Why Not Kill the Filibuster?

I'm amazed at the handwringing and pearl clutching going on by Senate Democrats over what to do about the filibuster.

The Democrats have the razoriest of razor thin margins in a Senate evenly split between the two parties, with a simple majority when the Vice President, serving as President of the Senate, casts her vote. But nothing can be done because of the legislative dodge known as the filibuster, with which a single senator can completely stop any regular legislation with a simple phone call saying, in essence, "I don't like this." The problem is that the procedural motion of "cloture" is required to end a filibuster, and the invocation of cloture requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate ... utterly impossible in the face of a solid wall of Republican opposition to anything the administration wants to do*. 

In theory, the filibuster is a procedural device which allows representatives of the minority to delay action on controversial legislation to give them time to negotiate for their interests. In practice, however, it has allowed the minority to exercise absolute control over the legislative agenda by punitively blocking all regular legislation. It was a favored tactic of racist senators earlier in our history to block civil rights legislation, and this was its primary focus for much of the first two-thirds of the last century.

It has been pointed out by those who study such things that, of a total US population of approximately 330,000,000 in 2020, the 50 Democratic senators represent 41,549,800 more people than do the 50 Republican senators**, and yet routine use of the filibuster to block legislation gives them outsized power.

The filibuster is not - as is sometimes claimed by its proponents - enshrined in the Constitution, but is a creation of the Senate itself. Nevertheless, its use as a tactic goes back as far as the First Congress in 1789, as this overview by the Senate Historical Office points out. Because it is a procedural device created by the Senate, it can be modified ... or eliminated ... by a majority vote in the Senate.

This, some Senate Democrats appear to be afraid of doing. This goes beyond the personal political caution of Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia (a deep, deep red state) and Krysten Sinema of Arizona (a state which may be slowly purpling) to include others who fear the loss of the only defensive tool they may have in a future Republican-controlled Senate.

I don't find this to be a particularly persuasive argument. President Biden's agenda appears to be extremely popular with the majority of Americans, according to reliable polling data, and is opposed by Republicans for exactly that reason. They are afraid that if the Biden agenda is enacted, average Americans will realize the advantage of having a government that actually works in their favor, rather than one which advantages big business and the wealthy ... and will vote accordingly. Given the political machinations of Senator Mitch McConnell both as Majority and Minority Leader, can there be any doubt that he would eliminate the filibuster in a heartbeat if necessary?

Reform of the filibuster is a possible option, perhaps by allowing the invocation of cloture with a simple majority rather than a two-thirds supermajority, but even this is unlikely given the inflexible opposition to President Biden by Senate Republicans.

It's time for the Democrats in the Senate to show some spine and pull together to kill the filibuster and move forward with an agenda for the American people.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

 

Bilbo

* Let us not forget that it was Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who said he was completely focused on stopping the agenda of President Biden, regardless of how much the American people as a whole may approve of it. What he actually said was, "One-hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration ... We're confronted with severe challenges from a new administration, and a narrow majority of Democrats in the House and a 50-50 Senate to turn America into a socialist country, and that's 100 percent of my focus."

** It's worth remembering that many of the Senate Republicans represent conservative states which are very large in area, but relatively small in population ... the makeup of the Senate which gives each state two seats regardless of population therefore - as the framers intended - favors the interests of states with smaller populations to balance out the advantage in the House of the larger states.

Could We Do D-Day Today?

CNN anchor Jim Scuitto posed a very interesting question on Twitter last Sunday, the 77th anniversary of D-Day, the allied attack on Normandy during World War II ...

Question: would/could the US mount and lead a #DDay today? Defend faraway allies? Impose an expansive draft? Accept the shared national sacrifice in blood and treasure? Fight until unconditional victory? I’m asking without prejudgment - curious what you think.

I'd like to say "yes," but I think the real answer is, sadly, "no."

Considering that many Americans today are far more focused on their rights than their responsibilities, and that we have to actually bribe adults (with giveaways of beer, guns, lottery tickets, donuts, etc) to get a free vaccine for a deadly disease that has killed over 600,000 of their fellow citizens, I think it's a stretch to think that any significant portion of us would rally to risk their lives in support of anyone else ... much less a (gasp!) foreigner.

