Filibuster

Our 18th Century Political System No Longer Works In The 21st Century!

Ronald 10 Comments

The Founding Fathers of the late 18th century created a political system that worked for a long time, despite many crises.

Sadly, it no longer works when one realizes that we have a system where land counts more than people, as in the US Senate!

The top NINE states in the 2010 US Census had a combined population which is a majority of the nation—California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan! So two Northeastern states, three Southern states, three Midwestern states, and one Western state are where the population is most concentrated!

Also, the next eleven states,in total, have over 25 percent of the total population. So that means TWENTY states have over 75 percent of the entire population of the country in their midst!

Also, if you add states 21-30, it adds another 15 percent of the nation’s population, and that means 90 percent of the country is in 30 states, while the other 20 states have less than ten percent of the entire population combined!

Also, 70 percent of the American population lives on TWO PERCENT of all of the land of the country!

Despite this, we have the 30 percent of the population living on 98 percent of the land, and 41 states out of 50, having the ability to dictate most actions of the Senate, and the House of Representatives!

And 30 states, having less than 25 percent of the total population, can, in theory, block action, or bring about action through the filibuster, in the Senate, with their 60 votes!

There is no immediate or long range solution to this reality, but it is important that people realize that the Founding Fathers, as brilliant as they were, could not, possibly, conceive how the nation would change over 225 years!

The Most Significant Long Range Events Of 2013

Ronald 1 Comment

Now that we are in the last day of 2013, it is time to reflect on what the most significant long range events of 2013 are, events that will affect us in the future, and are signs of progress, which can never be reversed.

They include in no special order:

The accomplishment of national health care, a dream since Theodore Roosevelt first mentioned the concept in his Progressive Party campaign in 1912, later suggested by Harry Truman, partially enacted by Lyndon B. Johnson, attempted by Bill and Hillary Clinton unsuccessfully, promoted by Senator Ted Kennedy, and finally becoming law under Barack Obama. Even with all of the kinks and quirks now and in the future, national health care is here to stay, finally making America reach the stage of all other democracies in the world, but as usual the last to adopt social and economic reform, as compared to Europe, Canada, and Australia.

The acceptance by the Supreme Court of the concept of gay marriage, and the expansion from nine to eighteen states of acceptance of same sex marriage, and nothing will ever reverse what has happened, and eventually, the Supreme Court will mandate its legality throughout America, just as they did for interracial marriage in 1967. Many may not like it, but just as with interracial marriage, one does not have to engage in either interracial or same sex marriage, but it is nobody’s business to tell someone else who he or she is to love and to have the benefits of marriage, and no religious institution needs to accept it, as civil marriage will always be available.

The civil war raging in the Republican Party, which will determine if the party of Lincoln, TR, and Ike will survive or go into the dustbin of history, which Is certain, if the right wing Tea Party Movement is allowed to take over the party apparatus, and control the House and Senate Republican caucuses, and control major state governments around the nation. An extreme right wing Republican Party will not survive, and will give the Democrats such dominance that a moderate centrist party, maybe on the pattern of the Whig Party of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln in the 19th century, will then emerge as a valid alternative to the more leftist Democratic Party by comparison.

The rise of a permanent Democratic majority in the Electoral College, as Georgia, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina will turn “blue” over the rest of the second decade of the 21st century, due to the growth in the Hispanic-Latino population, and the alienation of women from the Republican Party, which is working to control the reproductive lives of women. Both groups will swing these Sun Belt States to the Democrats, and with the Atlantic Coast from New England down to Virginia, and the Pacific Coast and the Upper Midwest more “blue” all of the time, there will be no way that Democrats will lose the White House over the next couple of decades, whether they nominate Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden, or someone else, for the Presidency in 2016 and beyond.

The Supreme Court will turn more liberal, as over the remaining years of this decade, the likelihood of new Supreme Court appointments, as well as circuit and district courts, will fall to Democratic Presidents, who no longer have to worry about a filibuster proof majority of 60 votes. The need for only 51 votes or 50 with the Vice President breaking the tie, insures that the courts, and eventually the high Court, will take a different view over time on same sex marriage, abortion rights, civil rights, and civil liberties, reminding one over the next two decades (due to lifetime appointments) of the history of the Warren Court.

