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On Wednesday the newly elected Republican majority took power in the House of Representatives. As part of the changeover, the House Republicans adopted a new set of rules based on the principle of majority rule by a majority vote. This is effectively the same thing each new House has done for decades. Amazingly, there was no media outrage about the Republicans again choosing to govern this legislative chamber on the basis of majority rule.
No op-eds calling it a terrible partisan power grab, none calling it a dangerous fiat, no one claiming the Democratic minority has been “steamrolled into silence,” or horrified the House Democratic minority won’t for some reason have procedural tools to allow them to still effectively control the chamber despite losing the last election badly.
This is all strange because while no one seems at all concerned that the House’s rules were again changed so it would be governed on the basis of majority rule — like almost every other legislative chamber in the world — but, at the same time, the idea of doing the same thing in the Senate is being called way too radical.
If people actually think it is inherently great to allow a minority party to have a veto over all actions in a legislative chamber because it might potentially increase the chances of bipartisanship, instead of just defending the tradition of the filibuster in the Senate, they should be spending ever more time demanding it be restored in the House. After all, the House for a period of time also allowed filibusters.
The total lack of advocacy for returning the filibuster to the House among those who want to keep it in the Senate is some of the strongest evidence that support for the filibuster is at best passed on a status quo basis, and not an actual logical belief in the inherent superiority of government based on minority veto.
Despite many op-ed writers claiming to care deeply about “protecting the rights of the minority” (i.e. the party rejected by the voters in the last election), their total silence on the recent House rules changes speaks volumes.
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Saucer for the freight train that is the People’s House, or something.
AS usual, IOKIYAR. Now for two years worth of op-eds about how the minority is whining and obstructing and so forth. When the Democrats are again in charge, the op-eds about the minority being steam rolled with return. See how that works?
Not to be rude, but as you pointed out Jon, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work? I know I’m flogging a dead horse, but it just seems the Dems made their own bed here. If they stayed “the people’s party” as they pretended for decades, they’d still have majorities in both houses. If nothing else the last two years have proven that power corrupts both parties. Majority rules? More like corporate money rules, regardless who is in the majority. The only good thing (?) about the next two years or so, is to watch Boner and the Dems cry in unison daily. It’s already started online with the Dem reps. crying a river at Daily Kos, who should support Boner since he’s as orange and stupid as their posters.
To me it is perfectly clear: this is the way Obama (or whoever) wants it.
Just as the filibuster for the minority in the Senate was the way he wanted to govern.
I do believe Obama now has the Congress he wants.
LOL!
On the plus side (to take the long view), the Republicans are nothing if not legislative innovators. Speaker Boehner has every incentive to strengthen the institutional power of the House versus the Senate.
Well his staff is all Clinton flunkies, and that’s what Clinton had, so hey, the good ol’ days, huh?
Perhaps they’ll all decide the best way forward is free trade with Somalia!! What could possibly go wrong there? Even Krugman likes free trade deals with nations that pay pennies a day to their workers.
I think Jon’s point is that majority rule is par for the course in a democracy. So just as no one is freaking out when the House makes decisions by majority vote, nor should anyone freak out if the Senate likewise makes decisions by majority vote.
No one will point that out in the MSM because the Republicans are diligent about working the refs and the Democrats are not.
Well you just KNOW they’re going to approve KORUS. Interesting name, that.
So, the auto jobs saved on the backs of the American people will…..go overseas too.
We got mangos from India in exchange for our jobs. I wonder what we’ll get from Korea…..rice?
I wonder what we’ll get from Korea
Probably nothing more than the bill.
The last congress was prominent by it’s absence.
All those bills written by the democratic majority house stalled in the senate. What a sight to see.
Then, if something good for the people made it to the senate, Obama set up… a committee.
It’s been sorta like watching (hate to say it) the politburo in action.
But just watch all the republican generated legislation fly thru this next 2 years
We’re supposed to be able to sell our skanky downer cow beef to them…..poison their citizens too.
LOL. I misread some of it. Thanks for pointing it out. Spent some time at another site this morning reading Dem Reps cry like a Boner and trying to rally their base into fighting the good fight now. No explanation on why they abandoned the base for the last 2 years though. Or an explanation as to why this particular Rep. was unheard of until now in the blogosphere. Now it’s send money and support!!! It’s the evile Republicans in charge!
Hey, maybe those animals falling from the sky are part of the deal!!!
Off topic but may I ask someone how to turn off the auto ads at FDL?? It’s rather annoying. They just start all by themselves on almost every page.
must be a slow news day.
You’ve had better Jon
the senate filibuster does NOT allow a veto by a minority party UNLESS the majority decides to let it. that’s not a function of the rules, it’s a function of how the majority party operates. iow, the problem is the legislators, not the rules. all the fuss about the rules does serve one apparently important function: it deflects attention from the real problem onto a non problem. i guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that the people who are most anxious to keep the focus on the senate rules (the non-problem) and off the legislators and especially the dem party leadership (the problem) should be those very legislators and their supporters.
this too is false. the commenters at fld who have been the most critical of the dem party elite’s calls to get rid of the senate filibuster are EXACTLY the same people who’ve complained about the way the house rules committee operates and the “lack of meaningful debate” in the house.
it is so disappointing to see this kind of nonsense still being posted at fdl.
You mean those awful “you just won $1 at Walmart” things? Figures they look as cheap as they do
they hurt my eyes.
But hey, if it helps FDL, I’ll just ignore them
If you run Firefox (and Safari, I think), AdBlock Plus works like a charm. No ads on any web site. It’s an add-on. Google it.
Hey, thanks
AdBlock Plus
My browser of choice is Firefox on a Mac, but I’m pretty sure there’s a FF Windows and a Safari version.
I would never click on an ad at FDL (or any other blog) so I don’t figure I’m hurting FDL by blocking the ad. I pretty much don’t click on website ads at all.
more nonsense. i’m guessing that the writer hasn’t actually been watching how the house can and does get around this on important legislation.
here’s an example that was used on fisa legislation:
1) first the D house leadership puts a supposedly D favored bill to a vote under suspension of house rules so that passage requires 2/3 votes. it fails to pass with a majority of votes in favor (including a majority of D votes).
2) then the D house leadership puts the supposedly R favored bill to a vote under rules requiring only a simple majority for passage. the bill passes with a majority of vote in favor (mostly republican votes).
…. i think i better quit pointing out the nonsense in this post now. it just gives me a headache to make the same points again and again (with, you know, actual evidence) only to see the same false and/or nonsensical statements continue to be made.
Jon Walker has got it all RONG. This is knot how We neid 2 fiks things in Congruss.
We need comsensis. Thats where every1 has 2 agree 4 anything to get pass. I like that wey cuz sum guy on teh radio telled me it is whut the funders wonted. I no where teh bodys R berried by the borders.
Teh USA Amerikins need 2 take bak the Congruss with teh comsensis. I am knot A witch. I ken see Russians frum my window. U luk Azun 2 me. We Neid a kamittee to vestiGate peeps.
Thank you Selise. Please hang around and shoot this crap down. All the self congratulations about how objective we are here at this so-called reality based community is just masturbation.