Americans supported (at least, at first) the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because they represented a response to a clear and provable threat at home. They grew less inclined to support those wars when the threat of terrorism from Islamic militants receded and the emphasis of the military operations changed to supporting foreign governments and "nation building." 

And it's tough to imagine World War II-style "shared sacrifice" when so many Americans rage against simply wearing a cloth mask to prevent the spread of disease.

There's no doubt in my mind that our armed forces would give their all, but I doubt that the spoiled and self-indulgent Americans of today would support them, or flock to the banners. It's easy to imagine you're heroically protecting yourself and your neighbors by ostentatiously packing your AR-15 to the local Starbucks, but it's tough to actually put your life on the line in a combat zone in service of a goal larger than yourself.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Back in the (Blogging) Saddle Again

Those of you who've been patiently reading my blog since my first post on March 8, 2006, know that I posted more or less daily for most of that time. About 2 or 3 years ago, I decided to cut back my regular posting to Fridays (alternating the "Ass Clown Awards" with "Great Moments in Editing and Signage"), Saturdays (Cartoon Saturday) and Sundays (alternating Poetry and Music), with other posts on a random basis as I felt the urge to pontificate on something. I hadn't run out of ideas, but I'd sort of run out of steam.

Lately, though, I've been feeling the need to get back to more frequent posting ... maybe not every day, but perhaps two or three times during the week ... because the times are such that I have to either express myself or explode from frustration and anger at the rampant stupidity that's on the march and not being challenged.

So, Dear Readers, I'm back. If you've chosen to read this blog, chances are you mostly agree with my points of view, and I welcome your confirmation of my sanity*. But I also want to know when you disagree, too. Let me know if you think I'm wrong**, or misguided, or have ignored some aspect of the topic du jour that you think would lead me to change my mind. Do it ... it's good for both of us. 

But ...

If you leave a comment that's nothing more than an ad hominem attack, or that propagates without proof the lies and conspiracy theories of the moment, I'll cut you off in less time than it takes to say "Q." If you can't justify your position with reason, facts, and evidence, I'm not interested in anything you have to say. You've been warned.

Just a quick observation before I go ...

Der Furor has been suffering from a deficit of orgasmic adulation since Facebook and Twitter finally cut him off back in January. Not long ago, his office launched a much-ballyhooed "web presence" (a simple blog, actually) to allow him to communicate directly with his followers***. Like his presidency, the blog was pretty much a dismal failure, and after 29 days Der Furor shut it down because the more rational of his advisors told him it wasn't getting much traffic and was making him look "small and irrelevant."

This means that Der Furor, with the help a staff of flunkies and ghostwriters paid for by you and I from the generous pension and expense account he receives as a former president, couldn't publish a blog that would hold even an audience of MAGAts for more than 29 days. As of today, my blog - 100% written and edited by a staff consisting entirely of yours truly - has been in regular publication for 15 years, 2 months, and 3 days ... a total of 5570 days, or almost 200 times^† longer than Der Furor's.

Which of us actually has ideas people are willing to read?

Have a good day, and watch this space for more frequent posts on the things that interest or upset me, which I think may interest or upset you as well. I look forward to your comments and ideas as we move warily into the great social, economic, and political unknown.

Bilbo

* Such as it is.

** I know my hawkeyed old friend Gonzo Dave will let me know of any typos.

*** I've heard it pithily described as a forum for people who don't read, by someone who can't write.

† Actually, 192.07 times, but who's counting?

Poetry Sunday

What could be more appropriate for the first Poetry Sunday of June than James Russell Lowell's poem celebrating the beauty of June days?

What Is So Rare As a Day in June?

by James Russell Lowell

And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days;

Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,

And over it softly her warm ear lays;

Whether we look, or whether we listen,

We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;

Every clod feels a stir of might,

An instinct within it that reaches and towers,

And, groping blindly above it for light,

Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;

The flush of life may well be seen

Thrilling back over hills and valleys;

The cowslip startles in meadows green,

The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,

And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean

To be some happy creature's palace;

The little bird sits at his door in the sun,

Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,

And lets his illumined being o'errun

With the deluge of summer it receives;

His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,

And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;

He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,-

In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?

