Among the more stupid political devices on Capitol Hill is the filibuster. The nuclear option practically put the filibuster out to pasture and allowed congressional business to proceed as it should.
Under Barack Hussein’s totalitarian rule, Democrats came to hate the filibuster which obstructed their corruption ability to shove horrible legislation down the throats of Mom and Pop America. So, they changed the rules, implementing what has come to be known as the “nuclear option,” a handy device that erects, like a drawbridge, the middle finger of one side of the aisle in the face of the other side of the aisle. A complete erection often takes days (I hate when that happens) and brings Congress to a complete stop.
So, the Democrats have loved the nuclear option. But, not so much when they no longer control the Senate. Now it is a horror to the liberal weenies and they want to kill it, lest they are forced to watch helplessly as eminently qualified and extraordinarily competent constitutionalists like Judge Gorsuch take a seat on the bench of the US Supreme Court. We can’t have that! Thus, the filibuster, which should be outlawed as a constitutional obstruction, may be coming back.
Sixty-one senators urged their party leaders to preserve the filibuster for legislation on Friday, backing the procedural tool after Republicans scrapped the minority’s power to block Supreme Court nominees, according to Politico.
But 37 senators declined to endorse the effort, including senior members of both parties as well as firebrands on the left and right.
Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins and Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons organized Friday’s bipartisan letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as a way to move past the bitter partisan debate on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed earlier Friday.
Collins and Coons were among the moderate senators who had hoped, in vain, for a deal to allow Gorsuch’s confirmation without Republicans detonating the “nuclear option,” which unilaterally ended the 60-vote threshold for high court nominees but not for legislation.
“After the contentious and polarized debate of the past few weeks, I am hopeful that this letter indicates a new determination by a bipartisan group of more than 60 senators to move forward to solve the pressing problems facing our nation,” Collins said in a statement.
But 37 senators did not sign the missive. Among those declining to sign were some of the Senate’s most liberal and conservative members, including Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Among senior members of the Senate leadership teams, Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Republicans Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Thune of South Dakota signed the letter. Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and third-ranked Senate Democratic leader Patty Murray of Washington did not sign it.
“Senators have expressed a variety of opinions about the appropriateness of limiting debate when we are considering judicial and executive branch nominations,” the letter states. “Regardless of our past disagreements on that issue, we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.”
McConnell underscored his support for keeping the legislative filibuster alive ahead of the pivotal rules change he pushed through on Thursday, a stance he reaffirmed on Friday.
“I would be the beneficiary, and my party would be the beneficiary,” of ending legislative filibusters, McConnell told reporters. “I’m opposed to changing it. I think that’s what fundamentally changes the Senate.”
The Kentucky Republican added that he hopes to see “a lot of people signing the letter” that Collins and Coons put together.
