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Now, I think we first need to realize that they have passed some very good legislation so far: ethics reforms, student loans, minimum wage, veteran's benefits, and increased fuel standards. That's more than many sessions do, and it's to their credit. And I don't blame them at all for the fact that they haven't yet passed everything on their agenda. Why? Because the Republicans just set an all-time record for filibusters, and the session isn't halfway over. That's right: they are on pace to more than the number of filibusters in the previous record year.
Now, what happened when the Democrats filibustered a few crazy-ass Republican nominees? The Republicans hit the airwaves. They took to every show they could find, gave speeches in front of every camera they could find, and wrote op-eds for every paper they could find. They complained constantly about obstructionism and "Democrat violations of the Constitutional progress." They threatened to change the cloture rules to remove the filibuster. There was a fucking fight.
Now, what are we doing? Nothing. We're making excuses for our failures. And while it's a damn good excuse--Republicans really are preventing us from doing anything meaningful--people don't exactly appreciate excuse-making. It's not believable. People say, "Oh, you're the majority, do something about it." Hell, even the people here--the people who are generally most willing to blame the Republicans for absolutely anything--think the problem is that the Democrats aren't trying hard enough.
We have to deal with what is, by far, most obstructionist minority in history, and that doesn't even count the veto pen. Democrats need to start talking about that. They need to start booking Sunday-show appearances, giving interviews, showing up on morning shows, writing opinion pieces, etc. They need to take this shit public. The legislation the Republicans are blocking--health-care reform, Iraq timetables, Habeas Corpus restoration, fair taxes for Big Oil--is all stuff that Americans want to see. We're wondering why it hasn't been seen yet.
Start telling us.
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