Democrats Need a Plan. Fast. Here's how they can apply maximum...
"Heres how they can apply maximum pressure, brand the process as the illegitimate farce it is and lay the groundwork for desperately needed reform."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/opinion/ruth-bader-ginsburg-senate-democrats.html
There are steps Democrats can take to apply maximum pressure, brand the process as the illegitimate farce it is and lay the groundwork for desperately needed reform that can reverse the damage early in 2021 if Democrats win in November. Distraught Democrats should understand that senators options are limited, but Democratic senators should understand the depth of voters desire to see their senators do everything possible to stop Mr. Trump from replacing R.B.G. This is an illegitimate process, and that is how Democrats should approach it.
There are a range of tools available to Democrats to apply constant pressure. The Senate operates on what are called unanimous consent agreements, or U.C.s pacts that set the daily schedule and the terms of conduct for all business. Democrats can bring the business of the Senate to a halt by systematically denying U.C. agreements. This simply requires stationing one senator on the floor at all times senators can rotate every few hours, they just need to be physically present on the floor to say, I object, anytime Republicans try to pass a U.C.
The Senate needs a quorum of 51 senators to be present to conduct business. Senate Democrats should force Republicans to produce quorums on their own. Republicans control 53 seats, but bringing 51 senators to the floor every time they need to conduct business is a major challenge. Notably, Republicans have more incumbent senators up for re-election than Democrats do, and every day they have to spend in Washington is a lost day of campaigning. It takes only one senator to do this: By noting the absence of a quorum, a Democratic senator can put the Senate into a state of suspended animation called a quorum call until 51 senators arrive on the floor.
Democrats can also boycott the confirmation hearings. The hearings are unlikely to influence the outcome. If the hearings for Brett Kavanaugh did not change any votes, neither will these hearings. Attending confers legitimacy, and refusing to attend will send a powerful statement that they deem the process and the nominee illegitimate. Democratic senators should keep in mind that if they participate in the process, even aggressively, history will record it as a contentious confirmation process, a common occurrence. Boycotting the process and disrupting Senate business, on the other hand, will brand it as fundamentally different from anything that has come before.
This brings us to the most important step: Democrats should commit to the structural reforms necessary to undo the damage Republicans have wrought. If Democrats win the White House and the Senate in November, they can pass reforms to rebalance our democracy through simple majority votes. The only thing standing in the way will be the filibuster...
Democrats should also reform the Senate so it better represents the nation. They can start by inviting territories bound by federal law but lacking voting representation in Congress to become states.
This is a dark time for Democrats, but it has the potential to be clarifying. The Senate is awash in myths and misconceptions about norms and traditions, most of which were invented to serve narrow political interests. Republicans naked hypocrisy will reveal that much of what senators assure us is grand Senate tradition is just hardball politics.
***Today Schumer invoked "two-hour rule" to block Senate committee hearings
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/schumer-invokes-rule-to-block-senate-committee-hearings/
Mike Niendorff
(3,447 posts)EXPAND. THE. COURT.
MDN
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)prior Speakers had abused theirs.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)regnaD kciN
(26,035 posts)...but the "structural reforms necessary" all require ending the filibuster -- and both Tim Kaine and Dianne Feinstein have said they will not do that. I'm assuming that DINO Manchin is of the same position. That means we need to win at least 54 seats (well beyond optimistic projections) to accomplish anything other than just complaining loudly and accepting that the Republicans own the court for the next few decades.
BigmanPigman
(51,432 posts)filibusters but wasn't aware of Kaine too. We have to all get on the same page.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)This is war. We can't bring pillows to a bazooka fight.
Maraya1969
(22,441 posts)and ask him to poor money into the tight senate races.
The whole thing makes me very worried.
BigmanPigman
(51,432 posts)Maraya1969
(22,441 posts)and against the law. And it will stop all proceedings for at least a day or longer.