Senate Democrats seek to kill checks and balances by abolishing filibusters

democrat-logoAccording to Fox News, the progressive liberals in the Senate are looking for yet another way to circumvent the checks and balances and do Looking to challenge a time-honored privilege widely used by both parties when they are in the minority, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday vowed to remove the filibuster as a weapon to kill legislation by debating it to death.

In a summit with liberal online groups, the Nevada Democrat claimed the procedural maneuver has been “abused,”

“Next Congress, we’re going to take a look at it. We are likely to have to make some changes in it, because the Republicans have abused that just like the spitball was abused in baseball and the four-corner offense was abused in basketball,” Reid told The Huffington Post.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., appearing at the same summit, said his Rules Committee will take action in the coming weeks.

“The rules committee is going to start holding hearings on how to undo the filibuster rule,” he said.

Schumer praised a recent effort by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to force a GOP senator to remain on the floor for hours to object to a jobs bill, calling the effort “very, very good.”

Republicans say Democrats have abused their accounting of GOP filibusters, noting for instance that any objection to Democrats not allowing GOP amendments is counted as a filibuster.

Filibusters are a key tool for the minority party to delay or stop a proposal by keeping the Senate debating an issue. The current rules of the Senate state that senators can speak and debate as long as they want unless 60 senators vote to end the stalling tactic, or “invoke cloture.”

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said that Reid’s statements don’t match his past comments on the tool.

“I can’t tell you how many Democratic leaders, including our present majority leader, has said it’s tyranny if you get rid of the 60-vote rule. The idea of the Senate being a place where we have to form consensus to make major changes in this country, should not be put off lightly,” he said at a press conference on Capitol Hill.

Coburn wears his mantel of “Dr. No” proudly, as he often attempts to block bills that contain earmarks or provisions that increase the deficit. Democrats criticize Coburn, in return, for sometimes supporting measures that are not paid for, like emergency war funding.

Reid said he believed the House and Senate should be different.

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March 10, 2010 · Filed Under Democrats


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