Posted by Tina
Like many of you I am a casual observer of politics having never directly participated in the game other than to pay attention and vote. Through the years, and with the help of the internet and alternative media outlets, I have learned a great deal about the performers of national politics….those men and women who actually rise to prominence on the national stage. Almost all of them have learned to compromise and negotiate in the game they have come to know as politics. Few are able to retain the label of statesman dedicated to the nation and the Constitutional principles they have sworn to uphold. Too many to count have managed to sink to the lowest levels of degradation and self interest. Unfortunately more often than not these are the leaders who rise to the most powerful positions. One such legislator is Harry Reid, the current Senate Majority Leader.
Reid’s recent move to go nuclear was immediately criticized for its blatant hypocrisy. Journalists of every stripe pulled quotes from many prominent Democrats who went ballistic back when the option was suggested by Republicans under Bush.
Some Americans, recalling those earlier quotes were dismayed by the move; others wondered what possible difference it could make…after all they still needed a majority.
Derek Hunter of TownHall imagines a scenario that perfectly fits the self-serving, power hungry figure who orchestrated the move:
But more than that, by changing the filibuster rules on lifetime appointments to the judiciary, what’s to stop any future majority leader from changing them for legislation? The Democrats would have no credibility when it comes to their outrage should Republicans take the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016 and invoke the Reid Rule to repeal not only Obamacare, but every piece of legislation Democrats passed in the Obama years. Moreover, they would be nothing more than speech machines while Republicans eliminated entire departments.
Imagine Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., eliminating the EPA, Department of Education and more while Democrats stood by with nothing but the bitter taste of karma in their mouths and the knowledge they did this to themselves. Come to think of it, that doesn’t sound too bad.
If Republicans held the House of Representatives and took the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016, they could move to change the rules of the Senate to eliminate the filibuster completely, pass a constitutionally conservative agenda, and dramatically reduce the size and scope of government. Then, following the Reid Rule of a simple majority to change Senate rules at any time, create the McConnell Rule – vote to reinstate the filibuster and to change the rules of the Senate to require 75 votes to change Senate rules in the future. That would lock in those changes for essentially forever.
Of course that probably won’t happen, nor should it, but thanks to Harry Reid and the 51 other Democrats who voted this week to push the button on the “nuclear options,” it could.
The founders knew that too much power invested in a single individual would be a disaster for a nation of free people. They brilliantly devised a plan to keep power hungry, self-serving individuals from wielding too much power. The spirit of that system was continued by those who first conceived of and wrote Senate and House rules. The spirit of those rules has been broken. The people are the losers and will not being served by this heinous act of self-interest.
Turns out the minority party still holds a trump card.
“Republicans don’t have a nuclear option available, but they still have a few hand grenades.
One that may be partially effective would be to insist on quorum calls for every vote. The Senate’s constitutional quorum is anything over 50%, so merely taking a walk, as Democratic state minorities in Wisconsin and Indiana have done in recent years, won’t work. Besides, the Senate’s Sergeant at Arms has been empowered since 1877 to arrest non-compliant senators, as happened once — to Bob Packwood (R-OR) in 1988. But anyone who watches C-SPAN knows that most Senate business proceeds before a near-empty chamber. It may be possible for Republicans to force full Democratic attendance by not showing up, thus allowing Democrats to own the additional disasters they have planned, to top Obamacare. Or Republicans could insist on a quorum call for everything.
A quorum, in that august and honorable body, is “assumed” unless a vote is formally recorded. Many votes are by voice, and the actual count is irrelevant, made up by canvassing members’ staffs and later duly recording them in the Federal Register. If Republicans called for a quorum on every vote, and the Republican membership didn’t show up, it would at least force Democrats to push away from the campaign table, most of the time.
According to the Rules of the Senate, Rule VI,
1. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.
2. No Senator shall absent himself from the service of the Senate without leave.
3. If, at any time during the daily sessions of the Senate, a question shall be raised by any Senator as to the presence of a quorum, the Presiding Officer shall forthwith direct the Secretary to call the roll and shall announce the result, and these proceedings shall be without debate.
4. Whenever upon such roll call it shall be ascertained that a quorum is not present, a majority of the Senators present may direct the Sergeant at Arms to request, and, when necessary, to compel the attendance of the absent Senators, which order shall be determined without debate; and pending its execution, and until a quorum shall be present, no debate nor motion, except to adjourn, or to recess pursuant to a previous order entered by unanimous consent, shall be in order.”
According to the paper, “Voting and Quorum Procedures in the Senate” [crs.gov 7-5700, 96-452; August 19, 2013], “A Senator wishing to prevent a matter from coming to a vote need not engage in extended debate.
“One reason is that if a quorum—51 Senators, assuming no vacancies—is not present on the floor, the opponent may instead simply take steps to trigger a live quorum call, and if a quorum does not respond, the Senate can only adjourn or take steps to secure the attendance of a quorum.”
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/talking-sense/2013/nov/24/senate-republicans-have-one-last-option/
Peggy it will be interesting to see if they take advantage of it.
Their going to have to just to slow down what Obama and Reid have planned. Afraid things are going to get even worse then we could have ever imagined.
Is This the Alarming Reason Kathleen Sebelius Hasn’t Been Fired?:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/25/is-this-the-alarming-reason-kathleen-sebelius-hasnt-been-fired/
Simply put, the reasons behind Reid’s move are this is just “unchecked Power”
Re #4:
Harold gets it and puts it succinctly. Ditto.
Power and control is what it’s all about.
How Convenient: Cancer Patient Who Complained About Obamacare Is Now Being Audited…
http://www.ijreview.com/2013/11/98011-convenient-cancer-patient-complained-obamacare-now-audited/
Please pray for this poor man and all of the others who have lost their badly needed health plans.
Charles Krauthammer gets it —
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-democrats-outbreak-of-lawlessness/2013/11/28/3184b6f2-579b-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html