Thanks, Paul. My memory is pretty bad, but the most vivid memory I have of the destructive power of the filibuster was John Boehner during Obama’s first term. Then he hands the gavel to Moscow Mitch who is apparently a quicker learner than we all knew. They were so afraid of him (Obama)and what he might accomplish that they broke Congress. They drew their line in the sand and here we are. We can’t fix stupid bigoted people. They have to come to the realization themselves.
I agree with you that the filibuster has warped into a weapon and needs to be eliminated. It can also eliminate the choke hold the wannabe autocrat has on his own party. It frees those who would normally not go along with the crowd to vote their conscience without fear. Simple majority sounds good to me. Makes it easier to get rid of the crackpots and wingnuts. ❤️ And there’s nothing wrong with that❣️
Absolutely! Elections need to have consequences. No wonder so many people feel there is no real difference between the parties when no real change can ever be made. It was NEVER the intent of the writers and signers of the Constitution that for any meaningful legislation to be passed it must have sixty out of a hundred votes. Just seven shy of 2/3.
There is far too much that will need to be done in 2029, if we do not make REAL change for the better in those first two years, we may find we have lost majorities in congress for the final two years and maybe even the white house in 2032. The people are demaning CHANGE! and they shall not be deinied. We must develop our own 'project 2029' except we have much more work to do since building things to last is MUCH harder than simply breaking them.
The word “sensible” popped out at me. With a President like Trump who aspires to be in office for life as a dictator, the idea of dropping the filibuster is frightening. If Trump wants it it’s pretty apparent it cannot bode well for our democracy. We cannot allow on cooler heads to prevail in an atmosphere where a president carries so much sway through threats and intimidation. If common ground cannot be found the filibuster might be our last gap of protection.
I just finished The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding by Osita Nwanevu. A very worthwhile read that I highly recommend.
Thanks, Paul. My memory is pretty bad, but the most vivid memory I have of the destructive power of the filibuster was John Boehner during Obama’s first term. Then he hands the gavel to Moscow Mitch who is apparently a quicker learner than we all knew. They were so afraid of him (Obama)and what he might accomplish that they broke Congress. They drew their line in the sand and here we are. We can’t fix stupid bigoted people. They have to come to the realization themselves.
I agree with you that the filibuster has warped into a weapon and needs to be eliminated. It can also eliminate the choke hold the wannabe autocrat has on his own party. It frees those who would normally not go along with the crowd to vote their conscience without fear. Simple majority sounds good to me. Makes it easier to get rid of the crackpots and wingnuts. ❤️ And there’s nothing wrong with that❣️
Goading Republicans into killing the filibuster shows that Trump’s insight into politics is just as sharp as his business acumen.
A great piece to follow the many D wins from yesterday. Thanks, Paul 🙏🙏🙏
Absolutely! Elections need to have consequences. No wonder so many people feel there is no real difference between the parties when no real change can ever be made. It was NEVER the intent of the writers and signers of the Constitution that for any meaningful legislation to be passed it must have sixty out of a hundred votes. Just seven shy of 2/3.
There is far too much that will need to be done in 2029, if we do not make REAL change for the better in those first two years, we may find we have lost majorities in congress for the final two years and maybe even the white house in 2032. The people are demaning CHANGE! and they shall not be deinied. We must develop our own 'project 2029' except we have much more work to do since building things to last is MUCH harder than simply breaking them.
Thune is already telling Trump “we’ll do anything for you, but we won’t do THAT” for all the reasons you mention.
The word “sensible” popped out at me. With a President like Trump who aspires to be in office for life as a dictator, the idea of dropping the filibuster is frightening. If Trump wants it it’s pretty apparent it cannot bode well for our democracy. We cannot allow on cooler heads to prevail in an atmosphere where a president carries so much sway through threats and intimidation. If common ground cannot be found the filibuster might be our last gap of protection.
I just finished The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding by Osita Nwanevu. A very worthwhile read that I highly recommend.
I disagree, and strongly. Why put even more power in the GOP's hands when they're all MAGA Trump toadies?