Gimme my filibuster back!

November 18, 2006

Guest Post by Michael J.W. Stickings

Remember how the Senate Republicans talked about doing away with the filibuster? Well, disingenuous hypocrites that they are, it looks like they may want to use it now that they’re back in the minority.

According to Crooks and Liars, which has the video, Sen. James Inhofe has “threatened to filibuster any legislation on Climate Change”.

As I wrote yesterday, Inhofe is an exceedingly dangerous idiot, much more even that I had previously thought. And now we have yet more evidence that he wants to take us all down with him.

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UPDATE: McConnell likes the filibuster, too — for judicial nominations, no less.

Frankly, it would be easy to fix all the filibuster shit. Make them all do it the old fashioned way. If you want to filibuster, fine — stand in the well of the Senate and talk. When you stop, we vote. This bullshit dance of equating the threat of a filibuster with the real thing makes it way too easy to use.

  • Let’s send Sen. Inhofe up to the arctic to save some of the drowning polar bears…

    (What an idiot!)

  • But the good news is that climate legislation might actually have a chance of making out of committe. The bad news is that our “growth at any cost” economy will mandate that any legislation coming out of Congress will not be effective in reducing CO2 to a meaningful level. The economy is “talking Gore” but “practicing Inhofe”. And we go to war with the earth with the economy we have.

    And by even reading these words, you are emitting CO2, most likely from a coal burning power plant.

  • Try to be fair Michael. They were only going to do away with the Filibuster on judicial nominees.

    Then of course Executive nominees.

    Then doubtlessly they’d want to stop filibusters on appropriations.

    Then the budget…

    Well, maybe you are being fair 😉

  • Inhohe’s threat is like his head: empty. I believe there would be enough votes for cloture should this douchebag ever try this stunt for real. One thing seems certain – he’s no Strom Thurmond.

  • I must take this moment to congratulate Senator Inhofe for demonstrating so clearly that all slurs do have a basis in at least some small sliver of reality somewhere, in his case, he clearly demonstrates the etymology of “Okie.” And yes, he certainly is a small sliver of something, but I’m not sure how real it is.

  • I know it is frustrating living on the same planet as these yahoos, but it is imperative that we do more than simply roll our eyes, call them idiots, and make snarky comments.

    Just because we think these people are fools, doesn’t mean the debate has ended. It is just beginning.

    What is interesting about the climate change deniers is that, typical for wing-nuts, their arguments change over time. We can not let them get away with their intellectual dishonesty.

    For instance, deniers used to flat out argue that climate change was entirely a hoax, but now — as the evidence mounts against them — they, like Inhofe, usually simply argue the threat is not “manmade.” Inhofe even goes so far as to imply that if warming is occuring it is a reflection of God’s wishes.

    But should we publicly stand for doing nothing in the face of non-manmade, natural threats? Of course not. Is an asteroid hurtling towards the Earth “manmade”? Is a tsunami “manmade”? No, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prepare for those threats and mitigate against their hazards.

    My other point is that we really, really, realy need to pin these yahoos down on exactly what the fuck they are claiming is still up for debate. What is their scientific theory?

    To that extent, I welcome an open debate on the Senate floor. Make Inhofe answer the following questions:

    If “the Sun” is causing global warming, how specificallly is it occurring? Is the Earth closer to the Sun than in the past? Is the Sun producing more radiation? Or is the Sun itself — through some previously unknown process — producing greenhouse gases on Earth?

    What is your understanding of the effects of increased gases greenhouse gases? Do you deny that there is a correlation between CO2 and methane in the atmosphere and temperature increases?

    Do you deny that there is a measurable increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?

    If not, what do you claim is the source of the increase, if not from mankind?

    With regard to the effects of global warming, regardless of the cause, do you deny that there is currently severe melting of the glaciers and the polar icecaps?

    Do you deny that, regardless of the cause, continued melting will cause the oceans to rise, in many cases catastrophically?

    Do you deny that, regardless of the cause, continued temperature increases will have severe, and in many cases catastrophic, consequences on food production, disease vectors, and the world economies, generally?

  • Inhofe is a dangerous idiot. No doubt about that. But this would definitely be a fight I would like to see. Democrats should take him up on it.

  • I don’t disagree with you, space. Like CalD, I think Democrats need to address this issue and force these clowns to defend themselves. It’s too easy to go on Fox and lie.

  • Give to them, as they gave to us. They so much as threaten filibuster, and we threaten “the Nuclear Option.”

    Also, they no longer have the power to hold the vote open until they can strong-arm enough votes to give them what they want. Dems hold the majority. Dems hold the magic key, by offering disgruntled, moderate-leaning GOPhers the opportunity to “cross the aisle” (which doubles as the key to keeping Joe Lie in line).

    If Dems can muster the cojones to push these bullies back—and push them hard, with the fervor they have employed over the past several years—then the world will finally see what a cluster of cowering, whimpering ReThuglicans, huddled in the cold rain of a Washington Winter, really looks like….

  • If this is the way the Repubs are going to try and regain their majority in both houses then acting like hypocritical assholes isn’t the best way to do it.

    I find it amusing the amount of hysteria coming out of Inhofe’s mouth lately. I guess his overlord/puppeteer is not amused and worries about possible investigations into Climate warming because it might lead to more questions into business practises…

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