Progressives, liberals and left of center politicians have teamed up to radically curtail the rights of Republican Senators in the next Congress. They have a plan to “kill the filibuster,” so that they can establish a top down system of control next year in the Senate. This plan to kill the filibuster will stifle dissent and relegate Republican Senators to observer status in the newly reformed Senate. If you thought that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ran a tight ship during her tenure, get ready for a Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) willing to obstruct all Republican opportunities to offer amendments and extend debate.
The left is promoting a myth that the filibuster can be changed with merely 51 votes. Progressive Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote over at the Washington Post demanding that liberal Senators rid the Senate of Rule 22 by a simple majority vote in the new Congress. This is nothing more than a naked power grab by the left so they can confirm far left wing nominees to the Courts and to establish complete control over the agenda of the United States Senate.
The Senate’s rules are constitutional. According to Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, “each house may determine the rule of its proceedings.” Senate Rule 22 sets up a procedure for debate to be curtailed with a three-fifths vote (60) of Senators. This rule has been in place since 1917 when the Senate had a 2/3rds requirement to shut off debate. Furthermore, the Senate was set up as a continuing body with only one third of Senators seats up for election every two years pursuant to Article 1, Section 3. The left is promoting a fallacy and they hope that the media does not question the baseless assertion that the filibuster is unconstitutional.
The official Senate web site puts forth one historical perspective of the Senate as a continuing body.