A happy 2014 to all my readers and contributors!

The Most Pleasant Stories Of 2013 Vs. The Most Disturbing Stories Of 2013

Ronald 3 Comments

2013 is coming to an end, and as always, there are stories and events that are very pleasant, and also those which are very disturbing.

The most pleasant stories of the year include in no particular order the following:

The Rise of Pope Francis, invigorating and reforming the Catholic Church, with his message of inclusion, compassion for the poor, and condemnation of unbridled capitalism.

The victory of Bill DeBlasio as Mayor of New York City, promoting a change in policy in a city which has catered to the wealthy, and ignored the poor and middle class.

The doubling of states which permit same sex marriage from nine to eighteen, and the growing acceptance of the American people to tolerance on the topic.

Senate filibuster reform on Presidential appointments, which allows the President to gain the people he wants for executive and judicial appointments, a right of any President, but prevented by Senate Republican intransigence.

The most disturbing stories of the year include in no particular order the following:

The Congressional deadlock caused by the Tea Party Movement in the Republican Party, including the government shutdown and dearth of Congressional activity.

The growing inequality and deprivation of the middle class and the poor, caused by a massive redistribution of wealth by tax policy over the years from Reagan to Bush II.

The Supreme Court backtracking on the Voting Rights Act guarantees after a half century, and the damage that continues to be done due to the Citizens United Case.

The rise of mean spirited, aggressive leaders including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, both Tea Party favorites who work against compromise in any form.

The Crucial Importance Of A Democratic Senate And President For The Future

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The battle for Democratic control of the House of Representatives, the need to gain 17 seats, is a bitter one, with right wing groups spending millions to make sure that the Republicans keep control, and prevent any furthering of the Barack Obama agenda.

Due to the reality of gerrymandered districts, created by Republican legislatures and governors, as a result of the 2010 midterm elections, the concept of majority rule has been distorted, with Democrats winning more total votes nationally in Congressional races, but Republicans able to win a majority of seats, and oppose everything Obama wants, and cause a shutdown of the government in October.

Due to the extremism of the Republican House as a result of the “hostage” situation created by the Tea Party Movement, the 2013 session of the Congress has been the worst since records were kept in 1947, but now the “establishment” Republicans are declaring war on the Tea Party right wingers, and trying to insure that the mainstream conservatives, led by Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, will be able to control the future.

At the same time, right wing pressure groups are trying to defeat a group of conservatives in House and Senate primaries, so the civil war may give Democrats the opportunity to gain enough seats to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker again in the 114th Congress of 2015-2016. That would allow the budgetary power of the House Ways and Means Committee to be back in Democratic hands, giving them the opportunity to reverse regressive policies perpetrated by Republicans since 2011.

But even more important is the keeping of a Democratic Senate majority, with the ability to get appointments of the President confirmed by a majority, rather than needing 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. This is particularly important for federal district and circuit court nominees, and for the eventual approval of Supreme Court nominees on the aging Court.

Part of this is also the need to have a Democratic President after 2016, as that reality, plus a Democratic Senate, would guarantee that social conservatism would lose out on such issues, as abortion, gay marriage, civil liberties, civil rights, and so many other issues that are crucial to the long range future of making America a nation of fairness, justice, equality, and tolerance!

John Boehner And Paul Ryan Vs. The Tea Party Radicals!

Ronald 14 Comments

The Speaker of the House and the Budget Committee Chairman have thrown down the gauntlet to the right wing Tea Party Movement members of its Republican caucus, and to the pressure groups and talk radio and Fox News Channel critics.

And the good news that 169 members of the GOP caucus backed John Boehner and Paul Ryan, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a bit of a surprise since Cantor tends to hobnob with the radicals a good deal of the time, is welcome!

While this means the budget bill will stabilize the economy, and allow some progress next year on some items on the agenda, it is almost certain that IF the Tea Party challenge succeeds in 2014 House and Senate races, challenging incumbents, then Boehner will no longer be Speaker of the House, and Ryan may be ousted as Budget Committee chairman.

