FLASHBACK: Dems on Filibuster: ‘One Of The Most Sacred Rules Of The Senate’
“What these Democrats have in mind is a fundamental change to the way the Senate operates for the purpose of consolidating their own power and further marginalizing the minority voices that the Senate was built to protect. . . . What this small group of primarily Senate sophomores is now proposing, is that when the Senate gavels in at the beginning of the new Congress a bare majority of senators can disregard the rule that says changes to the Senate rules can only be approved on the same broad bipartisan basis we reserve for approving treaties and overriding presidential vetoes: a super majority plus. What’s being proposed now would undermine the very purpose of the Senate as the one place in our system where minority views and opinions have always been respected and heard, and, in most cases, incorporated into law.” ~ Senator Mitch McConnell (Nov 26, 2012, The Hill)
Right after the 2010 elections, on Jan 10, 2010, the ARRA News Service identified, there as appearing a Time of Grave Danger For The Republic of the United States - Symptom: Democrats Advance Proposal Power Grab To Abuse The Minority Party.
The a year later, the issue had festered even more, and on May 11, 2012, we reported on Hail Obama - Senate Democrats Seek To Shut Down Debate And Amendments. While Sen. harry Read as Senate Majority Leaders had been the prognosticator of ensuring fair play in the U.S. Senate, the real instigators were two relatively new radical liberal senators who had not reverence for hollowed rule defending the minority voice in the U.S. Senate. A minority rule which had been strongly defended by now deceased West Virginal Democrat Senator Robert Byrd who served in the Senate for 51 years. Although Reid in his career often took positions in opposition to current events, he believed that the minority rule in the Senate not only protected the then serving minority party but also protected America from a Senate standing against the Senate becoming the rubber stamp for a President when when the party controlling the Senate was also the Party of the President.
At that time, we quoted Politico: “An angry Harry Reid took to the floor Thursday and demanded changes to the Senate’s hallowed filibuster rules, siding with junior Democrats who have sought to substantially weaken the powerful delaying tactic. It’s a risky move for the Senate majority leader, who could find himself in the minority in a matter of months and need the filibuster to block the GOP’s agenda. . . . ‘If there were ever a time when Tom Udall and Jeff Merkley were prophetic, it’s tonight,’ Reid said on the floor. ‘These two young, fine senators said it was time to change the rules of the Senate, and we didn’t. They were right. The rest of us were wrong — or most of us, anyway. What a shame.’ Reid added: ‘If there were anything that ever needed changing in this body, it’s the filibuster rules, because it’s been abused, abused, abused.’” We noted that the words "fine young men" and the proposed abolishing of the Senate tradition of protecting the minority party and "to assure a higher level of consensus." These were the words are from the puppet masters not Harry Reid. At that time Udall was nearing age 64. Reid is not talking "young" in age, but "young" in experience in the Senate. Both these men came to the Senate via the 2008 Obama election win and they have helped push the radical new Obama agenda before it was slowed down in 2011 with newly elected Republicans came into the Senate. Obviously, they still hate the 60 vote rule!
And now with President Obama's re-election and the Republicans not gaining control of the Senate, these same radicals are even more embolden to ram through the a change in rules that would silence the voices of Republican senators.
On Nov 8, 2012, Harry Reid returned to his agenda: First Day After The Election, Reid Says He Wants To Weaken Filibuster.
Thus, it seems appropriate to look a history relating to this rule from the Democrats own viewpoint. What follows is a list of past quotes and references wherein Senate Democrats, including the contentious present Senate Leader Harry Reid, defended the need for the 60 vote rule in the U.S Senate.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY) On Any Threat To The Filibuster: “The basic makeup of our Senate is at stake. The checks and balances that Americans prize are at stake. The idea of bipartisanship, where you have to come together and can't just ram everything through because you have a narrow majority, is at stake. The very things we treasure and love about this grand republic are at stake.” (Sen. Schumer, Congressional Record, S.4801, 5/10/05)
Tags: US Senate, Harry Reid, weaken minority rights, weaken voter representation To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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The a year later, the issue had festered even more, and on May 11, 2012, we reported on Hail Obama - Senate Democrats Seek To Shut Down Debate And Amendments. While Sen. harry Read as Senate Majority Leaders had been the prognosticator of ensuring fair play in the U.S. Senate, the real instigators were two relatively new radical liberal senators who had not reverence for hollowed rule defending the minority voice in the U.S. Senate. A minority rule which had been strongly defended by now deceased West Virginal Democrat Senator Robert Byrd who served in the Senate for 51 years. Although Reid in his career often took positions in opposition to current events, he believed that the minority rule in the Senate not only protected the then serving minority party but also protected America from a Senate standing against the Senate becoming the rubber stamp for a President when when the party controlling the Senate was also the Party of the President.
