Fuck the Filibuster!

The Filibuster used to be done as a last resort for stopping legislation. It used to be that a Senator who resorted to it did so because he really, passionately felt that there was no other choice.

Those days are long gone.

Today, a filibuster is used to block anything and everything that the opposing party does if it happens to be in the majority. And that is done, not out of any principle based on sensible disagreements of opinion, but merely to prevent the other party from doing anything. Then, inevitably, it gets claimed in the next election that the party in power really hasn't done much of anything, and that you, the taxpayer, would be better off with the other party.

So what's highlighted this lately more than the healthcare debate? We started out with a full-fledged public option. That missed because it only had a 58% majority. It got paired back, still having public option, but less of it. That only had a 59% majority. Then it got paired back again, and again, we fell short with a 59% majority. Then it got paired back to the point where there was no public option at all, and not even an expension of Medicare unless you were 5 years older than it takes to join AARP! And now?

We're short by a mere 59% fucking majority!

Is anybody else sick of this goddamned game, yet? Is anybody else frustrated that 1% of the vote, named Joe Lieberman, gets to fuck up everything?

Okay, I know. The filibuster is a necessary tool to keep legislation from being made too easily. It's easy to imagine all kinds of scenarios where we would very much like to have a filibuster to keep disastrous legislation from going through, not the least of which was during the previous administration, when Bush would have literally thrown away all our civil rights to catch terrorists. But damn, isn't a 59% majority enough to pass anything anymore?

Part of the problem is the evaporation of the sensible middle. It used to be that there was a whole army of moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans who would get together in a dimly lit alcove room somewhere and say to each other, "Okay, guys, let's come up with a reasonable compromise, here." But those days are gone. It seems like the Democrats have only a few moderates, and the Republicans have told moderation to go fuck itself. As such, Democratic majorities have a hard time getting anything done, while Republican majorities tend to move slightly more quickly, but also tend to get nothing done. But without any moderates, its pretty much guaranteed that a few fuckheads are going to be able to jam up the entire process. We are currently witnessing that travesty.

This is why I'm writing this. The time has come to revisit the filibuster idea. 60% is too high. If the Senate needs 60% to get anything done, then nothing ever gets done. And in this day and age, that's unacceptable. Things are moving faster and faster. Faster transportation, faster technology, faster pace of world and current events. Gridlock is therefore death. A filibuster must therefore be able to be broken, and broken quickly.

So here's my battle cry: Fuck the Filibuster! I think it should be a MAJOR issue in the midterm elections to lower the filibuster break-vote from 60% down to 55%. I think every Senatorial candidate should be questioned about that issue, and nobody should be elected who answers, "No, I think 60% is fine." Fuck the Filibuster! The american people have spoken quite loudly about wanting a public option. DNA technology makes public option inevitable (as I've repeatedly pointed out), and if we put it off, then medical calamity will crush our economy as a result. FUCK THE FILIBUSTER! Fuck it now! If a 55% majority isn't reasonable, I don't know what is. FUCK THE FILIBUSTER!!!

Although I'd temporarily settle for legislation impeaching Joe Lieberman.

Eric

P.S. I'm DEAD serious! FUCK the Filibuster! I'd BETTER hear this on the campaign circuit in 2010!