Thursday, November 21, 2013

BREAK THE RULES


◼ SENATE DEMOCRATS DETONATE “NUCLEAR OPTION” BARRING NOMINEE FILIBUSTER - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

Today, the odious Harry Reid didn’t have much to say about the Founding Fathers and their vision of checks, balances, and extended debate. He very much wants one person, the increasingly dictatorial Barack Obama, and his Party to have total control. He also very much wants everyone to stop talking about the ObamaCare disaster. Democrats desperately needed a distraction, a political win, and enough power to set the table before they risk becoming a Senate minority in the next election. They changed the rule on a party-line vote, 52-48, actually losing three of their number – Carl Levin of Michigan, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas – who sided with the Republican opposition.

◼ Reid, Democrats trigger ‘nuclear’ option; eliminate most filibusters on nominees - Paul Kane/Washington Post
The rule change means federal judge nominees and executive-office appointments can be confirmed by a simple majority of senators, rather than the 60-vote super majority that has been required for more than two centuries.

The change does not apply to Supreme Court nominations. But the vote, mostly along party lines, reverses nearly 225 years of precedent and dramatically alters the landscape for both Democratic and Republican presidents, especially if their own political party holds a majority of, but fewer than 60, Senate seats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats of a power grab and suggested that they will regret their decision if Republicans regain control of the chamber.

“We’re not interested in having a gun put to our head any longer,” McConnell said. “Some of us have been around here long enough to know that the shoe is sometimes on the other foot.” McConnell then addressed Democrats directly, saying: “You may regret this a lot sooner than you think,” he said.









◼ Democrats Have Amnesia About Using the Nuclear Option Ending Filibusters - caffeinatedthoughts

This was a mistake, and it’s amazing how Democrats have forgotten the arguments they employed when Republicans wrongly considered and rightly rejected such a move under President George W. Bush.

In 2005 then Senator Barack Obama called for his colleagues considering the nuclear option to consider “free and democratic debate.” : “Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to think about the implications of what has been called the nuclear option and what effect that might have on this Chamber and on this country. I urge all of us to think not just about winning every debate but about protecting free and democratic debate.” (Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Floor Remarks, Washington, DC, 4/13/05)

Obama: “The American people want less partisanship in this town, but everyone in this chamber knows that if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate, then the fighting, the bitterness, and the gridlock will only get worse.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Floor Remarks, Washington, D.C., 4/13/05)



◼ FLASHBACK: Obama: No on Nuclear Option, Must Protect ‘Free and Democratic Debate - Washington Free Beacon
◼ OBAMA, 2005: NUCLEAR OPTION WILL MAKE 'BITTERNESS AND GRIDLOCK' WORSE - Breitbart



◼ FLASHBACK: Biden on Nuclear Option: ‘It’s a Fundamental Power Grab’ - Washington Free Beacon

◼ FLASHBACK: Reid in 2008: Nuclear Option 'Will Ruin Our Country' - JOHN MCCORMACK/WEEKLY STANDARD

This afternoon, Senate majority leader Harry Reid deployed the so-called "nuclear option," changing the Senate rules to get rid of the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster on judicial nominees or cabinet nominees. The Washington Free Beacon reports that in 2008, Reid denounced Republican consideration of the "nuclear option" and vowed that he would never use it:
“As long as I am the Leader, the answer’s no,” he said. “I think we should just forget that. That is a black chapter in the history of the Senate. I hope we never, ever get to that again because I really do believe it will ruin our country.
◼ Harry Reid's 'nuclear option,' then and now - Washington Examiner



◼ GOP Leader McConnell: Nuclear Option Doesn’t ‘Distract from Obamacare,’ It ‘Reminds’ Voters of It (Video) - Gateway Pundit



◼ Ted Cruz on Nuclear Option: Harry Reid broke his promise just like Obama - The Right Scoop

◼ As President Obama said, They Got Away With It - Heritage
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