Commentary By Ron Beasley
A funny thing happened on the way to November, the Democrats now lead the Republicans in the generic congressional ballot.
Why you might ask. Of course it's becoming increasingly obvious that the Republican party is controlled by a bat shit crazy base but more important the Democrats found their cojones and forced the Republicans to go along with Wall Street reform. They shouldn't stop there - Digby get's it right:
The Democrats should just eliminate the filibuster and let the
Republicans howl. The teabaggers will have a mass aneurysm, of course,
babble about revolution and say black helicopters are coming to take the
babies away to FEMA camps, but so what? They do that when Obama attends
the White House egg rolling ceremony. The Dems should be far less
afraid to have that fight than to be seen whining about how the
Republicans aren't playing fair. That's the main thing people like about
them. It shows they are winners.
The American people like winners and the Democrats have too often not been winners even when they won.
Well, I cannot say that I favor the type of democracy that renders the minority completely impotent. That is a form of tyranny that leads to strife and turmoil. Vengance may be sweet, but the Democrats will not be in the majority forever and they will regret doing away with the filibuster, for instance, the next time they are the minority and are boiling in their own stew of impotent rage.
ReplyDeleteMy rule for politics: every political institution should be designed for the devil to run it. 'Cause one day, you know he will be elected.
ReplyDeleteBill's right. Without the filibuster, the Republicans could balloon the deficit, start unnecessary wars, politicize the Justice Department, spy on innocent Americans, and gut law enforcement on banks and industry. Imagine what kind of country we'd have then.
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of the filibuster is a lovely fantasy, but it would go against Obama's brand and the Democrats clearly have no stomach for it. I'm afraid that for the rest of our lives the government will be in the hands of the saboteurs.
As long as Congress writes its own rules (there is nothing in the Constitution about HOW the House or Senate should operate) the filibuster is nothing more than one of the tools in the box. As soon as a political critical mass is reached, legislation will somehow squeeze through.
ReplyDeleteIf the protracted health care debate illustrates - and it's still ongoing in the minds of many - the Democrats' biggest problem is not Republicans but Blue Dogs.
The irrational anti-incumbent insurgency spawned and fanned by the Tea Party is having a cleansing effect on both parties. This is a good time for Democrats to begin crystallizing what they stand for and let the GOP continue to cannibalize itself for the sake of political and corporate expediency.
As long as voters worship at the altars of laissez-faire free enterprise and the memories of Ronald Reagan and John Galt, a majority of voters and bystanders alike will not grasp the fact that the country is being run more for corporate balance sheets and private greed than to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty" for anyone but corporations.