The United States Senate is headed towards an historic moment this week. The nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch has gone to the floor for debate. As of right now, the Republicans do not have enough votes to impose cloture on the debate. It is expected that on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce a vote to change Senate rules to allow cloture to be passed with a simple majority, clearing the way for a floor vote on Gorsuch. By the time we all sit down for dinner on Friday evening, Gorsuch will be confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Senate will begin a new era — one that is leaving many pundits uneasy. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Harvest Time”
Tag: Filibuster
Cocksuckers Ball: Turnabout Is Fair Play
In all the news this week, including a late-breaking story from CNN last night that said, in their carefully chosen words, “The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” it’s easy to forget that there were confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court nominee. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Turnabout Is Fair Play”
Cocksuckers Ball: Finally, Some Good News
The Senate has gone nuclear. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Today, the Senate voted 52-48 to no longer allow filibusters to block the nominations of cabinet nominees and federal judges (though not Supreme Court Justices). A simple majority rules vote, this has been referred to as the ‘nuclear option’ because political rhetoric is a broken mess. But, using the option is very disruptive. As the New York Times put it, this vote represents “the most fundamental shift in the way the Senate functions in more than a generation.” Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Finally, Some Good News”
Cocksuckers Ball: The Filibuster
Nowhere in the Constitution does it specify that a vote needs to be taken in the Senate to impose cloture. Nowhere in the Constitution does it specify how many senators need to vote to impose cloture on a debate. Nowhere. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: The Filibuster”
Cocksuckers Ball: The Assassin of the Senate
“If you compared it to the alternative, it looks good. If you compare it to the possibilities, it looks sad.” So said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island upon emerging from a closed-door meeting of Democratic Senate leadership on Monday evening, as it became clear that even the compromise plan of allowing Medicare buy-ins by persons aged 55-64 (the replacement for the public option) would not be enough to get healthcare reform to 60 votes. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: The Assassin of the Senate”