One would think that Boehner and Ryan are moderates. which is extremely far from the truth, but they are at least responsible legislators, who realize that with divided government, some negotiation and compromise is essential, in order to get anything done.

The hope is that the tumult in the GOP will enhance chances of the Democrats winning back control of the House, and with a Senate where the filibuster is rarely used due to the new 51 vote majority requirement, hopefully the next Congress in 2015 will make us forget what a disaster the 113th Congress has been, the worst in modern American history!

HUGE Victory For Obama And Democrats In Reform Of Filibuster Use!

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Finally, after almost five years as President, Barack Obama can savor victory, knowing he will be able to get his nominees for all federal executive branch positions and federal judiciary, except for the Supreme Court, confirmed by the Democratic Senate. Majority rule will govern, as it should, and as it does, in the House of Representatives!

And because the Republicans shot themselves in the foot, not allowing the approval of three nominees for the DC Circuit Courts, they will now see the federal courts tip dramatically toward Democratic and more liberal judges!

At the moment, there are exactly 390 federal judges appointed by Republican Presidents, and an equal number of 390 federal judges appointed by Democratic Presidents.

If Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, had allowed the confirmation of those three judges that were just voted down by the use of the filibuster, requiring 60 votes to move a nomination, then the balance would have remained on the federal courts between Democratic and Republican appointments.

But now, that is not so, and the Democrats and Barack Obama will gain a potential total of 93 appointments for vacancies on the courts, making for a one sided Democratic control of the judiciary, which will last for years, as the judiciary are on the court for life, not limited terms.

So as the Republicans lick their wounds, and realize their abuse of the filibuster in the past five years, and their arrogance, have led to this moment, the Democrats have a lot to celebrate about, as nothing is more important than affecting the future of constitutional law, and the Republicans have given the Democrats a huge victory, which will reverberate for decades, and give those who believe in progressive reform and change, a sense of hope that there IS a future in America, for others than rich, white people!

Advancements On Gay Rights, But Plenty Of Struggle Ahead

Ronald 4 Comments

The vote of the US Senate yesterday to agree to overcome a potential filibuster, and allow a final vote on ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) is a great move forward on civil rights.

The proposed law, discussed for many years, would ban employers from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against workers or job applicants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The procedural vote was 61-30 with 54 Democrats (all but Claire McCaskill, who was not present), and 7 Republicans (Susan Collins, Kelly Ayotte, Dean Heller, Mark Kirk,. Rob Portman, Orrin Hatch, and Pat Toomey) in favor.

So the bill will pass the Senate in the next few days, but disturbing is that 30 Republicans had the nerve to vote for continued discrimination, and 8 Republicans were not recorded as voting.

It will be interesting to see if any of these 38 Republicans will vote for the final bill, particularly such Senators as John McCain and Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and John Thune, who at times have shown some moderation as compared to most in the Senate Republican caucus.

At the same time, Illinois moved today toward final acceptance of gay marriage, making that state the 15th to have gay marriage, going into effect by the summer of 2014.

At the same time, other states seem to be moving in the same direction, including Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, although at different measurements of progress.

Regarding the ENDA legislation, IF Speaker John Boehner allowed an open vote, the legislation would become law, with most Democrats and enough Republicans to make it the law of the land , but Boehner has indicated that he will not allow a vote, which, if it is pursued all the way, would stop any chance to do what is morally right to do, stop job discrimination, So pressure must be brought to convince him to change his mind, and allow a vote even without a majority of his caucus.

The Worst Possible Scenario: A Republican House And Democratic Senate!

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History has taught us that the worst possible scenario in Congress is a Republican House of Representatives and Democratic Senate.

Since 2011, we have had this scenario, and it has been a total disaster as the GOP has made it impossible to deal with the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The last time we had such a scenario is a century and a half earlier in 1859-1861, when James Buchanan was President, and the GOP was a new party, and anarchy and chaos reigned in the nation’s capital.

When we have had a Democratic House and Republican Senate as under William Howard Taft (1911-1913), Herbert Hoover (1931-1933), and Ronald Reagan (1981-1987), all Republican Presidents, some progress and cooperation has been possible.

