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You are here: Home / Politics / In the Filibuster Circle Jerk, The Most Important People are in the Middle

In the Filibuster Circle Jerk, The Most Important People are in the Middle

by John Cole|  November 24, 20136:04 pm| 35 Comments

This post is in: Politics, Assholes

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Here’s Eric Posner, pointing out the real “losers”:

Filibuster reform is a huge victory for progressives, according to David Weigel. Emily Bazelon agrees. Yet some conservatives not caught up in the immediate political bickering seem pretty happy about it too. Who loses? Most likely those in the center, meaning most of us.

First off, the notion that there is some unspoken for ideological center who does not get their due is simply preposterous. Second, in order to think that this mythological center is now the “losers” in this means that you have to think the current system has been such a smashing success for the American people. It hasn’t. The only people this has empowered are the gang of center right jackasses who always love to show how important and non-ideological and bipartisan they are. Think Bayh. Graham. Manchin. McCain. Lieberman. That group of self-promoting jackasses. Kos nailed this the other day:

Every pundit’s favorite backbencher, Sen. John McCain, has made a career of joining “gangs” to get shit through the Senate’s f’d up 60-vote threshold (Gang of Eight on immigration, Gang of 14 on administration nominees, you get the picture). With yesterday’s nuking of parts of the filibuster, McCain’s ability to garner unwarranted camera time is finished. And HE’S ANGRY…

    “The Senate was set up to be different,” McCain declared.

Mission accomplished! The Senate has six-year terms, 335 fewer members, and an empty state like Wyoming has as much clout as states with people in them like California and New York and Texas. So yeah, different than the House. But the filibuster? No mention of filibustering in any of our nation’s founding docs.

None of that should cast doubt on how genuinely distraught McCain is. When his entire schtick depended on a dysfunctional Senate, his distress over a better-functioning chamber can only be real.

There is a reason Manchin voted with the Republicans- since he entered the Senate he has been styling himself as one of the new members of the “Gang” media train.

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35Comments

  1. 1.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 24, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    The notion of a “center” in this country is silly, simply because of how terribly skewed to the right our political discourse is. Ideas that in Europe are mildly right of center are considered by many in this country to be tantamount to outright Communism.

  2. 2.

    MattF

    November 24, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    Even better, Sen. Cruz– the very one who suggested that Chuck Hagel was a North Korean agent– says that the changes in the filibuster rule ‘…will poison the atmosphere of the Senate.’ Yippie!

  3. 3.

    Rosalita

    November 24, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    and to think this morning I was wondering where the hell you’ve been John, what happened to the love…

  4. 4.

    Josie

    November 24, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    I just laughed out loud at something I read on TPM. Senator Ted Cruz said that the filibuster reform “will poison the atmosphere of the Senate.” This is a classic example of irony – also stupidity. How can someone supposedly so smart be so self unaware?

    ETA: MattF beat me to it. I type too slowly.

  5. 5.

    Joey Maloney

    November 24, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    Breathe deep, Senator Cruz. Breathe deep.

  6. 6.

    JPL

    November 24, 2013 at 6:17 pm

    How long before Manchin caucuses with the Repubs? He’s such a wimpy phony.

  7. 7.

    Violet

    November 24, 2013 at 6:21 pm

    @JPL: He gains nothing by doing that. He gets a lot more visibility being a concern troll for the Democrats.

  8. 8.

    BGinCHI

    November 24, 2013 at 6:21 pm

    That system in the Senate completely rewards Senators who fuck over their party because they live in a state controlled by the other party.

    Thus all for reelection and none for policy.

    Good riddance filibuster.

  9. 9.

    Cacti

    November 24, 2013 at 6:23 pm

    @JPL:

    How long before Manchin caucuses with the Repubs? He’s such a wimpy phony.

    Would only happen if he was the 51st vote.

    I predict he’ll be the next “Democrat” to address the Republican National Convention though.

  10. 10.

    billgerat

    November 24, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    McCain is still hanging with the Gang of 45.

  11. 11.

    schrodinger's cat

    November 24, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    I have a friend who is an independent, she voted for Bush twice and Obama twice, she buys into all this centrist clap trap and I doubt that she is the only one.

  12. 12.

    Calming influence

    November 24, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    I think that there are better front pagers at DKos than Kos himself, but he’s got a great political insights. Pretty tight read on McCain.

  13. 13.

    Jay S

    November 24, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    @Josie: Hey, finding a scapegoat for your sins is a time honored tradition.

    ETA re Cruz and poisoning the atmosphere of the Senate.

  14. 14.

    Napoleon

    November 24, 2013 at 6:30 pm

    Wow is Posner a moron.

    Getting rid of the filibuster absolutely favors the party that wants to reform things/move legislation, and that is the Dems

  15. 15.

    schrodinger's cat

    November 24, 2013 at 6:32 pm

    I made the mistake of tuning into Gwen Ifill’s Punditubbie roundtable this weekend. She had some woman on from USA today, who was arguing that all filibusters that Obama’s nominees faced were not real filibusters and WH statistics were too extreme. Obama has two opposition parties he has to face the Republicans and their media water carriers. They are even giving up their pretense of faux balance these days.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    November 24, 2013 at 6:34 pm

    Mm-hm. A doughnut has a center, too.

  17. 17.

    Calming influence

    November 24, 2013 at 6:34 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: No offense meant to your friend, but since W’s first term, people who call themselves “centrist” or “independent” are really stating “I don’t have a clue about what’s going on around me.” The political middle ground in this country is like the DMZ between North and South Korea. Nobody in their right mind intentionally hangs out there, and if they ever found themselves there, they would know which way to run.

