Filibuster Angst

It appears that negotiations between Majority Leader Frist and Harry Reid on a deal for Bush’s judicial nominees that would grant concessions to the Democrats while avoiding a filibuster have broken down. AP reports:

"I've tried to compromise and they want all or nothing, and I can't do that," Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada told reporters after a private meeting with Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

"We both agreed that after several months of discussions, we have been unable to come to a negotiated position where the president's nominees get an up-or-down vote," Frist said.

I think Reid forgets his place when he speaks about the Republicans wanting “all or nothing”. It is Reid who is the minority leader, not Frist, and it was the American people who voted for a Republican majority. Liberals seem to think that the Republican controlled House, Senate, and White House are some chance aberration that they need only to wait out. Democrats have zero respect for constitutional tenets of majority-rule and have only parliamentary jockeying to turn to as an agenda.

Americans need to understand that Senate filibuster rules were made up in the Senate and are an artificial precept, existing outside the US constitution. Harry Reid and the Democrats love to talk about the “separation of powers” when the topic of abusive filibustering comes up. This demonstrates either complete ignorance on the part of the Democrats, or their own perception of Americans as being ignorant of the constitution.

Whatever the case may be, Republicans have failed to explain these democratic precepts to the American people. And it’s too bad, because the fact that we must now resort to rule changes in the Senate is indicative of the eroding civility in Washington. The Senate is supposed to be a place of tradition, where gentlemen are able to work with each other to serve the nation. Now, with the militant left calling the shots for the Democrats, all civility has been tossed out the Senate window.

The ability to filibuster may have served a useful purpose at one time, but it has been so abused by the Democrats in the Senate that it is now a tool for trivial partisan obstruction. And that too is a shame. While majority rule should be respected in the Senate, there should be procedures that a minority can apply in extreme circumstances to force extra debate on important issues.