Good Riddance to the Filibuster

Strom Thurmond's 24-hour filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957

The Republican majority in the senate recently confirmed Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch after the majority changed the rules to do away with the filibuster of Supreme Court justices. The move to end the filibuster will continue until an important enough piece of legislation is passed by the Republicans and filibustered by the Democrats; then the filibuster will finally be gone for good. I for one, am happy about this. I'm not happy about Gorsuch or the wave of terrible legislation that will eventually become law, but the filibuster itself is one of the more reprehensible legislative tricks allowed in our government.

The filibuster is a procedural technique allowing a single senator or senators to ramble on endlessly to prevent a vote on legislation that has been passed by the majority. The filibuster was first used in 1837 and in 1917 a rule called cloture was introduced. Cloture was the ability for a larger majority to end a filibuster and it originally required a vote of two-thirds and then three-fifths in 1975. The existence of the filibuster and the rules of our senate get even more bizarre: Cloture can be eliminated by a simple majority vote, but as I just said, cloture can only be invoked with 60 votes or a "supermajority" but the rules can be changed with merely a majority vote. Does anyone else find this whole process a little odd?

The filibuster itself is mentioned nowhere is the Constitution and while the Constitution states that the senate can set its own rules, it also says in the Ninth Amendment "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people". Now in fairness, the Ninth Amendment could be interpreted to make a great number of things unconstitutional, but since the Constitution lays out a few very specific scenarios in which more than a majority vote is needed and passing routine legislation and making appointments isn't one of them, I think it's certainly fair to question the constitutionality of the filibuster.

Constitutionality aside, how is any of this remotely democratic?* Shouldn't a majority be able to rule as a majority? I think so. 

Ultimately, elections have consequences and the majority that wins out should be able to rule with constraints, but those constraints shouldn't include simply finding an angry minority to blather on about something as to prevent legislation or an appointment favored by the elected majority. With a majority in congress, the presidency, the elimination of the filibuster, and a majority on the Supreme Court, the Republicans own everything that happens. That's the way it should be.

*Some of you may correctly point out that the senate isn't democratic. This is true of course, but that's another post.

It's Time to Start Writing Your Congressional Delegation

I wrote the below letter tonight and I urge everyone to follow suit.  You are free to copy the letter and modify it as needed for yourself, but it would be better for you to deliver the message in your own words.  The coming days, weeks, months, and years will require action and a lot of letter writing.  A few things about contacting your elected officials:

• Snail mail gets way more attention than an email.
• Be courteous but clear.
• Provide contact information.
• It's best if possible to reference legislation that is up for debate.
• Proofread.
• Find members of your congressional delegation here:  https://www.congress.gov/members

 November 12, 2016

Senator Patrick Leahy

87 State Street, Room 338

Montpelier, VT 05602

(802) 229-0569

Dear Senator Leahy,

Like many Americans, I am outraged by the election of Donald Trump as our next president. Republican obstructionism has prevented any meaningful legislation that benefits the middle class in President Obama’s second term and now we have elected a neo-fascist.

I am urging you along with the rest of Vermont’s congressional delegation to return the favor to the Republicans with the same full-throated opposition and obstruction.  I hope you will urge President Obama to make Merrick Garland a recess appointment.  I understand that this may trigger a constitutional crisis, but these are extraordinary circumstances.

I want every piece of legislation favored by the Trump administration and a Paul Ryan led house to be filibustered.  I want investigations whenever there is the slightest hint of wrongdoing.  In short:  No quarter should be offered and no olive branch extended.   

I am 32 years old, I have voted in every election since I was 18, I am a state employee and a taxpayer.  This will be my generation's fight and it will take years to undo the damage that is likely to take place.  Please fight, this is my future. and you will be dead from old age while I am dealing with the consequences of this election.

Sincerely,

Andrew M

Bernie Didn't Lose Because of the DNC

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is an idiot, a hack, and the DNC had their thumb on the scale for the Clinton campaign, but it had little to do with Clinton winning.  Clinton won because she had millions more votes than Sanders.  Her supporters showed up to vote in greater numbers and she had longstanding connections in minority communities.  That's it.

Were there incidents of voter disenfranchisement?  Yes.  Did they materially influence the outcome of the primary?  No.  In fact, the incidents of disenfranchisement particularly in Maricopa County in New Mexico, probably hurt Clinton more than they hurt Sanders.  Did party rules hurt Sanders? Maybe, but they were in place well before this primary and an equally good argument could be made that the long primary process helped Sanders by allowing his name to get out there.

