Filibuster v. Cloture

[WilliamPitt]

People are pissed because they saw that the GOP didn't get 60 votes on the Alito nomination.

"A filibuster would have worked!" goes the refrain.

No.

Had cloture failed yesterday, I guarantee the GOP would have found their 60 votes. Bet the farm, the house and the kid's tuition on it.

They didn't get 60 votes today because they didn't need them. Simple as that. When cloture failed, it freed up GOPers from moderate states to vote 'no' if they wanted to. Had cloture failed, those moderate-state GOPers would have felt the whipsong all over their backs. Frist would have had his 60.

[kentuck]

1. And conversely, it freed up a few Dems to vote "No" on Alito....

to keep in the good graces of their voters.

[still_one]

3. and we are being played for fools, left holding the bag

[Catrina]

7. True, the strategy is obvious ~ and I'm pretty sick of political strategy

Their assumption that the 'little people' can be led around like sheep, really bothers a lot of people.

Trying to paint this as anything but a disaster, is simply dishonest.

Those Senators up for reelection have lost their base, I hope they realize that. I hope they get some freeper votes. They should, the did exactly what freepers wanted them to do. But I doubt it, in fact, they will be smeared and called traitors etc. etc. only this time I for one won't be out there defending them, nor will many former supporters.

[Sydnie]

2. But he would have had to work harder at it

than he had to today.

[KittyWampus]

4. My Reason For Wanting Filibuster Was To Give Bush A Black Eye

for tonight's SOTU.

So the fact that ultimately filibuster would've ended is mute, IMO.

[MoonRiver]

5. How about notions of voting with integrity, for the betterment

of the country, and all that garbage?
Oh, wait....How could I forget? :dunce:

[Innocent Smith]

6. No Repubs voted against cloture yesterday

And only one voted against Alito today. I am missing your point.

[berni_mccoy]

8. WRONG!

If our party was HALF as organized as the GOP, that would never have happened.

[unblock]

10. well that's also true.

but it's generally hard to enforce party discipline when you dont have power to dole out....

[unblock]

9. right, as i've been saying, you can't read too much into individual votes

just because someone voted "no" doesn't mean they didn't want alito confirmed. knowing that he had 51 votes locked up frees up other senators to vote however the want or need to to appease constituents and/or party and/or make a deal with some other senator(s), perhaps on unrelated issues.

[T Roosevelt]

11. And an argument needs to made to the voters on this

Just because a senator voted "NO" on the nomination DOES NOT mean that that senator did not support Alito. If they voted for cloture, that's as good as voting for Alito. We need to call out the panderers regardless of party.

[ProSense]

12. There were no 60 votes to be found.

There are only 55 republicans. Three Democrats voted for Alito, total 58. Forty-one Democrats voted against alito. Even if the Republicans got the one moderate, that's only 59.


The Democrats could have tried to twist the moderate's arm too to get 42.


It would have been 41 or 42 if no meant no.

[CornField]

13. That's all good and fine & it brings us back to the primary point

Our democratic representatives either:

1) Don't give a damn about their base -- everyone from environmental groups, to civil rights groups, to executive power watchdogs, to women's rights groups were united against the Alito nomination.

2) Care more about their standing with their GOP constituents, their place on the Hill, their next election hopes... than they do about our nation, Constitution and their own Congressional powers.

For if any of these things were reversed -- they gave a damn about their base, the Constitution, the balance of powers, etc. -- then their only option would have been to hold together and filibuster this nomination ('nuclear option' be damned)

We the people - the active base who runs door-to-door, works the phone banks, provides monetary support - are now left to consider if we are willing to continue to support half-hearted politicians who do not care nor listen.