  18. 18.

    Redshift

    November 24, 2013 at 6:39 pm

    @Josie: I was pleased that the reaction Steve Benen posted at Maddowblog was the same as my first thought – the Life of Brian clip “Worse? How can I make it any worse?”

  19. 19.

    Jay S

    November 24, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: There seems to be a number of different methods to calculate the modern filibusters that minimize or maximize the differences. Everyone seems to want to use their favorite metric as truth without any explanation of the divergent results. Is there a table somewhere that lays out the claims side by side to understand which claims are entirely false and which are true but misleading?

  20. 20.

    schrodinger's cat

    November 24, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    @Calming influence: She is currently disappointed with Obama and had lost all of the Bush love long before Katrina. Not very political and gets her news from MSM and of the cable channels CNN, because it is not openly biased, unlike FOX or MSNBC, or so she thinks. Her lament, why can’t everyone get along.

  21. 21.

    Josie

    November 24, 2013 at 6:42 pm

    @Redshift: Perfect

  22. 22.

    catclub

    November 24, 2013 at 6:56 pm

    @Calming influence: This. True independents don’t know _anything_.
    They wouldn’t know if they were on fire.

  23. 23.

    piratedan

    November 24, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    yeah, the Senate was incredibly functional if you consider that the lion’s share of Obama’s political appointees were still in political limbo for the transgression of being nominated by a non-pigmentally challenged office holder. Hell the vast majority of these folks sailed out of committee and the R’s essentially wanted to continue to make Government the problem by being the problem with Government. It’s a double win for them, competent people get pissed at Washington and hopefully walk away, people in place get pissed and want to leave and those that remain are stressed out and end up being cranky employees, all part of the features of GOP governance.

    I’d like to sentence all of the GOP fuckers to sit at the DMV and to get a title change on a vehicle and then go thru emissions on a Friday at the end of the month.

  24. 24.

    catclub

    November 24, 2013 at 7:14 pm

    @Jay S: I know with most threats of a filibuster – refusal to give unanimous consent to proceed to a vote – at that point Reid throws up his hands and goes to the next item on the agenda. Not sure how they are all counted.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 24, 2013 at 7:20 pm

    @catclub:

    They wouldn’t know if they were on fire.

    Good. Then we can piss on them with a clear conscience.

  26. 26.

    flounder

    November 24, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    The senate WAS set up to be different. The Constitution notes that one of the very few jobs apportioned to the Vice President is to swoop into the Senate and break tie votes.

    Now in a sharply divided country, with a nearly evenly split Senate, you know how many tie votes Joe effing Biden has broken in 5 years? I think it is zero.

    You’d think this would give the centrists and Constitution scolds a sad…

  27. 27.

    dmbeaster

    November 24, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    Posner’s article is another in a long list of articles trying to cloak the filibuster as something essential for bipartisanship or centrism (see Ruth Marcus and other WaPo opinion writers for similar fare). Its a really stupid proposition, and just more bogus concern-trolling by those inclined to be conservative, but not wanting to premise their unhappiness with the rule change on that ground.

    If they are in fact concerned about the prospects of radical Republicans gaining control, write an article about how the rule change heightens the need to keep them out of power, and an article condemning what is wrong with them. Not this drivel about how it would allegedly be the democrats’ fault due to a procedural rule change.

  28. 28.

    Baud

    November 24, 2013 at 8:36 pm

    I’d take this more seriously if the centrists had deigned to get angry at Republicans for everything they’ve done over the last 5 years. The fact is, we’re on our own and self help is all we have.

  29. 29.

    Marc

    November 24, 2013 at 8:38 pm

    There is a reason Manchin voted with the Republicans- since he entered the Senate he has been styling himself as one of the new members of the “Gang” media train.

    If that’s what it takes to get him re-elected in West Virginia, that’s fine by me. The most important vote he casts is the one that keeps Harry Reid as majority leader.

  30. 30.

    xian

    November 24, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: one right-wing talking point going around is fake sophistry about cloture vs. filibusters.

  31. 31.

    Marc

    November 24, 2013 at 9:17 pm

    @catclub: Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes about politics: “An independent is someone who pays attention to politics for two weeks and votes in every election.”

  32. 32.

    danielx

    November 24, 2013 at 9:50 pm

    Most likely those in the center, meaning most of us.

    Us? Who is included in this “us” of which you speak, B’rer Posner?

    As this point anyone who actually identifies him or herself as a centrist has to fall under the heading of too dumb to get out of the rain. Although there are those who do proclaim themselves as such, usually in the interest of maintaining their reputations as Villagers in Good Standing.

    Such as David Fucking Brooks. He may be on book leave, but you just knew he was going to show up on at least one Sunday morning talk show to conspicuously View With Alarm. And, of course to talk about how….you know what to do…all together now…

    1…2…3…

    BOTH SIDES DO IT!

    Am I evil for fantasizing about having David Brooks thrown into a pit of rabid wolverines with a pork chop taped to his dick?

  33. 33.

    Ruckus

    November 24, 2013 at 10:12 pm

    @danielx:
    No.
    Not in the least.

  34. 34.

    Villago Delenda Est

    November 24, 2013 at 11:36 pm

    @danielx:

    Certainly not. I’ve often said that the world will be a much better place the day that Brooks’ broken, exsanginated body is found in a back alley.

  35. 35.

    Bubba Dave

    November 25, 2013 at 1:06 am

    @danielx:
    Have some pity for the wolverines, man.

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