Dissolving the Senate, and Re-instating them without rules

[aion]

What the Republicans are intent upon doing is nothing short of
dissolving the Senate. Granted, the Senators are being immediately
re-instated, but the key is that the same Senators are being re-instated without that cumbersome set of rules.

For those unfamiliar with the USA political beast, the House of
Representatives is dissolved each term. Their rules are made anew each
session. The Senate is different. They carry their rules forward.

The Nuclear/Constitutional Option has the effect of dissolving the
Senate and, more importantly, their rules.

Since the Republicans have decided to rename this to the 'Constitutional' option, Progressives should be
willing to call a spade a spade. This is an effective dissolution of the Senate.

[kenny blankenship]

1. Good!

Fuck the Senate. The US Senate is the worst most anti-democratic institution in the western world, and has been since the House of Lords was suppressed in the early 1900s.

[aion]

4. The House is supposed to operate this way, not the Senate

The house is supposed to behave in the way you are describing. There, they are expected to operate entirely on democratic (ie. 50% +1) principles. The Senate, however, is meant to be a more deliberative body.

[kenny blankenship]

8. I'm quite familiar with the provisions for both houses in the Constitution

and the Senate has always been --as it was intended to be--a dragging anchor on democracy and a bastion of institutionalized privilege.

Anything that hollows out the US Senate, denatures it, and hastens the day when the people rise up to annihilate it altogether has my endorsement and best wishes.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

9. Did you ever read "Profiles in Courage" by JFK?

He gave good historical examples to defend the institution. Yes, it is as you say, but the branches are a good balance because the senators do have the opportunity to do the right thing and defend the minority against the majority, if they have the courage to take a stand.

[Ravenseye]

5. Yeah!

Lets disolve the senate and the house while we're at it! Who needs em. And those pesky judges always sticking their nose where it don't belong.

Lets just elect the president and he can say what he wants to do and we do it. What's wrong with that?

:sarcasm:

[mmonk]

7. Riiiiiightt

Let's do away with all checks and balances that protects the minority.:sarcasm:

[kaygore]

2. When they dissolve the Senate

I hope that the Democrats have the guts to walk out enmass. I don't think even Faux News will be able to ignore that.

[rkc3]

6. Sounds like what happens in governments where the leader dislikes

what the laws his colleagues are passing. Are we that close to the Soviet Union that this would be an option?

[kaygore]

11. It may be the only option

If the majority can change the rules at will, then what need is there for the minority? The only way to call attention to this is for every Democrat to walk out enmasse and return to his or her state and get the word out.

Did you read Buchanan on the Crier post on Huffington? This says it best. There is no compromise with these people and further they do not represent what the majority of Americans want:

This reality was clearly expressed Wednesday night on my Court TV program, Catherine Crier Live. Note the following exchange:

Crier: “The Republicans, the conservatives, have dominated the courts now for thirty years in this country, and certainly the Supreme Court, so we know we have Conservatives—but that doesn’t seem to be enough.”

Buchanan: “No, that is not enough.”

Crier: “Yeah, the Terri Schiavo case--those were conservative judges, and all of a sudden, we’re saying we want strict constructionists?”

Buchanan: “Exactly. Look, ten of the last twelve justices have been appointed by Republicans. Nixon gave us Blackmun, Gerry Ford gave us John Paul Stevens, Reagan gave us Kennedy and O’Connor, and (Bush Sr.) gave us David Souter…”

Crier: “Those aren’t good enough?”

Buchanan: “They have been failures. The battle is over the Supreme Court. (It) has become a judicial dictatorship in this country. It dictates racial policy on quotas, affirmative action. It tells us we must have abortion on demand. It’s now into gay rights. It has become a super legislature. Control of it is more important tin the social culture war in America than control of Congress in the United States. That ultimately is what this is all about. The President has got to get those Supreme Court justices...and if that means breaking these ridiculous obstructionist filibusters, he ought to do it.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/catherine-crier/be-afraid-be-very-afraid_1285.html

[Hubert Flottz]

3. Same thing Hitler did really!

If Bush gets his way our courts will be about as just as Hitler's kangaroo courts were! The Democratic senators should drop the goody two shoes shit ane call the Nazis what they are!

[spindoctor]

10. Nuclear options create waste lands

The analogy is well-chosen.

It will render the Senate floor useless for many years to come. This will come back to haunt them in more ways than one.

[Village Idiot]

12. I am wondering...

If the Senate is "dissolved," do the Senators HAVE TO BE reinstated? Can they not refuse, and somehow trigger an election for ALL of them?

Obviously, I am not a constitutional lawyer, and this is kind of "wish-fulfillment" fantasy, but I wonder if an outcome of this type could be LEGALLY engineered?

Any experts out there?

[aion]

13. Why take it that far?

Why should they take it that far? By Dissolving the rules of the Senate, they hope the remaining Progressives will wither on the vine, so to speak.

[Ravenseye]

14. Exactly

Essentially the people who are in the minority might as well go home.

The essence of the filibuster is that even one man can prevent something from coming to pass. One of the imporant parts of modern parlamentary procedure is that the rules exist to slow things down, not speed them up. Commtitees, Hearings, Votes on Ammendments, and on and on and on.

The point of that is so that the majority can't dominate the minority. It's sort of the essence of our country. North America was first truly settled by people escaping religious persecution because they wanted to have the freedom to live the way they would.

The modern Republican party is a perversion of the very essence of our country. Forcing people to live by their moral rules, and dominating the minority by the majority.

I had respect for the Republican party once. I didn't agree with many of their stances, but I respected them and their thoughts. Now...The true republicans are still hiding from these fascists who are continuing their assault on our nation.