Thread: The Filibuster That Stole Christmas

December 16, 2010by Faiz Shakir, Benjamin Armbruster, George Zornick, Zaid Jilani, Alex Seitz-Wald, and Tanya Somanader

CONGRESS

The Filibuster That Stole Christmas

For nearly a year, Congress has discussed and publicly debated the DREAM Act, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and the new START treaty -- three major Democratic priorities. The debate has occurred on television, in committees, on the Senate floor, and a variety of other forums. First introduced in 2001, the DREAM Act was considered three times this year, finally securing passage in the House last week. Proposed in 2005, DADT repeal has been considered in committee or voted on at least five times this year. First presented to the Senate in April, the New START treaty has been President Obama's major foreign policy priority for the last eight months. Now in the waning days of the lame duck session, the Senate has failed to secure passage of a single one of these items. The primary reason: the GOP's continuing pattern of obstruction. On top of leaving 38 judicial nominations pending, Senate Republicans are proffering excuse after excuse to "run out the clock" on this publicly-supported agenda all in their effort to permanently hobble Obama. And when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) attempted to address Republican concerns about time by staying in session, Republicans conjured up a religious-based attack lambasting Democrats for using Christmas as a "bargaining chip." All this could be filed under "business as usual," if it weren't for the fact that this GOP's strategy now threatens a government shutdown. Many Republicans are now threatening to obstruct and oppose the omnibus spending bill -- despite inserting their own earmarks into the legislation -- in order to wrest control of the budget process early next year. Displaying the ultimate hypocrisy, Senate Republicans risk shutting down vital services to obstruct any measure -- including their own -- all for political control.

TIME IS UP: Intent on blocking any Democratic priority, Senate Republicans unleashed a litany of superficial excuses to prevent consideration of these particular measures. When Democrats first included DADT repeal and the DREAM Act in the defense authorization bill, Republicans like Sens. John McCain (AZ) and Scott Brown (MA) assailed the move as "playing politics" with troops by turning a military funding bill into "a forum for the social agenda of the liberal left." Ignoring the fact that such insertions are both common practice and were entirely germane, Republicans lodged procedural complaints and whittled away work hours while simultaneously failing to fund the military for first time in 48 years. Now, pushed to address what they sought to put off, Republicans have thrown an ironic excuse into the cogs of the lame duck session -- there's no time left. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) blocked a DADT repeal this week by repeatedly demanding more time to consider amendments. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) believed DADT should be repealed but voted against it to wait for a "reasonable process." But Republicans rebuked Reid's reasonable offer on process, compelling an exasperated Reid to exclaim, "they say we need to wait and we need as much time as possible to debate the bill -- you can't do both." Supporters of repealing DADT say they have the 60 votes necessary to move forward on the bill. The Republican waffling over the New START treaty, however, best exemplifies the GOP's sole intent to stall. While enjoying near unanimous support from the military, public, and every living Secretary of State, the GOP's point man Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) consistently objects to the treaty's consideration because of a need for time -- since last February. Adding irony to the insult, Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), who missed 7 of the 12 hearings on START, threatened to force the Senate clerk to read the entire treaty out loud to give Senators more time to debate -- a move that would cost the Senate an entire day. Though he eventually called off the threat, DeMint's office candidly admitted that, rather than for principle, DeMint made the threat merely as a "tool" to "slow down the process." Aware that obstructing START would "make it harder" for the Senate to repeal DADT and pass DREAM, DeMint gave the clearest articulation of GOP priorities yet: "What I'm trying to do is help run out the clock."

WAR ON PRE-CHRISTMAS: To gut this strategy of "maximum delay," Reid responded with "countermeasures of maximum work" this week by promising to "bring back the Senate after Christmas" to resolve any unfinished business. Their primary strategy threatened, Kyl and DeMint found their next excuse to stall in God -- more specifically, Christmas. Aghast that Reid would disrespect "one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians," Kyl turned resistance to the Democratic agenda into "a religious calling." DeMint answered, dubbing Reid's plans to make Senators vote on START or the omnibus bill before Christmas "sacrilegious." Equally offended by their "sanctimonious" indignation, Reid pointed out that "millions of working Americans," unlike senators, "don't get two weeks off on any time, let alone Christmas week." "We could work, as most Americans do, during the holidays," he added. Vice President Joe Biden, a devout Roman Catholic, put it a bit more bluntly, "There's 10 days between now and Christmas. I hope I don't get in the way of your Christmas shopping, but this is the nation's business." Angry at Reid for calling out his "whining," Kyl defended his position by insisting that while Senators have worked over the Christmas holidays before, they should not have to now because of "the needs of our constituents to see us back home." While some might find that excuse humorous, many Christian leaders found Kyl and DeMint's Christmas excuse to be "a misuse of the Christian holiday" and "patently unbiblical." "For two Senators who have steadfastly opposed this on political grounds to now use Christmas to justify their position is a cynical manipulation of religion in the worst possible way," said Sojourners' Rev. Jim Wallis.