Now is the high-tide of the year,

And whatever of life hath ebbed away

Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,

Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;

Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,

We are happy now because God wills it;

No matter how barren the past may have been,

'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green;

We sit in the warm shade and feel right well

How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell;

We may shut our eyes but we cannot help knowing

That skies are clear and grass is growing;

The breeze comes whispering in our ear,

That dandelions are blossoming near,

That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing,

That the river is bluer than the sky,

That the robin is plastering his house hard by;

And if the breeze kept the good news back,

For our couriers we should not lack;

We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing,-

And hark! How clear bold chanticleer,

Warmed with the new wine of the year,

Tells all in his lusty crowing!

Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how;

Everything is happy now,

Everything is upward striving;

'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true

As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,-

'Tis for the natural way of living:

Who knows whither the clouds have fled?

In the unscarred heaven they leave not wake,

And the eyes forget the tears they have shed,

The heart forgets its sorrow and ache;

The soul partakes the season's youth,

And the sulphurous rifts of passion and woe

Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth,

Like burnt-out craters healed with snow.

Have a good June day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. If, like me, you live in NoVa, remember that this particular June day will hit 95°, so stay cool and hydrated.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Boy, what a week it's been ...

After less than a month of operation, Der Furor has shut down the blog he started as a communications medium after being banned by Facebook and Twitter; Facebook has extended its ban on use by Der Furor until January of 2023 and will reinstate his account only when "the risk to public safety is receded;" a Federal judge, comparing an AR-15 military-style rifle to a Swiss Army knife, has overturned the California ban on "assault weapons," which has been in effect since 1989; political foes of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have formed a coalition to force him from office; NASA has announced it will send two missions to Venus in the coming years, not having found enough hot air on Capitol Hill; and swarms of insects are invading Southwest Florida, possibly as a result of recent heavy rain ... Florida residents, already plagued by annoying pests like Governor Ron DiSantis, Representative Matt Gaetz, and Senator Marco Rubio, are being warned to eliminate standing water in which the insects breed, it being easier to control the bugs than the politicians.

This week, in honor of the current interest in UFOs, or UAPs (that's "unidentified aerial phenomena"), or flying saucers, or whatever, here's a collection of cartoons featuring the preferred transportation mode of little green people ...

I wonder if they have a coupon ...  

Wrong accessory ...

Alien hunters ...

Well, every party needs a theme ...

Busted! ...

Better check on that extended warranty, too ...

Water skiing, alien style ...

They haven't heard about game wardens ...

Now, that would be the dig of the century ...

Well, I guess it would attract a dog ...

There you are ... it's not Project Blue Book, it's Project Bilbo's Blog!

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when the first Poetry Sunday of June arrives.

Bilbo

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for June, 2021

It's the first weekend of June, and we have reached the halfway point of 2021, the year we all hoped would be better than 2020. The jury is still out on whether this is true, but the signs are not promising, given that this year offers more potential Ass Clown awardees than Brood X cicadas.

As always, this is a difficult choice to make. What can I say of a two week period that includes standout performances by Texas governor Greg Abbott, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, "attorney" Sidney Powell, disgraced former general Michael Flynn, and alleged Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Louie Gohmert, each of whom is eminently deserving of the award? And we haven't even mentioned the increasingly-crazy Republican party, the "My Pillow" guy, the ludicrous "audit" of the Maricopa County votes from the November election, and Senatorial embarrassments Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz. And on top of that, we haven't even looked beyond the borders of the United States to consider such ultra-dim luminaries as Benjamin Netanyahu and Alexander Lukashenko. How on earth can I choose from such a galaxy of dim stars?

As always, though, I have to decide, and so I have. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the battered tinfoil crown of 

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for June, 2021

is bestowed upon

Senator Joe Manchin (D, WV)

and

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D, AZ)

Senators Manchin and Sinema represent states with strongly conservative populations, and perhaps for this reason, they form a formidable clog in the pipes of the Biden Administration's attempts to help the country recover from the effects - physical and economic - of the Covid-19 pandemic. Both senators absolutely refuse to consider abolition of the Senate filibuster, which is a favored tool of minority Republicans to block any actions by the Democratic majority. In the words of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell*, "One hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration."

Senator Manchin, for his part, is focused - probably for politically self-defensive purposes - on the elusive chimera of "bipartisanship," which has utterly disappeared from the Republican tool box, as opposed to the Republican rhetoric**. Senator Sinema, for her part, piously intones that the filibuster "... is a tool that protects the democracy of our nation. Rather than allowing our country to ricochet wildly every two to four years back and forth between policies, the idea of the filibuster was created by those who came before to create comity and to encourage bipartisanship and work together.”

