The reconciliation procedure is a little-used legislative procedure — 19 times, it’s been used. It’s for the purpose of taxing, spending, and reducing deficits. But the difference here is, that there’s never been anything of this size and magnitude and complexity run through the Senate in this way. There are a lot of technical problems with it, which we could discuss. It would turn the Senate, it would really be the end of the Senate as a protector of minority rights, the place where you have to get consensus, instead of just a partisan majority.I'm pretty sure that having 59 votes is considered a "consensus" anywhere in the world except the stupid United States Senate with its 41 members who don't want it to do anything until they have control once again.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
It's only disastrous when the other side uses it
Lying hypocrite Lamar Alexander on the use of reconciliation, an actual procedure in the United States Senate which is perfectly legitimate and has been used by the Republicans on many occasions to pass their own agenda:
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2 comments:
So why didn't they vote on such a spectacularly wonderful piece of legislation back when they had a full 60 votes?
Those mean old Republicans and their 39-vote filibusters...
Uh, they did.
Not that it's spectacular, it isn't nearly as good as it could be. But the House passed a bill and the Senate passed a bill. All the Republicans have done is say no.
And regardless of your feelings about the legislation, you can't really deny that the Republicans are being hypocritical about reconciliation when they've used it many times.
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