Congratulations to the record-breaking Senate GOP — Most. Obstructionist. Ever.

December 19, 2007

For quite a while, many of us have wondered whether Republican officials in Washington have any apparent talents at all. Governing is clearly not their strong suit, but are they completely without skills?

Absolutely not. The 49-member Senate Republican minority has done something no Senate minority in American history has ever done: they’ve filibustered more bills than any Congress ever has — and they broke the record with a full year to spare.

The latest came this morning, when the Senate GOP filibustered an omnibus budget bill, the 62nd Republican filibuster since the 110th Congress began in January.

“In just one session, a minority in Congress has prevented a mind-blowing 62 pieces of legislation from going to the floor for an up or down vote,” said Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey. “Our report shows how over and over again, the uncompromising minority has thwarted the will of majorities in Congress and of the American people, holding the Senate floor hostage to a radical right-wing agenda.” […]

Eric Lotke, Campaign for America’s Future research director and lead author of the new report, calls the obstruction a “deliberate strategy.” He observes that the congressional Republicans block legislation, then blame the Democrats for getting nothing done. “It’s like mugging the postman and then complaining that the mail isn’t delivered on time.”

Brian Young, noting the historic quality of the achievement, added, “Only a group with a near-pathological disregard for the actual health of our democracy, only a group with a single-minded focus on the cynical political strategies of their consultants, only a group with an imperious disdain for the people of the country could’ve pulled off such a feat.”

Quite right. This was a record that wasn’t meant to be broken. The “Roadblock Republican” label is not meant as a compliment.

Back in April, Trent Lott conceded publicly, “The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail … and so far it’s working for us.”

Bill Scher reminds us that it may be working for the GOP, but it’s failing for everyone else.

What have conservatives obstructed this year? Here’s just a partial list:

— Ending the disastrous occupation of Iraq.
— Providing health insurance to millions more kids.
— Empowering Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.
— Taking away handouts to Big Oil so we can invest in renewable energy.
— Repealing the effective ban on embryonic stem cell research.
— Investing more in health research.
— Making it easier for workers to join unions.
— Investing more in fighting poverty and training workers.

Is obstructing all of that popular legislation “working” for Republicans?

If Congress’ approval rating is any indication, the answer is no.

But it’s the speed with which the Republicans broke the record that really amazes me. The previous record took two years to accomplish; these guys broke the record in half the time. That’s like breaking the single-season home-run record before the All-Star break.

And by the way, just for good measure, let’s answer the trivia question. When was the previous record set? That would be the 107th Congress — the last time Republicans were in the minority.

It took a while, but we’ve finally found what the minority party is good at. Congratulations, Republicans, for undermining the legislative process, the will of the people, and a much-needed policy agenda to a literally historic degree.

December 19, 2007 at 2:24 pm

Congratulations to the Democrats, who made it this easy to achieve…

I will be waiting with baited breath for a single media report that will underline this amazing occurance. Somehow the media will still try to blame the Dems by saying they are putting forward “one sided” legislation…watch and weep

I will be waiting with baited breath for a single media report that will underline this amazing occurance

Sadly, so will Democratic leadership – the party, the Congresscritters, and the Presidential Candidates who have the media’s attention right now.

By now if we don’t know that the media is not going to help us out, we’re even dumber than the other side of the aisle.

We have to figure out how to force the message out whether the media is willing to help or not. Blogs, viral, direct mail, purchased TV and newspaper ads, the campaign bully pulpit, visits back in the districts (and local media, who are much more anxious for help and much less gatekeeping than national media) – whatever, the Dems have to take responsibility for getting the word out themselves.

Send this piece to everyojne in your address book and ask each of them to do likewise!

You know what? If we had decent leadership I would be more appalled by this. As it stands, our “leadership” hasn’t done much that the average Progressive American would support wholeheartedly, so when the Republicans obstruct what our “leadership” deigns to put forth, I can’t say I feel like they’re obstructing anything that I feel very invested in.

