| Right after the election I wrote a post suggesting an end to Senate Rule XXII, the filibuster. It garnered a few comments, most thoughtful and skeptical, some dotty-such as asserting that the filibuster is not un-democratic. We now need to take another look. The filibuster has to go or Obama's program is DOA.
Let's begin with the Times headline, "Auto Bailout Appears Halted in Senate as G.O.P. Resists. Lead sentence: "The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, spoke out against the bill, effectively dooming its chances." The House passed the auto bailout bill 237-170 after Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi gave in to a depressing number of White House demands. Now, McConnell opposes the bill and it's clear that the Senate Dems can't muster 60 votes, so the bill is dead. Does Barney Frank enjoy being sucker-punched by John Boehner and Mitch McConnell? He sure keeps coming back for more.
Whether you were for or against the auto industry bailout, the real meaning of the way the Republicans killed the plan is that they can and will do this to every single one of Obama's flagship proposals. Every one.
Despite the self-satisfied cliché that the Republicans can win, but they can't govern, the GOP appears to have a solid game plan. It hinges on Rule XXII. But the Democrats have no sure solution to their immense problems of getting major changes passed. The political reality is that, even if Franken prevails in Missouri and Lieberman untypically behaves himself, the Senate Democrats do not have the votes to win on key issues that will be filibustered. Using Occam's razor , the solution is clear: kill the goddamn filibuster. It only takes a majority vote. |