SEASON OF SHUTDOWN: In bemoaning the Senate agreement to consider START, Kyl said "the next order of business should be to fund the government" before funding runs out this Saturday, "and then if there's time before the Christmas holiday" all the other issues can be considered. Indeed, all 42 Republicans made it clear that they would obstruct any agenda outside of the Bush tax cuts and government funding. But when the GOP finally has a $1.2 trillion omnibus bill to consider, DeMint is once again threatening to force the Senate clerk to read the 1,900 page bill on the Senate floor -- a move that would derail the entire lame duck session and could bring about a government shutdown. Having signed up for an earmark moratorium, the GOP argument against passing their previously-touted priority is the bill's $8 billion in earmarks. Ironically, the senators lambasting the bill are the same senators who asked for the earmarks in the first place. As Reid's aide pointed out, supposed outrage over a hasty package means the GOP "must have forgotten that spending requests have been online for six months, that this bill was put together in bipartisan fashion, and that government-directed spending has decreased by 75 percent since Democrats took control of the Senate." But even the one-year continuing resolution that eliminates all earmarks and limits spending that the House passed last week got "a decidedly cold reception from Senate Republicans." "I am not going to vote for the omnibus, and, from what I hear about the CR, I don't think it looks very good either," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). As with START, Firedoglake's David Dayen notes that Republicans' real motivation to vote against the bill is more likely political than principled: "they want to create a situation where the government can only be funded for a short time, so that the next Congress, which is more Republican, can get their hands on the budget earlier than October 1, 2011." This kind of posturing proves that the GOP will obstruct absolutely any initiative -- including their own legislation and their own agenda -- for power.

http://pr.thinkprogress.org/

YES! YES! YES! We are the Patriot Grinches who stole Christmas back from the traitors who have ruined our country, because all we want for Christmas is our country back so we can fix it. And, by God and as God and the American Voters are our witness, we're going to do everything within our legal, "superficial", "hypocritical", "sanctimonious" "power-seeking", "politics playing" butts to do just that!

And please don't tell me it took 6 authors to write this stupid piece of non-journalism attacking Republicans for executing the will of the American People.

YOU GO REPUBLICANS! YOU GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! DELAY! DELAY! DELAY! DELAY! Bring this treasonous Congressional lame buck session to its rightful end empty-handed. We'll convene in January with a new Congress, a restored soul and a refreshed spirit to do what is right every single time for the American People, because this time we will not only listen to the American Voters, we will execute their will, by all means necessary, whatever tactics are required!

LETS GO AMERICA!

In Unison:

All I Want For Christmas Is My Country Back, My Country Back, My Country Back!

If I were a Repbulican in office I would bring forth a bill that would ban lame duck sessions. If they are voted out that means we don't have confidence in their ability to govern so why would we want them making last minute important decisions. those in Nv that voted Reid back in should be haning their heads in shame.

Originally Posted by Judy

YES! YES! YES! We are the Patriot Grinches who stole Christmas back from the traitors who have ruined our country, because all we want for Christmas is our country back so we can fix it. And, by God and as God and the American Voters are our witness, we're going to do everything within our legal, "superficial", "hypocritical", "sanctimonious" "power-seeking", "politics playing" butts to do just that!

And please don't tell me it took 6 authors to write this stupid piece of non-journalism attacking Republicans for executing the will of the American People.

YOU GO REPUBLICANS! YOU GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! DELAY! DELAY! DELAY! DELAY! Bring this treasonous Congressional lame buck session to its rightful end empty-handed. We'll convene in January with a new Congress, a restored soul and a refreshed spirit to do what is right every single time for the American People, because this time we will not only listen to the American Voters, we will execute their will, by all means necessary, whatever tactics are required!

LETS GO AMERICA!

In Unison:

All I Want For Christmas Is My Country Back, My Country Back, My Country Back!

okay now you got me singing and that is not pretty

Just out of curiosity, how would go about banning lame duck sessions? Would you need the President's signature, is it more of a procedural move that Congress could take on its own?

It definitely needs to be addressed. Why should these people be able to make long term laws/provisions when they are on their way out the door - no matter what the reason?

Originally Posted by alisab

It definitely needs to be addressed. Why should these people be able to make long term laws/provisions when they are on their way out the door - no matter what the reason?

The new members of the House of Commons are up and running within a day of the election results. I'm not generally a fan of parliamentary democracy, but the UK seems to have the right idea in this regard.