Fight Republicans on Filibuster!

[votefordan]

Don't let the Republicans fool the people. We need to get this information out to local and national news, talk show hosts, message boards, and everywhere else imaginable. Republicans, like Hannity, Rush, Frist, etc have not been challenged on their claims that the filibuster is unconstitutional. Whenever a Democrat does not challenge a Republican on this crucial issue, we lose ground to listeners/viewers/readers. Don't let them gain one more inch!

1) The constitution does not require an "up or down vote" on anything. The only time the constitution requires a simple majority is to reach a quorum.

2) The constitution allows the Senate to make its own rules.

3) The places where the Senate is required by the Constitution to pass something with 2/3 does not imply that those are the only times the senate can pass something with a supermajority... those are just exceptions to the rule that allows the senate to make its own rules.

4) "Advice and Consent" does not mean simple majority. Why? Because advising and consenting on a treaty requires 2/3. If advice and consent implied a simple majority you could not require 2/3 for it.

5) If Republicans want to follow the rules they are welcome to open discussion to change the rules to stop filibusters on judicial nominations. Of course, such a vote would require 2/3 to break a filibuster on that discussion.

"Cloture requires the support of three-fifths of Senators (normally 60), except on proposals to change the rules, when cloture requires two-thirds of Senators voting"

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/Senate_legislative_process.htm

So why not demand that Republicans follow the rule of law and if they want to change the rules to have them do it under the current senate rules.

The "nuclear option" is not valid because the filibuster IS constitutional.

For more information, please go to http://www.danieljzimmerman.com/commentaries.html and view the first two commentaries.

[votefordan]

1. No comments on this?

I think that this would be a very important issue for people to know about and for us, as Democrats, to spread the word and educate the public so they are no longer mislead about the filibuster.