About the Filibuster and How it Stalls the President’s Agenda
To pass something in the Senate, 60 votes are
needed. The Democrats have 51, if you
include the Vice President’s tie-breaking vote.
Most of the time, that isn’t enough.
There are exceptions, however. If
the measure involves spending or the budget, it can be immune to the filibuster
and just needs 51 votes, but measures like voting reform and addressing police
violence don’t qualify for such budget “reconciliation.”
A simple majority can change these Senate rules though! For example, the Republicans did it for confirmation of Supreme Court nominees and tax legislation, and that “reconciliation” loophole was provided over 45 years ago. So such rule changes are possible.
The Democrats are seeking to either get rid of
the filibuster entirely or add some exceptions to it in the Senate’s Rules
which would enable some of their “non-budgetary” items to pass with just a
simple majority.
The problem is that even one Democratic Senator opposing such Senate rule changes would make them impossible. Their majority is that thin, consisting of every Democratic Senator and the Vice-President's tie-breaker. There is no wiggle room. And right now, there are two, Senators Manchin and Sinema, who cannot be counted as solid members of that thin majority. Each has their own agenda.
And there is why
progressive Democratic legislation is presently stalled.
JL
* * * *
But it Ain’t Over ‘til it’s Over:
Mask Up for Delta and Omicron*
In Monday’s (12/13) Palm Beach Post,
Robert Kershner, MD, a local physician, pointed out the continuing danger posed
by the latest Covid19 variants in a “Your Turn” column. Here are a few words from it:
“These variants have proven their
ability to reinfect and will not disappear until we make them disappear. What should we be doing? With vaccine
protection waning, getting another “booster” shot is probably a good idea. However, the only PROVEN method in preventing infection is
wearing an N-95 mask securely covering the nose and mouth (not a KN-95, which
being less effective, were allowed before manufacturing of the real masks
caught up with the demand.) If the virus cannot get in, it cannot infect
you or spread to others. And if the
virus cannot be spread through the air person-to-person, it will disappear,
forever.”
Let me add that the good doctor’s words pertain
to everyone, regardless of their politics, including the governor of the State
of Floriduh. Also, the N-95 masks he
refers to are now readily available locally and online, as are KN-95s which some
studies show to be almost as effective but do not fit as snugly as the N95s.
*(This
was the headline the Post gave the column.)
JL
* * * *
Where Have All the Grown-ups Gone?
Here’s the last two paragraphs of a recent
article by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman which recently appeared in the New
York Times reporting on the demise of the Republican Party as we once knew
it:
“But now the transformation of American conservatism – the same movement
that complains about liberal “snowflakes” – into a collection of malignant
whiners seems to have reached *apotheosis.
Yes, there are self-pitying hypocrites on the left, too, but they don’t
dominate the way Trump and Trump-like figures dominate the right.
I’m not entirely sure why this has happened; the degradation probably
began decades ago, maybe as early as the Vietnam years. But there’s no question that it has
happened. At this point there are no
grown-ups left on one side of the political aisle.”
Krugman may not be sure of why this has
happened, but I have a good guess. It started with the Republicans, frustrated
by the success of New Deal reforms, accepting William Buckley’s writings in the
1950’s and the novels of Ayn Rand, both worshipping free enterprise and
attacking government involvement, as something to be taken seriously. The
wealthy, obsessed with turning the clock back to pre-Roosevelt (both Franklin
and Theodore) days were glad to finance such beliefs. Doesn’t take a Nobel prize to figure that
out.
* That's a big word! It means reaching a god-like status.
JL
* * * *
What’s With Fox News Viewers?
The Washington Post’s Philip Bump raised
the following question the other day in regard to Fox News’ political
coverage: “Are
conservative Republicans tuning in to Fox News because it reflects their
viewpoints? Or are their viewpoints shaped by the coverage they see?”
I think it is both in a circular manner; To a
great extent, watching Fox News shapes their viewpoints and that hooks them on
tuning in to Fox because it reflects what became their viewpoints from watching
Fox. Regardless of how they got to
possess those viewpoints though, it’s a bad sign that so many viewers share them. It turns out that even some Fox anchors don’t
really share them once the camera is off.
Lately, several with far more honesty than Fox fascist apologists Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity possess have had the guts to quit. What took them so long?
(Because of their expertise in lying, Fraulein Ingraham, Herr Carlson and Herr Hannity would have been hired in an instant by Herr Goebbels in Germany 85 years ago.)
JL
* * * *
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