I’ve said it last year,” Walker said. “To me, I think that would really upset the electorate of the people who not only elected Donald Trump and Mike Pence but the people who elected Ron here and elected other members of the House and the Senate. You cannot use, they cannot use inside-the-ballpark Washington procedural reason to justify why things don’t happen. They’ve got to get things done and as I said frequently here in this state and continue to, the best time to do them is early.”

[montanajoe]

Probably not a bad idea if the GOP is certain there will never again be a Dim majority..