Politicians volunteering to shut up? This can’t last.
Senate GOP leaders say they’re going “nuclear” to blow up that revered institution, the filibuster. A filibuster means if your political party doesn’t have the votes to get your way because the voters didn’t elect enough of you to justify it, you can just bypass majority rule and endlessly whine, bitch and moan until the majority party gives in like wimpy parents whose kids figure out that “no” actually means “OK, but don’t tell your father.”
I will miss Ted Cruz saying “green, eggs and ham” one million times to ban health care for the bottom 99 percent. Who can forget Strom Thurmond back in the 60’s reading phone books backwards to deport Rosa Parks.
This week Democrats just wanted to run their mouths without bathroom breaks for a losing cause, opposing Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Democrats must get their loser fix regularly or the nation might just misplace them for good.
The filibuster might not be in the Constitution — don’t forget George Washington didn’t talk much, just raised an eyebrow now and then to signal his slaves to change shifts — but the talkathon’s venerable roots do go back to the Roman Senate. It was a last resort by the top 1% hoping to thwart Julius Caesars’s plans to spread wealth through land reforms.
Love it or hate it, depending on whether your party is in power, the filibuster seems about as healthy as tulips in Alaska (until the ice melts). It’s grip is eroding across the spectrum, not just for court nominations.
Just think Democrats, it’ll be a pisser for now, but get yourself some of those American voters the experts talk about and, armed with old-fashioned majority rule, you could one day make Republicans feel the fallout of this nuclear option.
Visit Craig’s daily blog at TrailMix.cc