Both senators ignore the fact that the filibuster is a Senate rule, subject to change or deletion, and was never envisioned by the authors of the Constitution ... you can read the Senate Historian's discussion of its history here. They further ignore its checkered history as a tool to block civil rights legislation. And it's clear that neither one understands that a Republican majority would vote to eliminate the filibuster in the proverbial New York Minute if it served their purposes.

Beyond her full-throated endorsement of the filibuster, Senator Sinema, cited a "personal family matter" (not further explained) as the reason why she missed a critical Senate vote on establishing a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th Capitol riots ... a commission successfully blocked by Republican members afraid of what such an investigation might reveal about their actions.

Senators Manchin and Sinema, with their hardheaded opposition to elimination of the filibuster, are denying the nation a critical opportunity to move forward. They ignore the fact that traditional bipartisanship is dead, and that the ability to get worthwhile things done may - however unfortunately - require the application of the blunt force the other party would certainly use in the same situation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Right-Cheek Ass Clown of the Month Award for June, 2021, is jointly awarded to Senators Joe Manchin and Kristen Sinema - two senators who clearly do not understand the importance of their actions to the future of the nation.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* A two-time Ass Clown of the Year winner (for 2019 and 2020). 

** In the GOP lexicon, "bipartisanship" actually means, "do it my way or it doesn't get done."

Musical Sunday

It's not only a great rock song ... it might as well be the anthem for 2021 America. Take it away, Bob Seger ...

Watch out for that full-force gale, driven by the high-pressure systems of fear, hatred, jealousy, intolerance, and political inflexibility.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Remember our fallen soldiers, sailors, and airmen on this Memorial Day weekend.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

Once more into the breach, Dear Friends ...

I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty good argument ...

The bug must have come from one of those 1950's horror movies ...

Be sure to say grace before you eat it ...

Who were they hiring before? ...

I've always found this to be true ...

Please ...

And you'd better not get in their way ...

Well, he would say that, wouldn't he? ...

It's integral to good traffic management ...

I wonder where that copy editor is working now ...

And that's it for this week! Be sure to come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

I'm two years shy of my 72nd birthday, but I'm not ready to check out yet - I have grandchildren to love, a garden to tend, fine wine to drink, and plenty of friends who are, oddly enough, still speaking to me ...

two nights before my 72nd birthday

by Charles Bukowski

sitting here on a boiling hot night while

drinking a bottle of cabernet sauvignon

after winning $232 at the track.

there's not much I can tell you except 

if it weren't for my bad right leg

I don't feel much different than I did

30 or 40 years ago (except that

now I have more money and should be able 

to afford a decent 

burial). also,

I drive better automobiles and have

stopped carrying a 

switchblade.

I am still looking for a hero, a role model,

but can't find one.

I am no more tolerant of Humanity

than I ever was.

I am not bored with myself and find

that I am the only one I can 

turn to in time of

crisis.

I've been ready to die for decades and

I've been practicing, polishing up

for that end

but it's very 

hot tonight

and I can thing of little but

this fine cabernet,

that's gift enough for me.

sometimes I can't 

believe I've come this far,

this has to be some kind of goddamned

miracle!

just another old guy

blinking at the forces,

smiling a little,

as the cities tremble and the left

hand rises,

clutching

something 

real. 

Have a good day, enjoy the rest of the weekend ... and of your life - it's the only one you'll get.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo 

Cartoon Saturday

Because Agnes and I are on the road, attending the dual graduation festivities for our granddaughter Marcy (college) and grandson Joe (high school), I'm preparing this week's Cartoon Saturday in advance; therefore, the usual bad news summary won't appear today. You can thank me later. Instead, we'll go right to the Cartoons, this week focusing on (appropriately enough) education ...

Cat owners will understand ...

It's all a matter of perspective ...

I agree, but not only for this reason ...

AAAUUUGGGHHH!!! ...

I think it would be appropriate ...

Compare to the first cartoon ...

I hope it works ...

Gotta slip in a pun ...

I think I can understand ...

Of course, if you're a clown, there's a bright future in the GOP ...

And that's how it is for today ... hope you enjoyed the cartoons. Have a good day and a great weekend, and come back tomorrow for Poetry Sunday - more thoughts then.

Bilbo