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Don't be obtuse. The republicans didn't have ability to filibuster jack crap until Scott Brown was sworn in, a full YEAR after Obama took office. You all had a SUPER majority, and even when you lost that with Scott Brown, you (lefties in Congress) whipped out the nuclear option to push your BS legislation through that will eventually be found unconstitutional by the SCOTUS anyhow.
Wrong. The Democrats had a Super Majority for about four months. From when Paul Kirk was appointed to Kennedy's seat until Scott Brown's election.
The Democrats did NOT use the Nuclear Option. They used a process called Reconciliation which was used 22 times since 1980, mostly by the Republicans. The Nuclear Option which is what was being discussed by Bill Frist and Trent Lott in 2005 was something totally different
Don't be obtuse. The republicans didn't have ability to filibuster jack crap until Scott Brown was sworn in, a full YEAR after Obama took office. You all had a SUPER majority, and even when you lost that with Scott Brown, you (lefties in Congress) whipped out the nuclear option to push your BS legislation through that will eventually be found unconstitutional by the SCOTUS anyhow.
It takes ONE member of the Senate to filibuster a bill--that's it--and 60 votes to stop it. The Dem's had 60 votes for one month--between the time Al Franken was sworn in, and before Ted Kennedy died. If you're going to try to be an expert on government and how it works, why don't you take 5 minutes to read a WIKIPEDIA article. Good grief.
It takes ONE member of the Senate to filibuster a bill--that's it--and 60 votes to stop it. The Dem's had 60 votes for one month--between the time Al Franken was sworn in, and before Ted Kennedy died. If you're going to try to be an expert on government and how it works, why don't you take 5 minutes to read a WIKIPEDIA article. Good grief.
Somewhat wrong. It was for four months, from the time Paul Kirk was appointed to Kennedy's seat in September to Brown's election. They did not have a filibuster proof majority for the time period between Franken being sworn in to Kennedy's death. Kennedy at that time was too ill and wasn't in Washington.
How a filibuster works is correct. One Senator can call to block a vote and then 60 votes are needed to override that Senator's block and allow a vote.
Wrong. The Democrats had a Super Majority for about four months. From when Paul Kirk was appointed to Kennedy's seat until Scott Brown's election.
The Democrats did NOT use the Nuclear Option. They used a process called Reconciliation which was used 22 times since 1980, mostly by the Republicans. The Nuclear Option which is what was being discussed by Bill Frist and Trent Lott in 2005 was something totally different
You are correct. Mea culpa.
They used a simple majority of 51 to pass HCR, not nuclear option.
Wrong. The Democrats had a Super Majority for about four months. From when Paul Kirk was appointed to Kennedy's seat until Scott Brown's election.
The Democrats did NOT use the Nuclear Option. They used a process called Reconciliation which was used 22 times since 1980, mostly by the Republicans. The Nuclear Option which is what was being discussed by Bill Frist and Trent Lott in 2005 was something totally different
You're right--I forgot about Kirk, but he was sworn in to replace Kennedy Sept 24--that's 2 1/2 months. I also forgot about reconciliation (it's been awhile)--the Senate originally passed a version with the 60 votes they needed, it went to the House, and then the Senate used reconciliation to bring it in line with the House version. SO they had the 60 votes to get it through to begin with, and then they used THE LEGITIMATE RULES OF THE SENATE to make the changes needed to conform the House and Senate bills. Since 1995, reconciliation has been used 8 times by the Dems and 14 times by the R's.
It takes ONE member of the Senate to filibuster a bill--that's it--and 60 votes to stop it. The Dem's had 60 votes for one month--between the time Al Franken was sworn in, and before Ted Kennedy died. If you're going to try to be an expert on government and how it works, why don't you take 5 minutes to read a WIKIPEDIA article. Good grief.
Wrong as pointed out by the other poster. And regardless, my point was that the republicans did not have a 40 member minority until after Scott Brown. The Dems DID have a supermajority for a period of time.
Quote:
As far as the "nuclear option"--the bill passed the Senate by 56-43, still more than the 51 votes that they needed. That provision is in the Senate rules for a purpose--to stop the minority party from blocking legislation that has broad support. The house vote, and the majority of votes in the Senate that it received, prove that.
Thanks for proving my point. Regardless of filibuster capability, the dems were STILL able to vote on HCR with a simple majority using reconciliation. So to say that the republicans could block anything they wanted is a bald faced lie.
Somewhat wrong. It was for four months, from the time Paul Kirk was appointed to Kennedy's seat in September to Brown's election. They did not have a filibuster proof majority for the time period between Franken being sworn in to Kennedy's death. Kennedy at that time was too ill and wasn't in Washington.
How a filibuster works is correct. One Senator can call to block a vote and then 60 votes are needed to override that Senator's block and allow a vote.
Sorry--you're right. I obviously didn't read this before I posted. I follow politics closely, but after a couple of years things start to blur. I stand corrected.
Wrong as pointed out by the other poster. And regardless, my point was that the republicans did not have a 40 member minority until after Scott Brown. The Dems DID have a supermajority for a period of time.
Thanks for proving my point. Regardless of filibuster capability, the dems were STILL able to vote on HCR with a simple majority using reconciliation. So to say that the republicans could block anything they wanted is a bald faced lie.
Not really. They were able to vote on the changes to the Senate version of HCR through Reconciliation, but not the entire bill.
Not really. They were able to vote on the changes to the Senate version of HCR through Reconciliation, but not the entire bill.
I know that. My point was that they passed the bill and were able to send it to the president's desk using reconciliation. I wasn't even referring to the original senate version prior to the changes the house made to it. I think it was quite obvious that I mean passage of the bill.
Wrong as pointed out by the other poster. And regardless, my point was that the republicans did not have a 40 member minority until after Scott Brown. The Dems DID have a supermajority for a period of time.
Thanks for proving my point. Regardless of filibuster capability, the dems were STILL able to vote on HCR with a simple majority using reconciliation. So to say that the republicans could block anything they wanted is a bald faced lie.
The only thing I was wrong on was being off a few months on the timeline for when the Senate Dem's had 60 votes, because I forgot about Paul Kirk. It takes 1 vote to filibuster, and 60 to end it. The Dem's didn't have 60 votes to end the filibuster until Paul Kirk was sworn in to replace Kennedy, and until Brown was elected. THEY DIDN'T USE the nuclear option. They passed the bill the first time in the Senate with 60 votes to over ride the filibuster, it passed the house with some amendments, and then they used reconciliation (which only requires a simple majority) to conform the Senate and House bills.
Do you just like to argue for the sake of arguing?
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