This past Sunday we had a chance to talk to Senator Blumenthal at a fundraiser in West Mystic. We asked him about the filibuster, an issue on which his position when elected was good, and on which he’s stood firm.
Today we’ve seen yet another example of Republican misuse of the filibuster, or, as it’s come to be known to our nation’s press, “blocking”. (Why, one must wonder, is the less precise word used in place of the reality?) Besides making it standard operating procedure, they’ve also made it standard operating procedure to lie about their motivations. One meme they’ve been spreading: Obama is engaged in court packing by appointing judges to fill vacancies in the DC circuit. That’s the opposite of court packing, but close enough for our media to allow the Republicans to spread the meme.
Apparently, Reid is keeping the threat of “going nuclear” alive. It’s really about time to pull the trigger. The filibuster does us no good, even when we’re in the minority, since Democrats won’t use it for anything important, and are easily shamed into dropping the tactic. Senator Blumenthal told us that he was one of 17 (all Democrats, mostly relatively newly elected) who voted to get rid of the filibuster. He told us that his Democratic colleagues told him that he didn’t understand, that if the shoe were on the other foot the Democrats would need the filibuster in order, for instance, to prevent confirmation of a judge who would overturn Roe v. Wade. “Or”, I said, “judges that might hand the government over to the corporations or overturn the Voting Rights Act”. He agreed with my observation, even referring to it in the brief speech he gave to the attendees. The fact is, as recent Supreme Court history demonstrates, that Democrats did nothing to stop the nominations of people who presented a clear and present danger to this nation. Both Alito and Roberts were known to be corporate tools. Both were known to be hostile to minorities. Both were known to be sure votes to overturn Roe. No one breathed a word about filibuster, or if anyone did, it was with a very shallow breath.
So, it’s time for Reid to activate that nuclear device. The Republicans will conclude soon enough, if he leaves it unused, that it will never be used.
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