Clinton received 16,847,075 votes while Sanders received 13,168,214.  This is in contrast to the 2008 Democratic primary where Obama received 17,584,692 votes and Clinton received 17,857,501.  The turnout numbers for 2008 don't even include the large states of Florida and Michigan that were excluded from the final count because they moved their primaries in violation of party rules.  The bottom line:  Worry about showing up to vote, not massive conspiracies between the incompetent DNC and the clueless Clinton campaign.

Sanders campaign accomplished a lot despite not winning the nomination:

• The TPP will likely be killed well before it has the chance to reach Clinton's desk.
•  The default position in the Democratic Party is now a public option that is the best way toward universal health care. 
• Clinton has now endorsed free tuition for families making under $125,000 a year. 
• The number of super-delegates has been cut by two-thirds in the primary process.  

These are all good and tangible things accomplished by the Sanders campaign and they will be completely abandoned if Donald Trump is our next president.

The next President will get to name 1-4 Supreme Court justices and greatly influence how the constitution is interpreted for the next 30 years. The choices are Clinton or Trump. If you're a progressive voter and you cast a third party vote or don't show up, that's half a vote for Trump.  Voting is a collective action, not a consumer choice.

Podcast 2/20/2016: Originalism is Pure Applesauce/Scalia is Dead

www.businessinsider.com

In this episode, Vinny and I discuss the passing of Antonin Scalia, bizarre Supreme Court scenarios, the bogus idea of "originalism", and Scalia's conservative radicalism.

http://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-3vrwg-5ce1c2/download

Notes:

• Obergefell et al. v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health et a.l (gay marriage and 14th Amendment)
• Bush v. Gore (14th Amendment and a presidential election)
• Shelby County v. Holder (Voting Rights Act and 15th Amendment)
• Lawrence v. Texas (sodomy laws)
• District of Columbia et al. v. Heller (2nd Amendment and gun control)
• Heien v. North Carolina (4th Amendment and ignorance of the law by law enforcement)
• Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of Burlington (4th Amendment and butt-hole searches)
• Could a Puerto Rican be president?  The answer is unclear.  Justice Breyer, for his part, doesn't see why not.
• What was the longest confirmed kill of the Revolutionary War?  After some internet research, several sources of unknown credibility say Timothy Murphy shot British General Simon Fraser at a distance of 300-400 yards.  Pretty impressive for open iron sights and primitive rifles. Here's the Wikipedia article.

NSFW

*Music is brought to you by Bensound.com

Podcast 1-31-2016: Pre-Iowa

On this episode, Vinny and I ramble on about the Sanders candidacy, luke-warm progressives, Vermont gubernatorial candidate Matt Dunne, hot Supreme Court action, our Iowa predictions, and more.

Iowa Caucus predictions:

VM: 

Democratic:

1. Sanders 
2. Clinton 
3. O'Malley 

Republican:

1. Trump 
2. Rubio 
3. Cruz 

AM:
Democratic:

1. Sanders 
2. Clinton 
3. O'Malley 

Republican:

1. Cruz 
2. Trump 
3. Rubio 

Notes:
When speaking of the overthrow of Mossadegh, I misspoke and said the "Iraqi army" when I should have said "Iranian".
Allen Dulles' law firm was "Sullivan and Cromwell" not "Simon and Cromwell"
"The Devil's Chessboard" http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Chessboard-Dulles-Americas-Government/dp/0062276166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454520372&sr=1-1&keywords=the+devils+chessboard
"All the Shah's Men" http://www.amazon.com/All-Shahs-Men-American-Middle/dp/0471265179/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454520442&sr=1-2&keywords=all+the+shah%27s+men
"The Siege of Mecca" http://www.amazon.com/Siege-Mecca-Uprising-Islams-Holiest/dp/0307277739/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454520556&sr=1-1&keywords=the+siege+of+mecca
"The Seven US Ambassadors Killed in the Line of Duty"
Are agency fees for unions at public sector jobs a violation of free speech protections? http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/01/supreme-court-tackles-key-public-union-case-on-monday/ Frederichs v. CTA.
History of first amendment protections for public employees: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/madison/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/FirstReport.PublicEmployees.pdf
Candidacy filings for president http://www.fec.gov/press/resources/2016presidential_form2pty.shtml
Debbie Wasserman Schultz's primary challenger Tim Canova https://timcanova.com/

NSFW

*Music is brought to you by Bensound.com