And now with President Obama's re-election and the Republicans not gaining control of the Senate, these same radicals are even more embolden to ram through the a change in rules that would silence the voices of Republican senators.
On Nov 8, 2012, Harry Reid returned to his agenda: First Day After The Election, Reid Says He Wants To Weaken Filibuster.
Thus, it seems appropriate to look a history relating to this rule from the Democrats own viewpoint. What follows is a list of past quotes and references wherein Senate Democrats, including the contentious present Senate Leader Harry Reid, defended the need for the 60 vote rule in the U.S Senate.
Dem Leader Once Said ‘The Need To Muster 60 Votes… Is A Tool That Serves The Long-Term Interest Of The Senate And The American People’
DEM LEADER: ‘One Of The Most Sacred Rules Of The Senate’
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “As majority leader, I intend to run the Senate with respect for the rules and for the minority rights the rules protect. The Senate was not established to be efficient. Sometimes the rules get in the way of efficiency. The Senate was established to make sure that minorities are protected. Majorities can always protect themselves, but minorities cannot. That is what the Senate is all about.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.11591, 12/8/06)DEM LEADER: ‘One Of The Most Sacred Rules Of The Senate’
- REID: “For more than 200 years, the rules of the Senate have protected the American people, and rightfully so. The need to muster 60 votes in order to terminate Senate debate naturally frustrates the majority and oftentimes the minority. I am sure it will frustrate me when I assume the office of majority leader in a few weeks. But I recognize this requirement is a tool that serves the long-term interest of the Senate and the American people and our country.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.11591, 12/8/06)
- REID: “I say on this floor that I love so much that I believe in the Golden Rule. I am going to treat my Republican colleagues the way that I expect to be treated. There is no ‘I've got you,’ no get even. I am going to do everything I can to preserve the traditions and rules of this institution that I love.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.11591, 12/8/06)
- REID: “…one of the most sacred rules of the Senate – the filibuster… It is a unique privilege that serves to aid small states from being trampled by the desires of larger states. Indeed, I view the use of the filibuster as a shield, rather than a sword. Invoked to protect rights, not to suppress them.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S.434, 1/5/95)
- OBAMA: “[T]he American people sent us here to be their voice… What they do not expect is for one party, be it Republican or Democrat, to change the rules in the middle of the game so they can make all the decisions while the other party is told to sit down and keep quiet.” (Sen. Obama, Congressional Record, S.3512, 4/13/05)
- SCHUMER: “We are on the precipice of a crisis, a constitutional crisis. The checks and balances which have been at the core of this republic are about to be evaporated by the nuclear option. The checks and balances which say that if you get 51% of the vote you don’t get your way 100% of the time. It is amazing it’s almost a temper tantrum... They want their way every single time, and they will change the rules, break the rules, misread the Constitution so they will get their way.” (Sen. Schumer, Congressional Record, S.5208, 5/16/05)
- DURBIN: The filibuster is “[one] of the most treasured and cherished traditions of the United States Senate.” “Many of us in the Senate feel that this agreement tonight means that some of the most treasured and cherished traditions of the United States Senate will be preserved, will not be attacked and will not be destroyed.” (Sen. Durbin, “Statement Of Sen. Dick Durbin Regarding The Agreement On Judicial Nominations In The Senate,” Press Release, 5/23/05)
Tags: US Senate, Harry Reid, weaken minority rights, weaken voter representation To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 8:00 PM - Post Link
1 Comments:
Add to this, Sen. Ted Kennedy, May 11, 2005, "In these circumstances, we Senators have not only the right, but the obligation, to use every power at our disposal, within the Senate’s rules and traditions, to focus the attention of the Senate and the nation, and ultimately the President, on the overreaching abuse of power by the White House and the Republican majority. That’s what our Senate powers and our Senate rules are meant to do. That’s what checks and balances are all about. That’s why the filibuster exists."
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