The Filibustering “Party of No”
On Saturday, December 12, Senate Democrats were once again forced to end a Republican filibuster that threatened to hold up voting on a crucial, year-end spending bill. This time, the Republicans had their noses out of joint concerning the approval of a $1.1 trillion spending bill that provided operating funds for Medicare, Medicaid and many other programs that had been cut back or eliminated by the Bush Administration. The spending bill combines six of the twelve spending bills that Congress had been unable to pass separately because of Republican roadblocks. As usual, the Republicans who fought the bill used the ballooning national debt as an excuse to deny funding to critical government programs that provide greatly needed services to millions of American families. The attempted filibuster was nothing more than another attempt by the “Party of no” to stop the Obama Administration from fulfilling the agenda that it was elected to accomplish by the vast majority of Americans just one short year ago.
Now that the Republicans have been silenced, it is expected that the funding bill will be passed by the Senate and enacted into law on Sunday.
The inability of Congress to achieve even a modicum of bi-partisanship on something as simple and routine as a spending bill that keeps government services flowing is a troubling sign of the times we live in. The use of the filibuster to block legislation, which used to be used prudently and infrequently, is now an “everyday” weapon in the arsenal of Republicans, dead-set on bringing down the Obama Administration, and the rest of the country along with it. The divisions between the political parties have never been deeper, and the probability of compromise over the coming months is growing ever dimmer. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people is now under constant threat from a small group of forty, predominantly rich (Republican) white guys, who believe that the interests of the special interests should be placed above the interests of the people.
As America inches ever closer to the 2010 mid-term elections, it would be good to remember how blatantly and defiantly the Republicans have worked against almost everything that the voters elected the Obama Administration to accomplish over the past two years. It’s time for Democrats and middle class Americans across the country to say “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
—Rich
After centuries of being “the norm” of society, rich white guys are having a difficult time accepting that they are indeed a special interest group. It’s not surprising that they use every tool they can to try and protect their privilege and power.
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I hope that this is a sign that the Democrats have stopped backing down from the mere threat of a filibuster and have started to let them actually try it. Once they begin beating the filibusters, they’ll become less of a weapon.
There is no sense in trying to appease the Republicans; they have no intention of cooperating with anything. Cast them aside and do what we Democrats elected them to do.
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I’m mad as hell etc etc…..
The Republicans make me sick. Look at all they have done against the will of the people..
#1 Those disgusting people are send 30,000 more troops into a unwinable war that we all voted against
#2 No use of diplomacy to settle any problems
#3 Guantanamo is still open
#4 No health care “reform” in this new health care entitlement bill
#5 No hope of balancing the budget
#6 No new taxes to soak those wretched rich people
#7 No “public option” in the health care bill
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ChrisJ,
What is most surprising of all is that they get re-elected time after time.
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bluzdude,
I agree with you completely. There is no desire for the spirit of bipartisanship among the Republican Party, therefore the Democrats should simply write them off as irrelevant.
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John,
The Republicans make me sick too!
1. They started unwindable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, then left the Democrats to clean up the mess.
2. The Republicans would much prefer to use threats than diplomacy. Thank goodness Obama, who won the Nobel Peace prize, is doing things differently.
3. Thank goodness Obama is shutting down Gitmo (a national disgrace) and moving forward with trials.
4. You are right. The republicans have done everything they can to stall health care reform. What can one expect from the “Party of Filibuster”?
5. Unfortunately, the Republicans left a real financial mess when they were booted out of office. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, combined with the war in Iraq resulted in mind-boggling deficits.
It’s a good thing that the best candidate the Republicans can muster is Sarah Barracuda.
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Absolutely! Just because two thirds of the American people do not favor the present health reform bill is no reason for the Republicans not to support it. Why do those stupid Republicans think the people know what is good for them?
Likewise with the war! The people knew the Viet Nam war was stupid long before the politicians. Once again the people know the present war is stupid but this is no reason for the Republicans to obstruct Obama sending another 30,000 troops there.
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Don’t you love the way Republicans have made the Democrats move to the center, then voted against the compromises, making Democrats again look stupid and weak? Don’t Democrats ever learn from their own mistakes? And not only that–
They pull the Democrats to the center, vote No, then come on talk shows and say how Obama is failing in his bi-partisanship ambitions.
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John,
It is more important to remember that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that health care reform is necessary! The Republicans’ refusal to work with the Congressional majority in crafting a bill that will work for everyone has put the whole process in jeopardy.
The war in Afghanistan is a whole different story. In this case, the overwhelming majority of Americans do not want to increase U.S. forces because they see no “light at the end of the tunnel”. However, plenty of Republicans, like John McCain, want to see the war escalated. I think Obama did the best he could, given the circumstances.
