Politics Plus

Filibuster reform is a common topic here, because Republicans have abused the Filibuster to turn the Senate into a body where the minority rules.  I won’t detail in now, but for recent PP articles on filibuster reform, look here, here, and here.  There is a one day window to bring minority rule to an end in the Senate.  That day is January 5.  Unless we have 51 votes (including VP Biden if necessary) on that day, nothing will change.  So I am passing on this petition I received in email.  Please sign it.

Are you as angry about the broken Senate as we are? In the movies, in order to filibuster, Senators have to stand in the Senate and make their case to the American people. But in the modern Senate, a filibuster takes no such act of principle or courage. Senators can filibuster simply by placing a phone call to a clerk and heading off to dinner!

This January 5th, we have a chance to change the rules of the Senate, and make Senators engage in an all night talk-a-thon in order to block legislation or nominations. We can make the filibuster a real filibuster, and put an end to obstruction for the sake of obstruction. The key is to adopt new rules on the first day the Senate convenes next year, when only a simple majority of Senators is required for a rules change.

We’re fighting with some dedicated colleagues to make this happen, but to get across the finish line, we need members of the Daily Kos community to show their support. You can do so by signing the petition Daily Kos has created in support of making the filibuster real.

Senators need to hear from their constituents on this. As such, we will use your support of this effort to make the case to other Senators that we must reform the filibuster on January 5th.

Join us, and Daily Kos, in support of making the filibuster a real filibuster. We can put an end to obstruction for the sake of obstruction, but your support is key.

Keep fighting,

Senator Jeff Merkley

Senator Tom Udall

If you have already signed twenty like it, please sign one more.  They need to be reminded.  This is just two weeks from today!

Volunteer Firefighting goes back a long way with me.  I started at age fifteen as a member of my High School’s volunteer firefighting unit.  Since then, I’ve been a volunteer firefighter in four different states.  I know what it is to enter burning buildings to rescue unconscious people and to recover people too far gone to save.  I know what it is to use a stream 2 1/2” line to cool a LNG tank adjacent to a burning building, knowing that in a BLEVE (when the pressure breaches the tank it blows up), I would not survive.  I know the fear.  But the things I did do not begin to hold a candle to the courage and dedication displayed by 9/11 first responders.  Yet Republicans continue to block the legislation to provide care for the health effects of their heroism.  The excuses are bold faced lies.

Pressure has been mounting on Republicans to relax their opposition to a bill to would provide health benefits to 9/11 first responders after Senate Republicans unanimously filibustered it earlier this month, but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told Politico yesterday that he will likely block the measure yet again. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said last night that the Senate must act immediately to complete the bill in order to allow enough time for the House to pass the same version before Congress recesses for Christmas. “[I]if you’re going to send us anything that we need to deal with, send it, frankly, by [Tuesday],” Hoyer told The Hill.

But appearing on Fox News this morning, Coburn defended his decision to obstruct the bill, saying he is upset with the process, and claiming that the bill was never considered by a congressional committee, and that there was never a hearing on it. Watch it:

 

Despite Coburn’s claim, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee did in fact hold a hearing on the bill in June — and Coburn should know as he sits on that committee… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

Democrats even changed funding source of the bill, so that it would no longer close the loophole to benefit foreign corporations, when they outsource American jobs, so Republicans no longer have that excuse.  It comes down to pure greed and corruption.  Every penny spent on deserving heroes is a penny Republicans can’t give to millionaires.