I wish we had a multi-party system and that the party which represented me could also obstruct some of the shit Pelosi and Reid have been foisting off on us. But no, we have the “two party system” where you can have Coke or Pepsi, but that’s about the extent of our choices.

You don’t get the home run record at the All-Star break without a little help.
Here’s to you Democrats, for throwing meatball after meatball.

I no longer consider myself a member of the Democratic Party. They will get my vote for one reason only, they are the least destructive. If they can’t get past 62 pseudo-filibusters how are they going to play hardball in world politics ??

It’s no wonder R’s laugh at D’s for being weak, they are.

Once again, I have no problem with the GOP attempting to achieve such feats. The problem I have is with the vestigial media that fails the American public, once again in a long line of failures these past 7 years, by not properly, accurately and prominently reporting this story.

Hey …….I thought Republican believed that use of the filibuster was santanic…..or does that just apply to blocking conservative activist judges.

After a while, you begin to forget the rational arguments, the justifiable annoyance, toleration, and disgusted pity for the pathologically greedy and corrupt that seem to make up the power elites of this country. You forget peaceful debate and understand those who just want to grab a baseball bat and start whacking.

But let’s not forget – it isn’t as though they have actually filibustered anything – the THREAT has been enough to make Democratic leadership weak in the knees. No actual, real, dyed-in-the-wool filibusters necessary.

Whatever happened to “the nuclear option”?

Hasn’t the whole Republican Party flip-flopped here? Just a few years ago “up-or-down vote” was one of their guiding mantras.

I wonder if it’s occurred to the Republicans that this political weakness of Democrats, their inability to fight for their own causes, their constant drubbing by a minority opponent, might also impede their ability to stand strong for national defense and national security.

After all, if they can’t play hardball with the Republicans, how can they be trusted to deal with our enemies, to stand up for American interests?

So the Republicans are good at running smear campaigns and obstructing votes. What exactly are the Democrats good at?

Here’s hoping that Chris Dodd replaces Harry the Reid in the new year.

I say this over and over: Why don’t the Dems start talking up the nuclear option and how they’ve stuck to their princiles and the Republicans immediately abandoned theirs for political expediency? Why does no one ever mention this?????

Unfortunately, the same people complaining about the obstructionist Republicans in Congress think that Obama can come in and get everyone to hold hands and compromise and forget the past 25 years.

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I wonder how much of this record can be attributed to the media’s unwillingness to call cloture votes a “fillibuster” when it is the Republicans are the ones blocking an up-or-down vote.

“Obstructionist.” “Nuclear option.” “Majority rule.”
Funny how a slight change in numbers can make so many terms completely worthless and hollow. Not that they weren’t worthless and hollow to begin with, but the distinction is pretty jarring.

God, I am sooooo sick of the circular firing squad! The Dems have a ONE VOTE MAJORITY in the Senate – and that one vote is Joe “Endorsing McCain” Lieberman!!! Of course they can’t pass anything. What they can do, and have done, is stop the rubber-stamping of all the things Bush wants. That’s really all the best we can hope for right now – put some of the righteous “spineless Democrat” anger into a bigger majority or a Dem prez. Then, and only then, will you see some movement on these bills. That is the reality of politics, at least for now…

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Steve Benen sez: Is obstructing all of that popular legislation “working” for Republicans?

I dunno; is the Democrats’ running roughshod over the minority (reneging on their promises to work together, btw) working for them? Given their almost total lack of accomplishments and basement-level approval ratings, I’d say not so much.

“Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid never quite adapted to the reality of razor-thin majorities. Instead of attempting to split the Republicans by offering bipartisanship — which they pledged to do in the 2006 midterms — they immediately fell back on the same highly partisan tactics used by Republicans and Democrats alike in previous leadership of Congress. They shut out Republcans from the drafting of legislation, stacked the rules to limit amendments from the GOP, and in general acted as if they had a two-thirds majority in both chambers.”

