SEN HARKIN: Filibuster Deal ENSURES That Obama's Priorities "WILL NOT GET VERY FAR"

[Segami]

Time for Harry to be shown the door!!




Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin has been backing filibuster reform packages for most of his Senate career. A group of reporters stopped him today on his way into the caucus meeting where the party will be told the virtues of what Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell agreed on. Harkin fluttered open his binder, pulled out the new rules, and read them slowly, grimly. "They're baby, baby steps," he said. He'd wanted the Democrats to go ahead and change the Senate rules with 51 votes, and Reid had forestalled that.


"It's interesting," said Harkin, "that in 2005 -- I have the paper the Republican Policy Committee put out, you should read it -- where they state that using the constitutional option, this not-nuclear option, has been done before. That was the Republicans' position in 2005, right?" He shook his head. "It depends on who's in the majority. That's all it depends on."


Harkin's been telling progressive radio and TV hosts a story about his pre-election advice to the president. He repeated it outside this meeting. "I said to him," said Harkin, "the night before the election: Look, you get re-elected, if we don't do something significant on filibuster reform, you might as well take a four-year vacation."

Bloomberg's Jim Rowley asked the obvious follow-up: Should Obama go on vacation?

"He can go out and give wonderful speeches, things like that," said Harkin. "But with the House in the hands it's in, and the fact that the Senate, now, you have to have 60 votes to pass anything... well, I daresay that Obama's package, his very aggressive proposals, will not get very far. They'll be so watered down that they won't be recognizable."

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/01/24/harkin_filibuster_deal_ensures_that_obama_s_priorities_will_not_get_very.html


And also this....

Final Filibuster Reform Deal Largely Based on John McCain and Carl Levin's Proposals


"...We now have a comprehensive look at the filibuster reform package accepted by Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid. It'll be schlepped to Democrats at an early afternoon meeting. And yes, it functionally ends the campaign for the "talking filibuster," and for putting the burden of filibusters on the minority to get 41 no votes, instead of on the majority to get 60 ayes.

"It looks a lot like McCain-Levin," says a Democratic aide.

And it does. Late last year, as the Merkley-Udall campaign gathered steam, John McCain teamed up with Carl Levin, one of the Democrats' Senate statesman, who was reluctant to support a 51-vote "nuclear option" and get 100 percent of what reformers wanted....."


http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/01/24/final_filibuster_reform_deal_largely_based_on_john_mccain_and_carl_levin.html

[Tx4obama]

1. Anything The Senate passes will not get passed in The House. All the outrage is over-the-top.

Two of the main things that today's rule change will HELP is regarding judicial nominations (2 hours of debate, instead of 30 hours) which are voted on 'only' in The Senate, AND the elimination of 'anonymous' holds/objects on nominees and bills.

Just because Reid did not go along with Merkley's plan does not mean that we didn't get good changes!
Senator Reid got the majority of the changes that HE wanted.

===============

-snip-

What will be reformed is how the Senate moves to consider new legislation, the process by which all nominees — except Cabinet-level appointments and Supreme Court nominations — are considered, and the number of times the filibuster can be used against a conference report.

…the deal Reid struck with McConnell doesn’t end the filibuster against the motion to proceed. Rather, it creates two new pathways for moving to a new bill. In one, the majority leader can, with the agreement of the minority leader and seven senators from each party, sidestep the filibuster when moving to a new bill. In the other, the majority leader can short-circuit the filibuster against moving to a new bill so long as he allows the minority party to offer two germane amendment that also can’t be filibustered. Note that in all cases, the minority can still filibuster the bill itself.

http://www.alan.com/2013/01/24/harry-reid-im-not-ready-to-get-rid-of-the-60-vote-threshold/

Full Ezra Klein Washington Post article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/24/harry-reid-explains-why-he-killed-filibuster-reform/


=====================================




Also...

Two of the things that Reid has been fighting against will be eliminated/fixed by the new rules.

I think even though these are modest changes they are going to be a big improvement
I've been following the judicial nominations for several years and the new change is going to be a HUGE help in getting them confirmed faster.

"... post cloture time for non appellate judges will be cut from 30 hours to 2 ... "
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251280012

Also there will be NO more 'anonymous' holds/objections

-snip-

Under the agreement, the minority party will be able to offer two amendments on each bill, a major concession to Republicans. This change is made only as a standing order, not a rules change, and expires at the end of the term.

The new rules will also make it easier for the majority to appoint conferees once a bill has passed, but leaves in place the minority's ability to filibuster that motion once -- meaning that even after the Senate and House have passed a bill, the minority can still mount a filibuster one more time.

Reid won concessions on district court nominations as well. Under the old rules, after a filibuster had been beaten, 30 more hours were required to pass before a nominee could finally be confirmed. That delay threatened to tie the chamber in knots. The new rules will only allow two hours to pass after cloture is invoked before a nominee is confirmed.

The two leaders agreed that they will make some changes in how the Senate carries out filibusters under the existing rules, reminiscent of the handshake agreement last term, which quickly fell apart. First, senators who wish to object or threaten a filibuster must actually come to the floor to do so. And second, the two leaders will make sure that debate time post-cloture is actually used in debate. If senators seeking to slow down business simply put in quorum calls to delay action, the Senate will go live, force votes to produce a quorum, and otherwise work to make sure senators actually show up and debate.