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OM,
You have certainly gotten to the heart of the matter. The Republicans in this Congress have shown absolutely no regard for bi-partisanship. Time and time again they have shown more interest in bringing down Obama than in doing what’s best for the American people. The attempted filibuster of the “funding bill” is a perfect example. Without this bill, the funding of Social Security and Medicare would be in jeopardy, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the forty white, rich guys that make up the Republican side of the U.S. Senate. They simply say “Let them eat cake”.
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The Republicans stuck their heads in the sand (I’m being generous here) about Afghanistan, and given their criticism, I can only assume they would have done the same with health care and the banking crisis. They should just replace that elephant with an ostrich. If McCain had won, we’d still be going full bore in Iraq, we’d be bailing out the insurance companies, and our ATM cards would no longer work.
1/3 of people favor the health care bill. 1/3 of people call themselves Republicans. Hmmm. I love symmetry.
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I’m glad they did. Democrats will pay for sending this country further into debt.
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What is the “spirit of bipartisanship”? I’m assuming it’s doing everything the other side wants done just like they did when the Reps controlled Congress.
The massive debt and spending the Dems are pushing along with the billions of dollars of wealth transfer they are causing will destroy our country. I thought that the ideas was to pass the country on to the next generation in better shape then when we got it. These politicians (both sides) but right now the Dems more so, are wrecking it and instead of uniting to oppose the insanity were are fiddling.
Please explain HOW Americas health care system will be BETTER if this passes. And don’t say more people will be covered. That doesn’t make the care better. Who here has read the bill? Even if you tried to read it would you understand it?? NOOOOO! You will be told by some bureaucrat what it means when you go to use it only to find yourself or a family member shut out because of something on page 1454, paragraph sixteen, line five, sub line B. Yeah, good luck with that. And to think its come to this because a Senator from LA is getting a fat check for 300 million bucks, Leiberman is teetering and the people of Minnesota elected a diaper wearing moron to Congress. They will give us what we deserve.
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Carpetbagger,
Replace the Republican elephant with an ostrich? I love it!
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Harrison,
I have no doubt that, come election time, the Republicans will blame all the financial woes of America on Obama. They will forget the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the deficit-financed war in Iraq, which drove the national debt through the roof. They will forget that Obama inherited this recession, and did everything he could to stop the total meltdown of the banking system. Unfortunately, many voters will hold their noses and vote for the “Party of No” in 2012.
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Paladin,
The “spirit of bi-partisanship” is not doing everything the other side wants done. It is working together to enact legislation that is in the best interests of the American people. Health care reform is clearly in the best interests of the American people.
As far as the national debt is concerned, the biggest “transfer of wealth” in American history was the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. It set the stage for all the massive deficits that were to follow, including the trillion dollars spent on the pointless war in Iraq.
The America that is passed on to future generations may not be as wealthy as the America of the post-WWII era. This has very little to do with Obama, or any politician, and everything to do with decades of trade deficits funded by trillions of dollars of debt. America has been on a fifty-year spending binge that has resulted in a massive transfer of wealth overseas. Well, the party’s nearly over, because all we have left in the “seed corn”.
As long as America is a democracy with a capitalistic economic system, it will be Adam Smith that’s in charge, and not any particular politician. Right now, Adam Smith is telling us that there will be no job growth without growth in productivity (i.e. GNP). The only other option is to sell the seed corn, and let the chips fall where they may.
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This country is drowning in debt. Obama has spent more money than all previous presidents combined. The American people will punish him and his party as they should.
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How can passing a 2000 page bill that is written in Alien be in the best interest of the American people. We are going to leave it up to some Bureaucrat behind some desk to tell us what it means. I don’t think so. We wouldn’t be in this mess if the politicians would stop screwing around with the Adam Smith model and quit trying to make everyone equal economically speaking that is. The only way that can be done is to take from those working and give to those not. There appears to be no real effort to allow job creation. Notice I didn’t say to create jobs, I said to allow for job creation…ther is a difference. If only they would allow for the private sector to get rolling and get the h*ll out of the way .
I agree Iraq was a mistake How in blazes did 435+100+1 allow it to happen? Something fishy I suspect. We can’t seem to ever learn from the lessons of History. The final blows will be Cap and Trade/Tax and the Health Care debacle. None of these politicians are our friends. You name 10 idiot Republicans, I will name 20 idiot Democrats, then you name 15 more, then I will name 25 more and so on. DING DING DING can we all wake up and smell the roses?
OH NO I got to go Nancy Grace is talking about Tiger’s Mistresses again. After all what’s more important?
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