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Friday, March 05, 2010

Question for senator Judd Gregg:

Via Yglesias, this statement from Gregg:

... under the Senate rules, anything that comes across the floor of the Senate requires 60 votes to pass. It’s called the filibuster. That’s the way the Senate was structured. ...

The Founding Fathers realized when they structured this they wanted checks and balances. They didn’t want things rushed through. ... That’s why we have the 60-vote situation over here in the Senate to require that things get full consideration.

Why doesn’t someone ask Gregg if he supports a return to the previous two-thirds requirement for cloture? That would be even more effective in preventing legislation from being ” rushed through”. It would be interesting to see how Gregg justifies one particular number over another.

posted by Quiddity at 3/05/2010 09:41:00 PM

1 comments

Allow me to give you Gregg's justification in one word:

Democrats.

To expand a bit, as long as Democrats have a majority, then the Senate MUST operate under the 60-vote rule. The two-thirds majority rule is to be re-instated ONLY if Democrats once again hold a 60-vote majority.

Of course, as soon as Republicans hold 51 seat, or 50 seats and the White House, the 60-vote minimum will be instantly forgotten. we will return to simple majority rule for all legislation, no matter how radical or sweeping it might be.

By Anonymous, at 3/07/2010 3:37 PM