Thus endeth the lesson for today.

Brecht sez: Hasn’t the whole Republican Party flip-flopped here? Just a few years ago “up-or-down vote” was one of their guiding mantras.

No. The fillibuster arguments of a few years ago related to the
fillibustering of judicial nominees, not bills in general.

It would be appreciated if those of you who don’t understand the impossibility of passing legislation when your majority is not sufficient to cut off debate, nor sufficient to over ride a presidential veto would kindly absent yourselves from comments on items such as this. It is the nature of our constitutional democracy that the Democrats are currently in an impossible situation. It is the nature of the influence exerted by the current ownership of our national media that the Democrats will never get traction for pointing out the fact that the Republicans minority is being outrageously obstructionist. There is no remedy for the current situation except the buying up of media by people with a more centrist or more progressive orientation and the future election of a sufficient majority in congress and/or a Democratic president. Nothing is going the fact that we’re stuck without the ability to do much for the next year. For those of you can’t seem to deal with this reality and think that complaining loudly enough is going to change it, I’d suggest you go find some cheese to enjoy with your whine. In fact, find some good bread, some good wine, some good cheese and settle in for a bit of relaxation. Then, in the new year, get up and go get some Democrats elected. You could make a difference. Keep attacking the Democrats for not being able to accomplish the impossible and and you might convince yourselves and your friends and neighbors to vote in ways that leave us with four more years of impossibility.

There is a third way to pass legislation, you know: Instead of this stupid “my way or the highway” mentality, the Democrats could (as they promised to do) work with the Republicans — instead of trying to grind them into the dirt. Like it or not, they too are elected by the American people. They have every right to stand on their principles and demand to be heard in Congress. How quickly the Democrats have forgotten this lesson from, oh, a couple of years ago.

If the Democrats are too stubborn, or stupid, to realize this, then gridlock will be with us for a long, long time. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m with Ben Franklin: “That government is best which governs least.”

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I saw this coming before the election and it’s everything I hoped and dreamed for. Yeah, America isn’t getting fixed, but the rate at which it is getting worse has been greatly slowed. Anyone with half a brain could see this obstructionism coming, because the republican will do everything and everything to blame the mess of the last seven years on lack of democratic leadership. Well, that political posturing is costing us two years but at leat that’s time where no divisive issues can arrise to keep tearing this country apart, maybe we’ll use that time to heal the division a bit. I’m one of thos few people who like’s this congress.

So some rightwing bloggers say “if only Dems had worked with Republicans some bills could have passed” while Trent Lott says it was the strategy from the outset. Thus, it is apparent that any consessions made by Dems would have been met by more Republicans demands and more filibusters. We need 60 Dem Senators.

John Dillinger sez: So some rightwing bloggers say “if only Dems had worked with Republicans some bills could have passed” while Trent Lott says it was the strategy from the outset.

Did he, now? Here’s what Lott said just a week ago:

“They [Democrats] never learned to accept the art of the possible,” said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., a former majority leader who is partisan but willing to work with Democrats. “They kept going right up to the limit and exceeding it, making it possible for us to defeat them, over and over again,” Lott said in an interview.

He cited the Democrats’ failed efforts to add billions of dollars to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which Bush vetoed twice because of the proposed scope and cost. A somewhat smaller increase was possible, Lott said, but Democrats refused to negotiate with moderate Republicans until it was too late.

“They thought, ‘We’re going to win on the politics, we’ll stick it to Bush,”‘ Lott said. “That’s not the way things happen around here.”

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Anyone who believes this administration is incompetent has to read Naomi Kleins book “Disaster Capitalism”.

After reading it you will see that almost all of the effects of this administration were and are by design. The purpose of this administration was to finally destroy everything the 20th century represented and return the USA to the laissez faire capitalism of the 19th century.

Using that metric, the Bush administration has been one of the most successful administrations of the last 30 years.

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