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Extra Fizz: McDermott Introduces Filibuster Revision

That Washington   January 21, 2010 at 11:27 am Erica C. Barnett

In the wake of Republican Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts this week, US Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), along with 25 other representatives, introduced legislation today that would amend filibuster rules so that the minority party couldn’t use the filibuster to prevent votes in the Senate. Effectively, the rule change McDermott is proposing would make it easier for Democrats to stop a Republican filibuster.

McDermott’s resolution would complement legislation that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has been trying to pass since 1995—when Democrats were the minority party—that would allow the majority party to stop a filibuster with a vote of fewer than 60 senators. Under Harkin’s proposal, senators would need 60 votes to break the first vote but then the amount of votes needed would drop to 57, then 54, then 51.


  • ratcityreprobate

    Ooops Erica, McDermott is a Representative not a Senator.

  • ratcityreprobate

    Ooops Erica, McDermott is a Representative not a Senator.

  • Roxana

    to ratcityreprobate : Erica was correct . She said Representative.

    A good try for Rep. McDermott. We all still hope.

  • Roxana

    to ratcityreprobate : Erica was correct . She said Representative.

    A good try for Rep. McDermott. We all still hope.

  • Cato the Younger Younger

    Well, this would be impressive if McDermott was in the Senate and not the House. It sounds nice and will look pretty for his re-election bid but ultimately a pointless gesture.

  • Cato the Younger Younger

    Well, this would be impressive if McDermott was in the Senate and not the House. It sounds nice and will look pretty for his re-election bid but ultimately a pointless gesture.

  • Chris Stefan

    Far more effective would be for Rep. McDermott to call on his colleagues to bring to the floor and vote for H.R. 3590 (the Senate Health Bill).

    I know the Senate bill isn’t perfect but passing it would at least be something and would make the Democrats in Congress look strong rather than a bunch of sniveling wimps.

  • Chris Stefan

    Far more effective would be for Rep. McDermott to call on his colleagues to bring to the floor and vote for H.R. 3590 (the Senate Health Bill).

    I know the Senate bill isn’t perfect but passing it would at least be something and would make the Democrats in Congress look strong rather than a bunch of sniveling wimps.

  • question

    Good idea but inept execution, par for the course for Democrats.

    Each house makes its own rules, so making a rule change via bicameral legislation is dubious as well as overly complex and roundabout.

    Just get your 51 votes in the senate, have biden rule a change in rule 22 is in order, they challenge, your 51 votes sustains biden, then the 51 votes vote to do away with rule 22, and you’re done! Takes one day. But requires guts and ability to explain to a public confounded by GOP blather.

    This is like health care reform. Single payer is honest, direct, clear, simple, the hodgepodge roundabout mess they’ve proposed can’t even be explained.

    How exactly do you explain the house voting on rules for the senate? does the 43d district democratic group vote on the bylaws for the 34th district democrats?

  • question

    Good idea but inept execution, par for the course for Democrats.

    Each house makes its own rules, so making a rule change via bicameral legislation is dubious as well as overly complex and roundabout.

    Just get your 51 votes in the senate, have biden rule a change in rule 22 is in order, they challenge, your 51 votes sustains biden, then the 51 votes vote to do away with rule 22, and you’re done! Takes one day. But requires guts and ability to explain to a public confounded by GOP blather.

    This is like health care reform. Single payer is honest, direct, clear, simple, the hodgepodge roundabout mess they’ve proposed can’t even be explained.

    How exactly do you explain the house voting on rules for the senate? does the 43d district democratic group vote on the bylaws for the 34th district democrats?

  • Giffy

    Why not just go back to the old system where you actually had to filibuster because if you left the floor the other party would close debate. Traditionally filibusters were more to delay a vote than to completely prevent it.

  • Giffy

    Why not just go back to the old system where you actually had to filibuster because if you left the floor the other party would close debate. Traditionally filibusters were more to delay a vote than to completely prevent it.

  • Donolectic

    Completely agreed with Giffy. Let the Republicans read from a phone book for a week and have the various news outlets talk about it. It didn’t work for them so well during the Clinton administration when they forced the government to shut down, did it?

  • Donolectic

    Completely agreed with Giffy. Let the Republicans read from a phone book for a week and have the various news outlets talk about it. It didn’t work for them so well during the Clinton administration when they forced the government to shut down, did it?