Notice that when Buchanan was in office, and Obama now, it was Democratic Presidents facing an impossible situation with a party dedicated to no cooperation at all on anything!

While the Republican Party of the 1850s was more to be admired for principles, the fact is that Republican control of the lower House has led to stalemate and gridlock.

One could argue that even if the GOP won the Senate, it would not change things much, as the requirement for a 60 vote majority to invoke cloture and overcome a filibuster makes the Senate always a problem in any situation, but the power of the purse in the House makes that chamber MORE important to control.

So for Obama’s last two years, control of the House, which brought about more productivity in 2009-2010 than any modern Congress, and was under Democratic control, is more urgent than control of the US Senate.

And when the opposition party has controlled both houses of Congress, as has occurred a lot in recent history, much more gets done than in a split Congress.

These are the facts of Congressional history, like it or not!

Disgust With Federal Government At All Time High: What Can Be Done About It?

Ronald 4 Comments

Polls this past week demonstrate how a majority of Americans are totally disgusted with the stalemate and gridlock in the federal government, which has become a norm of American politics.

Sixty percent in a poll would want to replace every member of Congress, and only eleven percent have a positive view of Congress, an all time low.

The Republican Party brand has suffered heavily, although the Democrats are not exactly looked upon as a paragon of virtue either by the American people.

Of course, there is no way that all members of Congress could be defeated due to the fact that the US Senate has only one third of its seats up for election every two years.

Additionally, while the House of Representatives faces election of all of its members every two years, the reality of gerrymandering makes replacement of incumbents highly unlikely, with maybe ten percent of the seats truly competitive, if that much.

And of course, were it possible to defeat all members, it would be unwise, because that would leave us with new members with total lack of experience and expertise, and this is the the problem with the Tea Party Republicans, who mostly come into government without any knowledge or understanding of what is possible in government, and the role of compromise in making a political system work.

All that a new Congress would accomplish is the growing power of unelected staff, which would be the only continuity in American government, and that would not be a good situation.

What can be done is to have higher turnout for midterm elections, with the hope that it might lead to the party of whoever is President having a real mandate to accomplish the goals that any President has been elected on two years earlier. The tradition has been that the party in the White House loses seats, with a lower turnout by party faithful.

Of course, if somehow, gerrymandering could be overcome, and the filibuster in the Senate modified, real progress and continuity and compromise would be more likely, but that is, at this time, a utopian dream, sad to say!

Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton VS Senator Ted Cruz Of Texas

Ronald 1 Comment

President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are all actively campaigning for the American people to understand what ObamaCare is, how they will benefit from it, and why and how the Republican Party is trying to guarantee through fear and deception that ObamaCare fails.

Once people get away from the hateful propaganda, they are realizing the numerous benefits of ObamaCare, and the more that the Republican Tea Party lunatics in the House of Representatives threaten to shut down the government over their demand to defund ObamaCare, the more they are going to lose the support of the American people!

And Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the worst demagogue since Jesse Helms, who Cruz hailed recently, saying there should be 100 Jesse Helmses, is, as I write, engaged in a personal filibuster to deny 26 percent of his Texas constituents the right to health care, and making more enemies per minute than one can possibly compute!

Cruz is a demagogue, a loose cannon, a whacko, who is self destructing before our eyes with his hate, lack of compassion, egocentric nature, and elitist attitudes, as we learn that when he was at Harvard Law School, he refused to associate with anyone who had not attended Harvard, Yale, or Princeton!

His own father went bankrupt, and there were struggles within the Cruz household economically, but Ted Cruz wants to leave that behind, as well as more people without health care in Texas, than any other state!

What can be said that is positive about such a despicable human being as Ted Cruz is showing himself to be?

Cruz is burning out before our eyes, making enemies within his party, gaining the image of the least liked member of the Senate, and guaranteeing that he will NEVER, as this author once thought, make it to the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016 or beyond.

Ted Cruz is becoming like Joseph McCarthy, his look alike— a man rapidly deteriorating before our eyes!