redneckgaijin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redneckgaijin) wrote2010-12-03 01:26 pm
redneckgaijin) wrote2010-12-03 01:26 pm
And now something for you to think about to get the previous post OUT OF YOUR HEAD.
One proposal to make the filibuster more like what people think it is.
In short: nothing can be filibustered except the final vote on a bill. Amendments can't be filibustered. Votes to BEGIN debate on a bill cannot be filibustered. Only the very last vote on a bill can be blocked by the minority.
That's not all. Rather than merely demand a 60-vote supermajority, the filibustering side must actually engage in continuous debate. In the first twenty-four hours, five members of the opposition must remain on the Senate floor at all times; in the second day, ten; after that, not less than twenty.
And if the opposing debate stops- if a speaker finishes and nobody else is waiting to speak, or if the minimum floor requirement is not met- the question is immediately called for a straight majority vote.
I like this. I REALLY like this, and kudos to Jeff Merkley for proposing it.
Now watch Harry Reid completely ignore it, and nothing happen.
In short: nothing can be filibustered except the final vote on a bill. Amendments can't be filibustered. Votes to BEGIN debate on a bill cannot be filibustered. Only the very last vote on a bill can be blocked by the minority.
That's not all. Rather than merely demand a 60-vote supermajority, the filibustering side must actually engage in continuous debate. In the first twenty-four hours, five members of the opposition must remain on the Senate floor at all times; in the second day, ten; after that, not less than twenty.
And if the opposing debate stops- if a speaker finishes and nobody else is waiting to speak, or if the minimum floor requirement is not met- the question is immediately called for a straight majority vote.
I like this. I REALLY like this, and kudos to Jeff Merkley for proposing it.
Now watch Harry Reid completely ignore it, and nothing happen.