The arrangement between Reid and McConnell means that the majority leader will not resort to his controversial threat, known as the "nuclear option," to change the rules via 51 votes on the first day of the congressional session. Reid may have been able to achieve greater reforms that way, but several members of his own party were uncomfortable with the precedent it would have set. And Reid himself, an institutionalist, wanted a bipartisan deal for the long-term health of the institution. Reid presented McConnell with two offers -- one bipartisan accord consisting of weaker reforms, and a stronger package Reid was willing to ram through on a partisan vote. McConnell chose the bipartisan route.

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/harry-reid-mitch-mcconnell-filibuster_n_2541356.html

[sadbear]

3. I used to think that, too.

But there's also the appointments Senate republicans can still hold up (which have nothing to do with the House.) I don't think the deal even addresses that.

[Tx4obama]

4. No, the republicans will NOT be able to hold up the nominations like in the past.

They will not be able to place anonymous holds/objections anymore.
And they will not be able to hold them up indefinitely even if they go to the floor and object.

See the text in my previous comment regarding the judicial nominations.

[dsc]

8. that is not entirely true

they can still hold up appellate judges, supreme court nominees and cabinet nominees all of those still have the 30 hour wait. In practice that will be the worst for appellate judges as there are lots of those.

[Tx4obama]

10. Actually there are many many more district judges than appellate judges.

List of Court of Appeals and District Court judges here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Barack_Obama

[dsc]

13. yes there are but there are still enough appellate judges to make that 30 hours a problem

and those appellate judges are major league important. They are often the final judge a litigant sees. You have 39 judges on the first term list. 39 * 30 = 1170 hours or a bit over half a normal work year (2000 hours).

[earthside]

5. Thank you, Dr. Pangloss.

"... all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds".

[KoKo]

2. That's a bit of a downer..there.

Who knows? Maybe it gets so bad that "CHANGE" will really come...from places other than DC and our Executive Branch.

[moondust]

6. That sucks.

Sen. Harkin has been working on filibuster reform I think longer than anybody in the Senate and probably knows better than anybody what will work and what won't.

[woo me with science]

7. Oh, I think it's pretty clear that this move

will help ensure the continued implementation of Obama's priorities...and those of every other Democratic and Republican corporatist in Washington.

They are exceedingly effective at getting their agenda through.


Obama, Democrats Push to Make Bush Spying Laws Permanent
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022084702

The Enemy Expatriation Act - another attack on legitimate protest and dissent like NDAA
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022072450

FBI Investigated 'Occupy' As Possible 'Domestic Terrorism' Threat, Internal Documents Show
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022061578

NDAA 2013 - Indefinite detention without trial is back
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014342985

Congress, at Last Minute, Drops Requirement to Obtain Warrant to Monitor Email
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014348022

Democratic-controlled US Senate approves...new $633 billion war bill
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022060449

Purposely aiming bombs at children: "It kind of opens our aperture."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021931748

The Pentagon's New 30,000-lb MOP Bomb Is Ready To Go
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022200058

Obama Administration To Offer More Than 20 Million Acres in Western Gulf of Mexico for Oil/Drilling
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1896005

Obama's (Corporate) Education Reform Push is Bad Education Policy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x221922

Obama's 'Race To The Top' Drives Nationwide Wave of School Closings, Teacher Firings
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2183810

Trans Pacific Partnership is NAFTA On Steroids
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1914478

NYT slams the government for choosing not to prosecute HSBC top-bankers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021965407

Why is Social Security Under Attack from Obama, when it ADDS NOTHING to the deficit???
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022065493

Obama: "Too many of us have been interested in defending programs as written in 1938."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid

Surely every American must realize any cuts hereinafter made to social security, Medicare, or Medicaid...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022191730

Health insurers raising rates by double digits
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014358823

So now we are mysteriously falling short of Democratic votes for filibuster reform.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021809132

Why Harry and the Democrats gave away filibuster reform
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022251878

Nine Democrats signed letter urging quick approval of Keystone XL pipeline
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022250081
.....


The Democratic Party's Deceitful Game
http://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/

[leftstreet]

11. +1

Thanks for putting all those links together

[MrSlayer]

9. 2009 at the latest is when this should have been done.

This doesn't matter today because the baggers have the house for the foreseeable future. We blew our opportunity four years ago.

Although saying we "blew it" implies that these bought off pieces of shit actually wanted to do other than they've been doing, which they don't.

I'm so fed up with these bastards I'm ready to explode. I'm so tired of getting fucked over again and again by these slimeballs that don't give a fuck about us at all.

[Tx4obama]

12. The new rules changes DOES matter. It is good news for The Senate regarding judicial nominees

it is only the senate that votes on those (not the house).

And the 'anonymous' holds/objections on bills and nominations have been eliminated - a senator that objects will now have to go physically to the senate floor.

See Comment #1 up above.

[MrSlayer]

14. It's meaningless as far as legislation goes.

There is nothing coming out of this house worth passing anyway. They're going to sit on the purse for another four years and people are going to continue to be hurt.

Very few people on the Hill are on our side and no one with any real power.

I have failed to be cheered by this explanation you have given.

[woo me with science]

15. Kick